Worthy Opponents(7)
Bart spent no more time with them than Spencer did, in fact, considerably less, which he felt was fine for him. He said that it was more her job than his, to be a constant presence with their babies as infants, and throughout their childhood. They were seven months old when their grandfather died, but he had taken little interest in them, and their grandmother Eileen was a rare visitor too, even after she was widowed. She played more bridge with her friends and was too depressed for several months to make time to see the twins. In fact, despite how hard she worked, Spencer was the only family member who engaged with the twins. Bart’s parents weren’t attentive either.
Spencer tried to be available to her mother, and felt sorry for her, but they were no more compatible after her father’s death than they had been before. Her parents had always been closer to each other than they had been to her. She had always felt like an intruder. Their uncertainty about wanting children had persisted even after she was born, and Spencer had always felt how tentative her parents were about her, unlike her grandparents, who welcomed her into their lives, even after her grandfather’s initial disappointment that she wasn’t a boy. Thornton had set a standard of excellence for her that she had never failed to meet. She had never disappointed him, and he recognized early on, and had been willing to admit, that she was as smart as any man. Tucker had been far less willing to acknowledge his daughter’s accomplishments and was far more old-fashioned and chauvinistic than his father, who recognized the competence of the women who worked for him, and rewarded them accordingly, as he had Marcy Parker, who had one of the highest-paying jobs in the store.
It was daunting at first for Spencer to take over as CEO at thirty. Then she remembered that her grandfather had been exactly her age when he first opened his store. But it had been much smaller then. Spencer had a sizable operation on her hands, and all the responsibilities that went with it. There were articles about her in the business section of The New York Times, and another in The Wall Street Journal. She was one of the youngest CEOs in New York. The reporters traced the history of the store, and made due note of the changes she had made, interweaving them with the traditions she had kept in their current model. The one person who offered no praise or support was her husband. It was hard to understand, but Bart seemed even more angry and jealous the moment she took over the store, once her father was dying and too ill to work.
She didn’t admit it, but it was almost a relief when she didn’t have to fight her father anymore, and she could run the store as she knew her grandfather would have. She promoted Marcy Parker to president almost immediately, instead of just fashion director, and brought in a new fashion director she hired away from Neiman Marcus in Dallas. It angered some people that she hadn’t filled the position internally, but she thought some new blood and a fresh eye would be good for the store, and she was right.
The new fashion director was an elegant Texan named Beauregard Vincent. He had spent ten years working for Christian Dior in Paris, and four at Neiman Marcus. He was thirty-nine years old, and his credentials were impeccable. Miraculously, he and Marcy got along. She was fifty-five years old, born and raised in New York, and had a few sharp edges. She had worked her way up through the ranks and had a great eye for fashion and an instinct for new trends. She was loyal to Spencer, as she had been to her grandfather. Beau’s point of view was more traditional, very influenced by high-end French brands. They balanced each other well. Spencer was pleased with her new hire, and said as much to Bart, but despite his own skills in business, he had no interest in the store. He was adamant about wanting her to sell it. Nothing she did or said changed his mind.
“I’m not going to sell,” Spencer finally said to Bart six months after her father died. The twins had turned one a month before, and she had just turned thirty-one, was hitting her stride as CEO, and felt comfortable in her new role. She was managing both motherhood and her job, and proving that she could do both well, which Bart refused to admit. He continued to criticize her constantly and made her feel guilty whenever he could.
“You’ll wish you had sold,” Bart said, “when your father’s bad investments tank and come home to roost. You’ll start losing money, and wish you’d gotten rid of the business when you could.” He predicted defeat at every turn, and never success. It was demoralizing, which was his intention. “I could see your working there when your grandfather was alive, and even to support your father, but running the store now is a whole other statement,” he said. “It makes you look power-hungry and tough.” He never had a kind word to say about the job she was doing or acknowledged how hard it was at times. His own job on Wall Street was demanding but not exciting, and not as big a job as hers. He was an anonymous investment advisor in a large investment firm. He had none of the glory and attention she was getting as a young and promising CEO. He was angry at Spencer all the time, jealous of everything she did.
“I’m the fourth generation in a family business, Bart. Why does that bug you so much?” She was kind and loving to him. And he never had a decent word to say to her.
“I wanted a wife and a mother for my children, not a CEO. It’s like being married to a man.” Some of the things he said cut her to the quick, and she tried not to let it show. She didn’t crow to him about her successes, so as not to bruise his ego, but she didn’t want to be beaten down by him either. It was all he did now.
“I’m not going to sell,” she reiterated, holding firm. “What do you want to do about it?” she said to him softly one morning over breakfast. She kept hoping he would adjust to her new position. She tried to make it as unobtrusive for him as possible, but it was what it was. And she was doing a good job.