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“What? What does that mean?”
“I told you, this company has been in my family for two hundred years.” Suddenly, I want to tell her everything about my family.
“Yes, but Ryan, I had no clue it was such a large family. I thought it was just you and your parents and then a few distant cousins. I didn’t know you were literally on top of each other. How did I not know this about you?”
I only laugh at her genuine puzzlement. “Because it never came up.”
“But seriously, Ryan, twenty-eight cousins,” she breathes, “It must be so nice to have such a huge tight-knit family.”
I can’t help noticing her slightly awestruck look. She’s suddenly acting like I’m a celebrity. “I scoff. “Did you not hear the part where I called them sharks?”
“I don’t care if they’re rattlesnakes. I would kill for a family,” she blurts out, and immediately, looks like she regrets it. “I mean, a large one like this yours.”
I want to probe into her slip-up, but something tells me she won’t budge. Getting information out of her is like pulling teeth.
“No, Stella, not if they were anything like mine.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because we’re rivals. Our ancestors made it so when they pitted us together with certain outrageous but binding laws that we have no choice but to adhere to.”
“What kind of rules?” She asks almost before I’ve finished speaking.
For someone who doesn’t like talking about herself, she’s mighty curious “I’d rather not bore you with history.”
“Well, you’re in luck because history is my favorite subject,” she returns.
I hate rehashing these details but, seeing as I want her in my family, I might as well tell her. “Alright. Two hundred years ago, the Ocean Gate was split between five Fairchild sons: Reuben, Russel, Reid, Ralph, and Richard. The chunk of assets owned by each family line over the past two centuries have depended on how many of them stayed married or got divorced.”
“Oh wow. Okay.” She rests her elbow desk as she leans in and prop her jaw on her hand. If anything, she’s become even more interested.
“The Richard-Fairchilds have a zero incidence of divorce in two hundred years, so hold the largest company shares. Our most formidable rivals are the Reuben-Fairchilds. They’re shrewd and arguably the best in business, but unfortunately, they’re terrible at holding their families together.”
“My goodness, HBO should take a look at your family, Ryan. Now let me guess, you’re a Richard-Fairchild, which makes Don a Reuben-Fairchild.”
“Exactly.” I knew Stella would get it. “And he’s next in line if I mess up. So you see, there’s no love lost between us, yet no one can ever turn their back on the family.”
Her smile falters, “No one leaves the company?”
“No, because our entire livelihood is more or less tied to being a working member of the Fairchild family.”
“Are you saying you’re all stuck?” She dubiously eyes the opulence in my office and back at me. “You don’t like this life?”
“Don’t get me wrong. I love what I do, and my lineage is lucky to have been right at the top of the Fairchild food chain for the last forty years. But it’s also a source of constant stress.”
“Because the other Fairchilds want a shot at CEO too.”
“Yep. In one month, my father retires, and I’m to take his place.”
“Ah, I see,” Stella smirks, “You worry that you might be the one to let your lineage down.”
“It’s part of my concerns, yes.”
She leans back and folds her arms. “Wow. Talk about rich people problems.”
I shrug, “It’s true. It reeks of privilege, but they’re real problems.”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh no, I completely understand. I get how depressing it must be knowing you’ll be CEO, the top dog of this multi-billion-dollar empire next month. On top of the fact that you can literally get everything you want. It must really suck to be you right now.”
