Page 44 of His Best Friend's Widow
Landon beamed with pride as he walked into Mr. Benton’s office on Monday morning. He didn’t have to wait long, since he had an email Sunday night that Mr. Benton wanted to see him first thing in the morning.
“Richards,” Mr. Benton practically yelled. “You’re amazing. I haven’t stopped hearing about you since Thursday morning. Scott said you were on fire!”
Landon felt his cheeks flush as he took a seat. “Thank you, sir. It was a lot of work, but we pulled it off.”
“Don’t be modest. Hoffman Hotels was floored with your presentation. I’ve never seen a client want to sign paperwork so fast.”
“They did seem pretty eager.”
“And you managed to get it all on their practically impossible time table. All while working out of a temp office and sleeping in a hotel room.”
“Well, to be honest, I barely left the office.”
“I’m sure you didn’t,” Mr. Benton laughed. “I have to tell you. I’ve been in this business a long time and not a lot impresses me. But, Richards, I’m impressed. I knew you would do a good job, but this was completely above and beyond. You knocked it out of the park.”
“Thank you. I’m glad everyone is happy. And honestly, I’m a little relieved it’s done. It was quick and a lot of work. But I know the team in Dallas will handle the rest of it with no problems.”
Mr. Benton clapped his hands together. A sure sign that something big was coming. Landon braced himself.
“That’s exactly why I called you in here. Scott has been doing a great job at the Dallas office, but it’s growing and we need more leadership there. We would like to make you Vice President of Client Relations with a permanent move to Dallas.”
Landon felt like he’d had the wind knocked out of him.
“What?” he managed to say as he gasped.
Mr. Benton laughed. “Surprised, I guess. You heard me, right. A move to Dallas and the promotion you’ve been dreaming of. We’ve been looking across the company for the right man, and we’re confident it’s you. We’ll give you a few weeks, a month if you need it, to finish up with clients here and set up housing in Dallas. They’ll have your new office ready for you there. I hate to lose you in our office, since I’ve gotten used to seeing you. But I know you’ll do great things there.”
Landon could hear Mr. Benton’s voice while he kept his eyes on him, but his mind was running circles. How could he move to Dallas? He’d lived in Tennessee his whole life. But wasn’t this what he had been working toward for so many years? He had to do it, didn’t he?
Only one image kept flashing across his mind. What would Hailey’s face look like if he told her? He squeezed his eyes shut, opened them again, and saw Mr. Benton standing to shake his hand.
Landon stood too and reached across the table. “Thank you,” he said and turned to go. He wasn’t really sure Mr. Benton was done talking, but he had to get out of that room.
In his office, he paced back and forth, alternating putting his hands on his hips, then his forehead. How could he do this? How could he tell Hailey? How could he go?
Finally, he collapsed into his chair. “God,” he said out loud, not caring who heard him. “Why is this happening now? A year ago I would have been screaming from the rooftops about this. I would have run home and started packing. But now?” He let his face fall into his hands. “Now what do I do?” He had run through ten different scenarios in his mind, but, so far, none of them worked the way he wanted. “God, I don’t know what to do. And I don’t know how I can face Hailey and tell her this news. Lord, I need Your help.” Hailey’s own words came to mind.God is always there to lead and direct us. If you focus on Him, instead of an earthly man, you’ll be headed in the right direction.
He took a deep breath and blew it out. “Ok, God, I’m asking You to show me the way. I’ll trust You in where You lead me.”
He hoped God had an answer because, right now, Landon couldn’t see which way to go if his life depended on it. And right now, it felt like it did.
23
“We need to talk,” Landon said on Monday night after dinner.
Hailey smiled at him from where she stood finishing up the dishes. The kids had just gone off to play in their rooms, and she felt like she could finally breathe. The weekend had been long and exhausting, and when Landon didn’t come over after church, she had to admit she had been upset. But now that he was here, laughing and talking with the kids as they all ate dinner together, everything felt right again.
“Okay,” she said, moving to the couch next to him. She took a seat, and he glanced towards the hallway before he took her hands in his. His touch warmed her heart, and she looked into his eyes as he spoke.
“Mr. Benton called me into his office this morning. They’ve offered me a promotion. Vice President of Client Relations.”
Hailey’s mouth dropped open. “Really? Landon! That’s incredible!”
He cleared his throat and ran a thumb over the back of her hand. “Thank you. I’m honored.”
“This is what you’ve always wanted.”
He nodded. “Yes it is. But there’s something else.”
