What You Need(55)
I raised my chin. “Projecting much?”
He laughed. “Defensive much?”
“So if I decide to go on this crazy quest with you, where would we be going?”
“You ask too many questions. You’re either in or you’re out.”
“If I say out . . . ?”
“Then I’d cluck like a chicken at you before I left for my fun-filled weekend. But I’d be back on Sunday morning to pick you up for the football game.”
“It’d almost be worth it to hear your imitation of a chicken.”
Brady smiled. “Come on. Be daring.”
“Fine. But this place we’re going better have coffee. Because I’m not a nice person until I’ve had at least two cups of joe in the morning.”
“I can promise you coffee. Now are you coming with me? Or am I going alone?”
“I’ll come with you.” I started up the stairs. “But fair warning—I’m a notoriously slow packer.”
“I’ve got nothing but time to wait for you, baby.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lennox
‡
Brady carried my duffel to the back of his Land Rover. After he climbed in the driver’s side, he said, “This vehicle is a much better choice than the Maybach.”
“You’re a car guy.”
“Unapologetically a car guy. The bottom half of my warehouse is dedicated to my car collection.”
“You live in a warehouse?”
“Yes, in the Old Mill District. You know where that is?”
“That’s a cool part of town. One of the most recent areas to get urban-renewal funds.”
“Which was a good idea in theory, but it lacked execution.”
His mind fascinated me. “How so?”
“Four of the six board members on the restoration committee board were Realtors. So they almost had the city convinced to condemn the entire area rather than restore. Then they could’ve put in housing units at least six stories tall, on the river, with retail spaces between the residences and little to no green space. Luckily, my brother Walker got wind of it and got it stopped before the bulldozer moved in. Times like that I’m grateful the Lund name carries so much sway in this town.”
“But you still ended up with a warehouse. Was that out of gratitude or something?”
He shook his head. “We’ve owned that section since the early days. Lund Logging was the first business my ancestors started. From there we moved into flour mills. Each generation has added to the company. Or we’ve reduced the sections that don’t work to increase profitability. Two warehouses we owned had been abandoned for the past thirty years.” He tilted his head. “Sorry. You look ready to fall asleep. This is probably all old news to you anyway.”
“The basic info is common knowledge. But I’ve always wondered what it was like for the descendants of a hugely successful company. There’s got to be pressure to at least maintain the status quo.”
“Or, worse, not to drive the company into the ground. My grandfather had a taste of that during the grain wars, when Common Grounds paid premium price to our grain producers for them not to sell to us. Then the public blamed the food shortage on us. Meanwhile, CG stealthily moved in and took our market share. CG did that to another small manufacturing company too, so in the end we both ended up selling to CG. It forced us to change and adapt. Which we did, but CG is still our biggest competitor.” He smirked. “In some areas. In other areas they can’t touch us, because they’ve been focused on one market for so long.”
The traffic thinned as we headed north.
“Did you always know that you’d be involved in the company on some level?”
That question seemed to make him uncomfortable. But he answered before I could retract it. “Yes. Did I know in what area I’d have enough expertise or the desire to learn more to ensure a worthwhile contribution? Not at first. See, my dad doesn’t have one of the company titles. He handles all the corporate accounts as well as the smaller supplier accounts. He’s the go-to guy because he’s tactful and efficient. He’s a helluva salesman, but he never comes across as one. He’s charm personified. I’ve never been like that. Even as a kid I was serious and studious.” He sent me a sheepish smile. “Big surprise I was predictable and boring, huh?”
“I don’t equate those behaviors with boring, Brady. I haven’t been at LI a year, but I can see why people become career employees, which we both know is rare in this day and age. Part of that loyalty is because employees can see the Lund name is still prominent across all departments—and not just as figureheads. You and your family members are there day in, day out. If the owners are invested in the company’s future, doesn’t it make sense the employees would be invested too?”