CHAPTER Eight
Dash had been told that his family’s business was impressive. He hadn’t expected it to cover seven square blocks in the shadow of downtown Denver where the city abruptly went from cosmopolitan high rise business-retail-residential to industrial. Dash also hadn’t realized how close his penthouse was, but he supposed he should have. It made sense to house out of town guests nearby. On nice days he could walk to work in half an hour if he wanted.
Zane had given Dash instructions on where to park and said he’d come to reception to meet him. When he arrived, there was a parking spot, just two spaces from the front door with a giant sign that said “Dash”, with an arrow pointing down at the space.
Dash smiled. It was a nice welcome and fit with everything he’d learned about Zane up to that point.
The foyer of Fonteneau Food Services wasn’t designed to impress as were some of the city’s prominent law firms or mutual fund companies. It was functional. Linoleum tile and stained paneled walls that hadn’t been updated since the early seventies.
A young woman behind the counter was wearing a bright floral print dress past the fashion deadline for summer, with a turquoise cardigan over it. She was cute enough, but Dash had to wonder if she was oblivious to both color and texture.
Then he decided that thought was a little too metrosexual for a manly man.
That also brought him up short. He had a moment of panic, wondering if he was gay and feeling like he’d be even more out of touch with how to behave if that was true. But after a few seconds of trying to form images of naked men, he concluded that, no, he was definitely not gay.
She smiled as he approached.
“I’m…” he began, but she interrupted.
“I know who you are, Mr. Fonteneau. Welcome to Fonteneau Food Services. Your brother asked me to call when you arrived.”
Dash nodded and returned to looking around. There were several old black and white photos of ancient looking trucks and a building that, he supposed, was the precursor of the present company home in which he stood. He imagined that he might be looking at people who were related to him in some way.
Zane breezed through the door. “You found us!”
Dash smiled. “The parking space…”
“If you sign on the dotted line, it’s yours. Permanently.”
“Well, that would be a nice perk.”
“Yeah?” Zane grinned. “Wait until you hear about the health care plan! And we have free waters and sodas in the break room!”
“Well, how could I say no to that?” Dash answered amiably.
“Right?” Zane gestured toward the door through which he’d just appeared. “Ready for the grand tour?”
“No. I’ll take the bronze tour, please.”
Zane chuckled. “Maybe I like this version of you even better.”
Who knows what might be the perfect thing to say to someone else at the exact right time? When that happens, it’s like a little miracle and feels like it must be attributable to something more organized than blind luck. For whatever reason, Zane had stumbled on the verbal key that would open Dash’s heart to being enthusiastic about a new life.
Being better than he had been before, in some way, sounded good to Dash. Like a proposition he could get behind.
The two brothers spent the morning walking the stock, transport, and delivery side of the business, talking about every aspect of how things worked. Zane was astounded by some of the questions Dash asked, some of them creating lightbulb why-hadn’t-we-thought-of-that moments.
“If it’s okay with you, we’re going to grab a quick lunch with Da… ah, Grey. Then this afternoon I’d like you to take a look at the back office. The financials, order systems, invoicing… you know.”
Dash shrugged. “Sure.”
“There’s a grill right around the corner. We could walk.”
“Okay.”
Zane texted Grey to say they were headed to lunch and was told that he’d drive and meet them shortly.
“So what did you think?” Grey could barely restrain himself to get through hellos before asking that question.
“You wouldn’t believe the ideas he came up with. Off the top of his head.”
Grey looked at Dash. “Like what?”
“I don’t want to overstep,” Dash said.
Grey was quick to assure him that his opinion was valued. “Nonsense. We want your input.”
After Dash mentioned a few things he’d noticed that could improve productivity without much expense or disturbance in current procedure, he said, “I saw photos at the front. When I arrived.”
Grey smiled. “Yes. We’ve been in business since 1923. Same location. Well, we’ve added on, of course. I’m not going to beat around the bush. We want you to come work for Fonteneau. Put your education and talent to use for the family.
“Zane says he has more to show you today. So take a look and think it over. Then give us a chance to make an offer.”
Dash wasn’t ready to commit, but he wasn’t ready to run either. So he gave a tentative nod.
On the walk back Dash asked, “I’m curious about the penthouse.”
“Yeah?”
“It seems like maybe it was acquired for the purpose of impressing potential partners or vendors or investors?”
“All true.”
“Well, I’m wondering how that ball got dropped before it reached reception.”
It took a minute for Zane to catch up with what was meant.
“Oh.” Given the time it took Zane to respond, Dash was afraid he’d hurt Zane’s feelings. Finally he said, “Wow. I don’t have any explanation except that, I guess this kind of thing happens in family businesses. It’s looked exactly like that all my life. Probably most of Grey’s life, too. After a while, when you’re so used to something, you stop thinking in terms of it being anything other than familiar. I guess we started thinking it was supposed to look that way. But trying to see it through somebody else’s eyes? Somebody new? It doesn’t look good, does it?”
“No.”
Zane chuckled. “Tell me how you really feel.”
“I just did.”
“Yeah, well. Should we hire a designer?”
“Not today. But it’s something to think about. That and the way your receptionist presents herself.”
“Susie?”
They were only steps away from the entrance. “Okay. Pretend you’ve never been here before. Open the door. Take a look at the reception. And Susie.”
As soon as they were past reception and headed upstairs to the second story offices, Zane said, “Oh, man.” Dash snickered. “Now I’m mentally going through every deal that didn’t go our way and wondering.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t that. But impressions can pave the way. You know?”
Zane nodded.
If he’d thought that Dash had some good ideas about the operations side of the business, he was struck dumb by the suggestions Dash made regarding how to bring the business into the twenty-first century before it was overtaken by a more streamlined connectivity-savvy outfit.
In mid-afternoon Zane showed Dash a large office on the west side with a view of Coors Field and the mountains. The décor wasn’t to his taste, but it was a comfortable layout. And… baseball. What red-blooded guy wouldn’t like to work a few blocks from the ballpark?
“Do we have tickets?” he asked Zane.
Zane liked the interest shown by that question and did a little happy dance on the inside. “Club level for entertaining and right behind the owner’s seats at home plate if you’re an actual fan.” After a pause, he added, “Hope this means you’re going to hear Grey’s offer.”
The truth was that, though he hadn’t shown it, the grand tour had revealed a lot to be excited about. What was most exciting was how much needed overhaul and improvement. Almost everything.
Dash saw that there was enough work to keep him distracted from whatever was bothering him night and day, that thing, for years maybe. And like Zane had said; what was he going to do with his time? Tool around?
Dashiell Fonteneau was not a tool.
“I’d be honored to hear an offer. What would my title be?”
“CEO.”
Dash wasn’t sure he’d heard right. He squinted his eyes. “CEO?’
“That’s right. And there might be a signing bonus.” Zane wiggled his eyebrows.
“How is that possible? There’s Grey. And you.”
“Grey wants to spend half the year in Hawaii playing golf and half the year at Pebble Beach playing golf.” Dash gestured at Zane. “Me?” He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m management material. Not CEO material.”
“I might disagree.”
“Most importantly, I’m dad material. I’m going to be home for dinner every night. I’m going to be there for throwing baseballs or dance recitals. Whatever life brings. I’m there. Not here.”
Dash nodded slowly. “I get it. When is Adelaide due?”
“Valentines.”
“Aquarius.”
Zane gaped. “Wow. I wasn’t expecting you to know that. I didn’t know that. What does it mean?”
Dash searched his memory and found that he did know a little. “Um. Charming. Good-natured. Social. From the standpoint of a parent, he or she could be a handful. They like their freedom and independence.”
Zane knew he was wearing a goofy grin, but didn’t care. “All of that sounds okay with me.”
“You’re right. You are dad material. Are you religious?”
Zane shook his head. “We belong to the episcopal church, but we don’t go often. Christmas Eve. If we’re not in Aspen. Or London.” When Dash didn’t say more on the subject, Zane said, “So. Be thinking about what you’d like done with the office.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh. And I have a bevy of candidates for the position of executive assistant lined up for you to interview, starting tomorrow at nine.”
Dash narrowed his eyes. “How is that possible? I just now said I’d consider the job.”
“You keep saying, ‘How is that possible?’ Because the world is filled with magic.”
“I don’t believe in magic.”
“Alright. How about this? I’m an optimist.”
“I buy that. Why did you call them a bevy?”
Zane chuckled. “You’ll see.”
Dash narrowed his eyes. “I’m not hiring anybody not qualified, Zane. I don’t work that way.”
“Ooh. You’re an ethics man. Good. Scandal always costs money. And of course not! There’s not a soul on the list without a knock-your-socks-off resume.”
“What am I offering this knock-your-socks-off person who’s going to be so amazing that I will get to go to some baseball games?”
Zane barked out a laugh. “Well, I think an assistant like that deserves the very best. Don’t you?”
“Yes. So what am I authorized to offer?”
“Look. Formally you’re going to be hired by Grey. But between you and me, the CEO can offer whatever he wants to offer. If you want to offer an Audi company car and a condo, go ahead. That’s going to be quite a jump from industry standard, but it’s your admin.”
“Why is it that you’re not worried about turning your future over to me? Just like that?”
Zane smiled and shook his head. “It’s foolproof. I’ve already got enough in trust to take care of Adelaide and me and educate however many offspring are in our future. You’ll just be working on money for the grandchildren.”
“So where does my assistant office?”
“You can knock out all these walls and start over if you want. But right now, through that door.”
“Knock out walls huh? You may be kidding, but I do want glass between my assistant and me.”
“Whatever. We’ll put you in some temporary offices while you build what you want.”