ONE
She walked the hallway of the building running through all the possibilities of why she was being called to her father’s office. Reaching up to brush a long strand of her now chestnut brown hair out of her face, Prudence let out a slow breath. He was hiring a new team, He was finally buying the new building that they so desperately needed, He was moving to Zimbabwe. There were a million different choices for what the reason was that Jack Wellington has called his daughter to his office. All Pru wanted to hear was just one, One simple reason, he was finally turning the company over to her. The thought made her smile brightly and she had to quickly clamp down on that.
No.
No she wasn’t going to get all excited and joyful over something that very well might not be happening.
He had been waving their business in front of Pru since she was a little girl. All his when you’re old all this will be your one day she quickly found out was total crap and bullshit. Turning her head to look out the row of windows she passed, Prudence found herself smiling at the dogs that were running around in the open section playing. She had poured every single penny that she could manage to save into building up that section for the dogs. Her father had promised and promised a safe area in the back for the dogs to run and play but again, another failed promise.
The Wellington Animal Center was Prudence’s life. She had grown up in the place, helping to take care of the animals that were within its walls. WAC, as it was mostly known around town, was a clinic, shelter, daycare, boarding, and emergency vet for the area.
It had been started by Prudence’s mom right after she graduated college. With the inheritance she received from her grandmother Shannon McGuire bought the building and two acres around it and quickly became known as one of the best vets in a thirty mile radius. Two years later she met and fell in love with Jackson Wellington, A man that had experience running a small business and had a deep love of whiskey. A love that ran so deep it destroyed their family.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts once more Prudence took a deep breath and walked the remaining few steps to her father’s office. Looking at the polished plate that said manager on the door, Pru snorted softly and quickly knocked.
“Manager my ass”, she mumbled before heading in once her father shouted for her to come in. Walking in she looked at the man that sat behind the desk staring a file open in front of him. A stranger might see a good looking distinguished gentleman that only had the slightest touch of silver weaving its way through his Auburn hair. He looked every bit the part of an important man but the truth was far from that. Prudence saw the bags under his eyes that were clear signs he hadn’t slept in a while. She knew he would look up and meet her own hazel eyes with his bloodshot ones and that would let her know he had been drinking…again.
His shirt was wrinkled and looked as if he had been wearing it for several days but that was minor to the smell of whiskey that seemed to ooze out of his pores. “You called for me?”
Jack lifted his head and he nodded. “Have a seat, we need to talk.”
Prudence walked around one of the large over sized chair and sat down. “What’s going on Jack?” She stopped calling him father when she was sixteen.
“There are a lot of changes that are happening right now. Things are happening faster than I had planned and because of that….” He trailed off and moved his hand through the air in front of him as if motioning to everything that was happening around him.
“Okay. What does all of …” She repeated his had action. “Have to do with me Jack?”
“I’m selling WAC. We’re broke.”
