"Mom, it's not that I won't listen."
"So you're doing this on purpose!" My father shot to his feet.
"Your brother wants to come work at your company and you won't let him. We let that go."
"You've been in business all these years. What has this family ever gotten out of you?"
"And now you can't even bend on a little rent for an elder. Is there any room in your heart for this family at all?"
I took a deep breath.
"If Joseph joins the company, is he even qualified? What exactly would he do there?"
"The money I've given this family all these years," I said, looking straight at my father.
"Joseph's wedding gift money came from me. His down payment came from me."
"Your surgery bills, I paid every cent. Your living expenses every month, which dollar of it didn't come from my transfers?"
My father's face went red, and no words came out.
Beside him, Dirk let out a cold laugh.
"Well now, big brother, your girl really has grown some wings since she made her money. If I were you, I'd have slapped her a long time ago."
The air froze.
Then my father's hand came up fast.
I didn't even have time to turn my head before it cracked across my face.
My mother screamed and lunged to grab his arm. "Have you lost your mind!"
His hand hung in the air after the blow, his lips trembling.
A moment later his tone went soft. "Maddie... just say yes to Uncle Dirk..."
He didn't finish.
I didn't say anything. My face burned where he'd hit me.
Dirk played generous beside him. "All right, all right, I'll knock a little off your utilities."
"You've had an agent look at that lot on the south side, haven't you? You know exactly what kind of dump that place is."
"Just wire the rent over like a good girl and we'll pretend none of this happened. A girl shouldn't push so hard. It's not becoming."
I stared at him, and then I laughed.
"Uncle Dirk, you're calling the south side a wasteland?"
"Five years ago, when I moved into your building, this whole area was a wasteland too."
"How do you know the place I'm moving to won't turn out just like yours?"
Dirk's smile froze on his face.
He grunted, flung his sleeve, and pushed out the door.
My mother looked at me, then at my father, and in the end said nothing, tugging him along as they left.
The office went quiet.
I walked to the window and touched the side of my face where he'd struck me. It burned like fire.
Then I picked up my phone and dialed a number.
"I want that building. We sign this week."
Once word of the move got out, the company's last few days weren't peaceful.
Seven more people left.
By the time HR Manager Fox handed me the list, I didn't feel much of anything.
In the exit interviews they all kept their heads down and said, "Ms. Rowe, I'm sorry."
The clients, on the other hand, were busier than before.
A few more calls came in, and I returned each one.
I told them the move wouldn't affect our ongoing work, that the contracts we were meant to sign wouldn't fall through.
They heard me out and said little, but no one brought up signing again.
People online started talking too.
A local startup-scene account ran a piece.
The headline read: An 800-Person Company Uproots Itself Over a Hundred Grand in Rent — Where's This Boss's Vision?
The comments were a wall of "small-minded," "short-sighted," "won't get far."
The move was set for Friday night. I had Ramona arrange the vehicles ahead of time.
The whole company was told to head straight to the buses after work, with the moving company handling the company's assets all at once.
At eleven Thursday night, I drove past that office building for the last time.
Five years ago, when we moved in, the building was new. The group photo of our first employees on the wall had long since yellowed.
The shops downstairs were all still lit, looking the same as always.
At six Friday evening, the staff carried their packed boxes down one after another.
I stood at the lobby doors, watching the buses lined up at the curb.
At some point Dirk had turned up, cigarette hanging from his lips, arms folded across his chest, looking at me the way you'd look at a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.
He wasn't quiet about it. "Moving out to the south side? Your Ms. Rowe sure knows how to pick a spot. You'll all come crawling back to me before long."
A couple of employees carrying boxes glanced at him. Nobody said anything.
Max passed me on his way out and murmured, "Ms. Rowe, don't mind him."
Dirk stood off to the side, watching the building empty out, and something uneasy flickered through him.
But then he remembered the message from last night, the one that guaranteed things, and the smug smile settled back onto his face.
By the time everything was loaded, the sky had gone dark. The last bus started its engine.
I stood downstairs and took one last look at the building, five stories of old office space, nearly every window black now.
Dirk was still standing there, contempt and disdain all over his face.
I turned and got on the bus.
The drive was quick.
When the doors opened, I heard someone in the front row let out a "Whoa."
Then more voices, one after another.
Ramona stood beside me, snapped a photo on her phone, and sent it to the company group chat.
Then she looked up at me, eyes shining. "Ms. Rowe... this is so much better than the old place."
I didn't say anything. I stood in front of the building for a moment.
Behind me the employees filed off the buses, and some already had their phones out, taking pictures of everything.
Someone posted a photo in the merchants' group chat.
Three seconds later, the chat blew up.
At six the next morning, Dirk got the first call.
"I'm not renewing."
Then they came one after another.
"Mr. Dickerson, a few of us talked it over. When our leases are up, we're all pulling out. There won't be anyone left in that district of yours."
Dirk tapped his phone awake. On the screen was a photo someone had sent him of the new building.
The phone slid out of his hand and cracked against the floor tile.
His face went white, his eyes full of disbelief.
He slumped to the floor, muttering, "Impossible... impossible..."
