Page 143 of Broken
“Get very organized with your time… and pick your battles. Some aren’t worth the time or the energy.”
“Noted,” he said. “Right now, I’m trying to get him to eat healthier.”
“If mine didn’t eat the food I prepared, they’d go hungry. My sister gave each of her kids whatever they wanted. I didn’t have the time to be a short-order cook, plus I thought she was spoiling them.” Francis shrugged. “Every parent or guardian has to find their own method or system. Children are a blessing, but they’re also work.”
While Prescott had always appreciated Francis, he had a newfound respect for her. He was having his challenges with one, but she had three.
Artemis strolled in. “Good morning, good morning.” A big smile filled his uncle’s face and he appeared to be touting an even darker tan, or maybe he’d whitened his teeth.
“Did you go somewhere warm for the weekend?” Prescott asked.
“No, why?” Artemis replied.
“You’re super tan and it’s only May. You been boating?”
He grinned. “Tanning bed. It’s like the fountain of youth.”
Though Francis stayed silent, she did a little shudder. Prescott bit back a smile. If Artemis got any tanner, he’d be a freakish shade of orange.
“What brings you by?” Prescott asked.
Artemis puffed out his chest. “The board approved my request for TopCon’s rebranding campaign for the full one point five mil.”
“Congrats,” Prescott said. “Are you managing that project yourself?”
“At first, then the marketing director can handle it.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m off to the doctor. Be back in an hour.”
“Everything okay?” Prescott asked.
“I’m going for my fillers. Those injections take years off my face.”
After he left, Prescott regarded his assistant. “He’s an embarrassment to the company my great-grandparents started.”
“I’m just gratefulIdon’t have to work for him.”
As she was leaving his office, he said, “Thanks for the advice about raising kids.”
She turned back at his doorway. “Enjoy Ethan. They don’t stay young for long. And not that it’s any of my business, but I admire you for stepping up.” With a smile she exited, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
He logged in to his computer and jumped to his calendar.
A moment later, Francis popped back in. “You’ve got a meeting in five.”
“Yeah, I see that. Why am I meeting with Markesha?”
“She needs ten minutes, but she didn’t want to discuss it with me,” Francis said before jetting out.
Prescott scrolled through his unread email, skimming the ones that needed his immediate attention. As he was replying to one, there was a knock on his open office door.
“Got a second?” Markesha asked.
Markesha was the marketing director. Though she reported to Lorenzo, the VP of marketing, Prescott had an open-door policy.
“Come on in,” he gestured to his guest chairs.
To his surprise, she shut the door. Once seated, she placed her hands in her lap. “I’ve got an issue.”
“What’s going on?”
