One night stand with my daddy's best friend
124

I looked across the bar at all the colorful faces, some pretty, some weathered, some familiar.

"Anyway," I said, changing the subject. "Becca. Her interview went well."

"She said she was nervous," Bob replied.

"Really? It didn't show. She was impressive," I told him, watching as he smiled proudly. "I gotta say, Bob. You've done a terrific job raising her. Her mom would be proud." "She gets more and more like her every day," he mused, shaking his head. "So she did good?"

"She did great. Had a lot of ideas about how to expand the company, which I gotta be honest with you, is a first for an interview. Most people come in all meek looking to impress me. But she was just straight 'Listen up, I got all these ideas'." "Yeah, she's never been much of a wallflower," he said with a chuckle. "Anyway, you think she'd fit in at your company?"

There was a hopeful look in his eye like he was eager for me to say yes.

"I'm sure she would do great. It's just that..." I took another sip of my beer that was growing warmer by the minute. "She's awesome. Really, she is. But she's fresh out of college. She's full of that youthful optimism we all get when we're young and think we can take over the world."

"You make that sound like that's a bad thing," he said with a frown, swirling the dregs of his beer around the bottom of his bottle.

"It's not a bad thing, but I need someone a bit more experienced."

Bob's gaze dropped to his bottle. I could tell he was disappointed, and I wondered if in some way I had betrayed him. Loads of people would happily give a job to their best pal's kid just because of who they were, but that wasn't my style. Just because she was Bob's daughter didn't mean she could waltz on into my o ce and get any job she liked. She had to prove herself like everyone else.

"Besides," I continued. "Her ideas are awesome, but I'm not sure if I want to implement them. I'm not sure they're right for Banks Fitness."

Visibly annoyed, Bob slammed down his bottle and stood up. "I'm getting another beer."

"I thought you were just staying for one?"

He said nothing and stalked to the bar. Looking over my shoulder, I saw him chatting with the barmaid.

Are you really being such a dick for not hiring her on the spot? Or are you just doing what's best for business? I wasn't sure of the answer, but Bob was heading my way.

He slid another beer my way, and we sat in silence for a second. I could see from the look in his eyes he was chewing something over in his mind, so I remained quiet as I drank my beer and gave him time to think.

"I get it," he finally said. "She has limited real world experience, but I really think she would be a good fit at your place. And she'd work her ass off too. You know that."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"I'm serious. I ain't ever known anyone to work as hard as her when she wants something. I remember when she was

six, it was impossible for her to slam dunk. So you know what she did?"

I shook my head and shrugged.

"Practiced day and night. Literally. I remember hearing the thud of her ball hitting off the garage wall in the middle of the night and going outside to replace her in her pajamas throwing the ball like her life depended on it. She's no quitter." As impressive as that story was, I couldn't exactly hire her based on something cute she did when she was six years old.

"I can tell you're still not convinced," Bob commented. "Look, I can't force you to give her a job, and I know you think I'm biased because I'm her dad, but I promise you, you won't replace an employee that works as hard as she does. Plus, with the holidays coming up, you know you'll be getting all those new people wanting gym memberships for their New Year's resolutions. It's a great time to have someone young and vibrant behind the scenes that can help drive new clientele your way."

He had a point there. I looked up at the TV where the baseball game was still playing. But I could feel the heat of Bob's eyes on the side of my head. When I turned to face him, there was a look in his eyes that gave me a rush of warmth. It was the look that showed true belief he felt for his daughter. A look of true unconditional love and support.

If he believed in her this much, then why didn't I?

I could feel myself beginning to crack, and before I knew it, I was letting out a sigh and saying, "Okay fine. I trust you, Bob. I know you wouldn't suggest her if she wasn't up to it. I'll call her and ask her to start tomorrow." "Aw, man thanks. You won't regret it."

And as he grinned and slapped his hand gratefully into mine, I had the strongest feeling that I wouldn't.