Jacquelin Thomas - Five Star Desire

“I’m here to work. All I’ve been doing since training ended is shadowing this person and that person.”

“I understand that you’re ready to jump in and get to work, however, you need to observe a few projects first.”

“You saw my portfolio,” Kellen uttered with a hint of arrogance. “You know what I can do. Is all this necessary? Why can’t I learn by actually working on something?”

“This is a major project...”

“Oh, I get it,” he responded. “You’re afraid I’ll make a mistake and it’ll reflect badly on you. This is about you.”

She responded coolly, “This isn’t about me at all.”

“You don’t have to worry about me tarnishing your sterling reputation, Addison. I’ll shadow the team as you decided, but I’m not about to let you think I’m okay with it.”

Addison sat there, her cheeks on fire but trying desperately to appear calm, refusing to let Kellen see just how upset she was. “Kellen, I shadowed for a month before I was given a small project to work on. Just be patient.”

“I hope you don’t plan on having me shadow for a month.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Actually, I was thinking it might be a good idea.”

“You can’t be serious.”

Addison met his gaze. “I am very serious about this, Kellen. Let me be clear. I’m not going to let you touch anything until I know that you’re ready.”

“I hear you, boss,” he uttered before walking away.

She could not believe his gall. If she’d been a man, there was no way that Kellen would talk to her this way. Clearly, he didn’t like having a female in charge. Some men believed that female managers were emotional and leadership-ability lacking. She knew that some of her male employees felt that way. Well, she wasn’t going anywhere. Addison led her teams with a firm hand, while being open to their thoughts and opinions.

In a way, Addison understood Kellen’s desire to get to work. She had been the same when she started, but not as arrogant. He had a lot to learn about the specific technical parts of the job—things he wouldn’t have learned in school. Kellen was very talented and he was intelligent. Still, there was so much he had to learn about his job.

* * *

Kellen sighed in frustration as he made his way home. Addison was just as bad as his father. Apparently, neither one of them had any faith in his skills. He’d spent the rest of his day at the office sitting in a conference room listening as a team of engineers discussed a project he wanted in on. It had been a struggle for him to just sit there quietly and contribute nothing.

At home, Kellen changed into a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. He needed to work out some of his aggravation.

“I suppose you’re still angry with me,” Malcolm said when he entered the exercise room.

Kellen shook his head. “I’m not angry, Dad. I’m just really disappointed with the way things turned out.”

“I understand that. Do you want to talk about it?”

“It won’t change anything,” he responded. “So there’s really nothing for us to discuss.”

“Your mother made roast chicken for dinner,” Malcolm announced. “Will you be joining us?”

“I’m going to have dinner out, but I won’t be out late,” Kellen answered. “I’m in the mood for Italian.”

Malcolm stood in his path. “Son, I don’t like this distance between us. I’m sorry that you’re so disappointed and upset. It’s not what I wanted for you.”

“How did you expect me to feel, Dad?” he questioned, meeting his gaze.

“I knew that you would be disappointed, Kellen. It just didn’t occur to me just how much you wanted the position, but even if it had—I stand by my decision.”

“Dad, I accepted the position offered to me and I’m grateful to have a job, period. I know that you believe this is the best career path for me, but I don’t agree.”

“You’re right. I do believe this is the best career path for you,” Malcolm responded. “In time, you will feel the same way.”

Kellen smiled. “We’ll see, Dad.”

“Why don’t you stay and have dinner with us? Your mother would love to spend some time with you.”

“What about you?”

“I would like that, as well.”

“I’d like that, too,” Kellen confessed. He was tired of being angry and he hated the distance between them. It was time to accept what he could not change and just move on.

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