“You’re saying that Leah’s video is what bolstered the demand that much?”
He nodded. “According to what I’ve been told, that’s exactly it. Between that and the French investors, she’s really been a hit.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re disappointed in yourself,” I said. “You chose her, Jefferson. She’d never have been involved in this if not for you.”
“True, but I didn’t choose her for the right reasons. If she had been who I thought she was and wanted her to be, the boom in demand wouldn’t have happened.” He dragged a hand through his hair and looked at me again. “I made a mistake and it’s not the first one.”
“It all turned out well, though,” I said, but my chest tightened when I saw how intense the expression in his eyes had suddenly become. “What?”
“I’m handing over the reins to you now, Dane,” he said, surprising the ever-loving shit out of me. “I know we talked about me doing it at the end of the year, but it’s happening now. Leah inadvertently fixed this mistake, but we might not be so lucky with the next one.”
My jaw slackened, but he wasn’t done yet. “The launch is yours, my boy. Everything else will be the way we talked about. I’m not throwing you in the deep end and hoping you won’t drown. I’ll be around, but in an advisory capacity only.”
“Are you sure?” I asked after a brief pause. “There are other—”
“No, there aren’t,” he said before I’d even finished the thought. “My doctors agree that this is for the best. I’m tired, Dane. I’m tired, I’m not as in touch as I used to be, and that’s okay. I’ve spent these last couple of weeks setting everything up, and as soon as you sign the paperwork, I’m taking a well-deserved break.”
For the first time in a very long time, I was speechless. My mind was reeling and my limbs felt heavy. This was what he’d been grooming me for, though. Training me for almost since I’d started working for him.
If this was really what he wanted to do now, then I was ready. After everything he’d done for me, it was my turn to step up for him.
“I won’t disappoint you,” I promised, forcing myself to push the shock aside for a moment.
There would be time to process later. Right now, I needed to make this as easy as possible for him.
He grinned. “I know you won’t. I’m sorry to spring this on you, but this is the right time for me.”
We talked a little more about his plans for his break, which included a couple of weeks in Hawaii, then turned back to business. Jefferson would be wrapping up a few more things on his end over the next few months, but the Beautiful Moments campaign was all mine as of today.
“There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about actually,” I said. “It’s an idea Leah came up with in France.”
I explained her pitch about casting models from all over the world to represent the perfume, and by the time I was done, excitement lit his eyes and he nodded enthusiastically. “That’s a great idea. You see? This is what I’m talking about. I never would’ve thought of that, but I should’ve. The decision isn’t mine to approve any longer, but I want you to know that I would’ve signed off on it in a heartbeat.”
“Then I’ll sign off on it as soon as I can get the paperwork drawn up,” I said, then told him a little more about things I’d heard around the office about the campaign.
In the end, I stayed with him for most of the afternoon. We drank our tea and had our sandwiches, and then Jefferson told Annie about his plans to retire early and I swore the woman nearly kissed him. Ecstatic and relieved, she joined us for a while and then the two of them walked me out together when it was time for him to get some rest.
Annie hugged me goodbye, leaving me alone with Jefferson again while we shook hands. He gave me a meaningful look when he withdrew, a slight smile on the corners of his lips.
“I told you before to give it a few years before you settle down,” he said. “What I didn’t know at the time was that you already knew the girl you were going to fall in love with. Don’t let the grass grow