Chapter 3 - The Family Emergency
At 10:18 a.m., my mother called.
I ignored it.
At 10:19, she called again.
Then Dad.
Then Mom.
Daniel glanced at my vibrating phone during the board meeting.
“Everything okay?”
“My family discovered LinkedIn.”
A few board members laughed.
At 10:31, I finally answered during a break.
Mom didn’t say hello.
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Good morning, Mom.”
“You are the CEO of Harrington Global?”
“Yes.”
“How long have you known?”
“Three weeks.”
“And you said nothing?”
“You never asked about my work.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
Dad’s voice appeared in the background.
“Give me the phone.”
A moment later:
“Emma.”
“Dad.”
“Come home tonight.”
I almost smiled.
“I don’t live there anymore.”
Silence.
“Don’t be childish.”
“You asked me to leave.”
“That was before—”
He stopped.
I waited.
“Before what?”
Nothing.
“Before you knew I was CEO?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“It sounded exactly like what you meant.”
Dad lowered his voice.
“Your mother is upset.”
“She was fine last night.”
“Emma.”
“I have a meeting.”
“Come for dinner.”
“No.”
“Seven o’clock.”
“No.”
He exhaled sharply.
“Family is more important than work.”
That almost made me laugh.
“Interesting timing.”
I ended the call.
At noon, Chloe appeared outside my office.
My assistant stopped her.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“She’s my sister.”
My assistant didn’t blink.
“Do you have an appointment?”
I heard everything from inside.
“Let her in.”
Chloe marched through the door.
“You embarrassed me.”
I looked up.
“You walked into my workplace without an appointment to tell me that?”
“You could have warned me.”
“About what?”
“That you were CEO!”
“You told me my job wasn’t real.”
“I didn’t know!”
“That’s the point.”
She crossed her arms.
“Mom’s been crying.”
“Why?”
“Because you lied.”
“I never lied.”
“You hid it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I closed my laptop.
“Because every time I tried to talk about work, you changed the subject.”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“Last Thanksgiving, Dad asked how my job was going.”
Chloe shrugged.
“So?”
“I answered for eleven seconds before you interrupted to tell everyone about your new Pilates instructor.”
“That’s stupid.”
“Christmas. Mom asked if I was still doing ‘warehouse stuff.’ I told her I had become COO.”
Chloe blinked.
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“Exactly.”
She had no response.
Then I slid her employment application across the desk.
Her expression changed.
“What’s that?”
“Your application.”
“Why do you have it?”
“Legal flagged discrepancies.”
Her face went pale.
“You investigated me?”
“No. Harrington investigates employment irregularities.”
“You’re punishing me.”
“I removed myself from the investigation.”
She stared at me.
“What discrepancies?”
“You listed Dad as a senior corporate consultant.”
“He consulted people.”
“He helped his neighbor choose a retirement fund.”
“That counts.”
“No, Chloe.”
She looked toward the door.
“Are you firing me?”
“I’m not making that decision.”
“You’re the CEO.”
“Which is exactly why I won’t interfere.”
She laughed bitterly.
“So now you’re pretending to be ethical?”
“I’m not pretending.”
“You’ve always thought you were better than me.”
That surprised me.
“No.”
“Yes, you have.”
“I spent years helping you.”
“I never asked you to.”
“You asked me to pay your phone bill last month.”
She froze.
I continued.
“And the month before that.”
“That was temporary.”
“So was living with Mom and Dad.”
Her jaw tightened.
Then she said something I hadn’t expected.
“They chose me.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“Last night. They chose me.”
Finally.
There it was.
Not careers.
Not money.
Competition.
“You wanted them to throw me out?”
She looked away.
“Chloe.”
She remained silent.
“Did you?”
“I told Mom I needed your room for a home office.”
I stared at her.
“You already have a bedroom.”
“It’s small.”
“So you suggested they remove me.”
“You were going to leave eventually.”
“And Mom agreed?”
Chloe didn’t answer.
I stood.
“This conversation is over.”
“Emma—”
“Go back to orientation.”
She moved toward the door.
Then turned.
“If HR fires me, everyone will think you did it.”
“Then give HR a reason not to.”
For the first time all day, Chloe looked afraid.
But our family’s problems were about to become much larger than her résumé.
Because at 2:40 p.m., Harrington’s Chief Financial Officer entered my office carrying a contract.
“Emma, do you know a Richard Bennett?”
My stomach tightened.
“My father.”
He placed the contract in front of me.
May you like
“Then you need to see this.”
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