No Good Mitchell - Riley Hart Page 0,37
Dwain had asked me to come down.
“Hanging in there, Big Daddy?” I headed to the chair in front of his desk and took a seat.
“Don’t figure it matters much how I hang in if I can’t hold this place together.” He rested his hand on a paper on the table, sighing. “It’s nothing, Brodes. Just same as usual. A lot of bills coming in all at once. I had to call the bank and get another line of credit today.”
He leaned back and pressed his thumb and forefinger against his forehead, massaging like he was trying to soothe a migraine.
“It’ll be okay, Big Daddy. We’ll sort it out. We’ve been through hard times before, and we can get through them again.” It was the kind of thing I said without believing it myself. Not entirely. More a hope than anything else.
He took a long breath. “Yeah…you know, we’ve had some good runs, but the O’Ralley brand just isn’t what it used to be. Distribution has gotten harder and harder as the competition has increased even more, as if it hasn’t always been hard enough in our line of work.”
He was really not going to be happy once he discovered that I was actually working with future competition, but I also realized our financial problems were more than that.
“And then PR has become something else to me. All these kids have their Instagrams and TikToks and twatters…”
“Twitter…it’s Twitter,” I said quickly.
“Whatever it is, I don’t get any of it. And the further behind I get, well, the more I feel like the horse that falls behind in a race. A whole legacy failing under my leadership.”
“Hey.” I reached across the desk and rested my hand on his arm. “That’s not gonna happen. Just about time to show everyone the dark horse the O’Ralley family really is, right?”
He smirked, but I could tell a little encouragement wasn’t going to break his mood.
I noticed his gaze drift and settle on the adjacent wall. I looked to his and Big Momma’s wedding photo, set on a shelf. Big Momma’s familiar bright smile gazed back, the kind that had the power to put hope into the most hopeless of souls.
When I turned back to him, he looked even more somber than before.
“Big Momma would be proud of everything you’ve done,” I told him. “What we have here is a unique opportunity, right?”
He chuckled. “I think what we have here is the need for a miracle.”
“Well, I might just have one up my sleeve.” I thought about Cohen. I didn’t know if he’d actually be able to help us out, but it was the best I had. “Now I know you’ve always liked to keep the financials to yourself, but I think it’s time you let us kids get in the trenches and see what we can do.”
He glanced around the room, clearly struggling with the thought.
“Big Daddy, if you do make this work, we’re still gonna be the ones who have to run this place someday. And if we don’t, what does it matter?”
I could see the tears shifting around in his eyes, and from this man who rarely showed emotion outside frustration and anger, it broke my fucking heart.
“Brody, it’s not that I don’t trust you kids with it. Just…honestly, it’s a matter of pride.” His words caught me by surprise. “Truth is, it’s been a combination of legacy and luck that helped us get this far because…I haven’t had the sense to figure out how to make this place profitable. Big Momma was always good with the books and managing and navigating the budget, but after she passed, I gave up for a bit, and as soon as I came back to it, I’d made such a mess of things, it just kept piling up on me. I fear she’s up in heaven somewhere, looking down on me with such disappointment.”
“Big Daddy, we both know she’d probably slap you upside the head for being stupid, but then she’d get on to loving you, same as always.”
He laughed again, sniffling. “Yeah, that sounds like her. But you’re right, Brodes. I can’t do this on my own. So…I’ll give you access to the books. See if we can salvage any of this mess I’ve made.”
I could sense his sorrow, his feeling of defeat. I squeezed his arm gently to offer some comfort. As he rested his hand on top of mine and a warm smile pushed across his face, I felt his tension dissipate as