AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I was rooted to my seat. I felt exposed in a way that wasn’t alright with me, and suddenly all of this felt very out of place. I cleared my throat and straightened my back, looking for a way to gain the upper hand from a man who had snaked it slowly out from underneath me.
But, I wasn’t succumbing to his tactics. I wasn’t going to let this slide. My father’s entire legacy was at stake, and that I didn’t take lightly.
“Why the hell did my father choose you to run the company?” I asked.
“My guess is because it takes vulnerability and empathy to run the type of company he created.”
“And here I just thought you told me I was capable of vulnerability,” I said.
“Obviously, by the look on your face, you believe you’re not. Do you think your father was able to read people as well as I can?” he asked.
I’d had enough of this lunch. My mind was whirling, and the knife at the table was looking mighty appealing at present. I threw my napkin onto the table before I scooted out of the booth, and Christian’s eyes switched from guarded to pleading in the span of half a second.
“Come on, Stella. Just sit down. We really need to talk,” he said.
“We’ve talked enough. When you realize how hard this is, the type of expertise and training necessary, you’ll turn it over,” I said.
“Stella.”
“Goodbye, Christian,” I said.
I walked out of the restaurant before the food even got there and stuck him with the bill. If he was going to run my father’s company, then he could afford the food not eaten. All I wanted to do was go home. My father was dead, the business had been given to my incompetent and lazy ass stepbrother, and everything I had worked so hard for had just spiraled down the drain.
Fuck this day and every day that had ever come before it.
Chapter Five
Christian
The moment I walked into my house after my disastrous lunch with Stella, I couldn’t help but chuckle. She and I had become so distant that she thought I was still living in that dingy old apartment I first moved into when I got kicked out of college. Little did she know I’d worked my way into renting a pretty decent house I was proud of.
But, I spent the entire evening thinking about all the new responsibilities my stepfather had saddled me with.
There was terminology I wasn’t familiar with and things like “factory standards” and “safety standards” to learn. I had to familiarize myself with projects he probably had in the works as well as stay on top of people who looked after things like all the regular deliveries that had to be made. I needed to make sure the books were balanced and that all bills were necessary, and I needed to look into the possibility of finding a larger warehouse to put the store. I’d always thought that place was a bit small, even if he did only want to target just the San Diego community.
I also made a mental note to educate myself in patents and licensing. There’s a great deal of money in licensing, sure. But, if we could patent a couple of things and keep them as ours, selling them only from our medical supplies store, that could put us on the map internationally.
I had so many ideas bombard me, but I needed some technical books to read to familiarize myself with the verbiage of the industry.
I found myself he
aded back to the coffee shop much earlier than I planned. I needed to talk to Todd about some things, and I just needed his advice. Plus, I was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed, and I didn’t want to back down from this challenge. My stepfather entrusted me with his company so I would take it to the next generation. I had to show him that his trust wasn’t misplaced, and I had to show my mother that she was wrong.
I had to show her she hadn’t failed with me.
“Hey, Christian. So, how’s it feel to have a rich-ass stepsister?” he asked.
“Try again,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“The question should be how does Stella feel about having a rich-ass stepbrother,” I said.
“Dude. Are you fucking kidding me?” he asked, smiling.
“Not in the slightest. That man fucking handed over his company to me,” I said.
“Oh, holy shit. Stella must’ve lost her mind.”
