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Fuck,I thought. If Chloe was texting her sisters, warning them I was making the rounds, it was only a matter of time before word got back to Amara, and that was a problem I couldn’t have. Amara knowing I was staging what was essentially a coup would only wind up with my ass on the street, unemployed.
“We haven’t said anything to Amara, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Brie said, correctly interpreting the fear that surely crossed my expression. “We agreed learning that her CFO was trying to undermine her leadership on day one would only hurt her in the long run.”
My shoulders relaxed from my ears, and I slumped in my chair.
“I’m not the bad guy,” I said quietly.
“I never said you were.”
“But Amara is your sister.”
Brie nodded, indulging my statement of the obvious. “She is.”
“Then why aren’t you nailing my balls to the wall right now?”
“First of all…ew. I have zero desire to be anywhere near your balls, Cal.” I snorted, but she plowed ahead. “Second, I like to see the best in people. I grew up with the benefit of my sisters’ mistakes and triumphs to inform my decisions and perceptions of the world, and I’m a firm believer in second chances. I genuinely think you’re a good guy, this little—and, I have to say, sad—attempt at a coup notwithstanding. I think you’re coming from a good place, and you’re strictly looking at this from a business standpoint. I know my sister, and I could see how, on paper, she’s not the ideal candidate for the job. But,on paper, my twenty-six year old father who assumed he’d have at least ten to fifteen more years before taking over wasn’t exactly the best man for the job either. And I think that all turned out pretty well, don’t you?”
I was momentarily taken aback for a few reasons.
First, I’d known Brie Delatou for nearly five years and that was the most I’d heard her speak in my presence in one go. As the youngest sibling, she—at least at first glance, and at leastto me—appeared quieter and more reserved than her big sisters. But I should’ve known she’d have an opinion, and be loud and proud about it when it came time to defend someone she loved.
The second was the shocking realization that Brie…respected me. From the moment I’d found out Amara was being anointed as the new CEO of Delatou, Inc., I had been outspoken in my disagreement with the decision. At that stage, my only stake in the game had been, admittedly, quite large—my job.
But now that I had my own little slice of the pie to protect? Now that the success of the company would directly affect my bottom line? I had to make some tough decisions, and I had to make this family face some tough realities.
The problem with family owned companies like this was that everyone refused to look past those blood bonds and view people practically and in terms of whether they were an asset or liability to the company.
I knew which one Amara was, and I was taking it upon myself to prove the same to the rest of her family. They could love her and still recognize she wasn’t meant to lead this company. She would still be their sister and daughter even when she was no longer CEO. The two were not mutually exclusive.
“Well, yes,” I said slowly at last. “But Amara isn’t your father.”
“You’re right,” Brie agreed. “But that doesn’t make her any less qualified.”
“Actually, I think that’s exactly what it makes her. Look,” I said, leaning forward onto my elbows and staring Brie dead in the eyes. “I’m not asking you to make any decisions now. Think about it. Talk to your sisters. But just know that Iwillfind a way to force Amara out, with or without you. Wouldn’t you rather be on the winning side?”
“Not at the expense of my family.”
“But it’s like you said, Brie,” I told her as I rose to stand, towering over her. “This isn’t personal. It’s just business. And the fate of that business is on the line here.”
I didn’t know if any of my words had hit their mark with either Brie or Chloe, but as I stepped back out into the cold, I certainly felt better for having tried.
Taking a deep, soothingbreath and steeling my spine, I pushed into the conference room.
My parents were already seated at the table, dark heads bent together as they quietly murmured to each other. Even this simple act, having a soft conversation while they waited for me to arrive, had my insides twisting. It was so clear how much they loved each other, and…God, I wanted that. I had always wanted that, the partnership and the soul-deep bond they shared. My parents were the paragon of a happy, healthy marriage, the kind I strived to find for myself.
I shook my head, clearing those thoughts and shoving down the pang in my chest. Now was not the time to let my silly dreams and desires rule my mood.
Here, in these offices and in this conference room, I was the boss, and I needed to act like it.
“Hi, Mom,” I said, crossing the room to drop a kiss on her cheek, then my father’s. “Daddy.”
“Hi, kiddo,” Dad said. “You ready for your first big board meeting?”
No.“Of course,” I said, tapping the stack of papers I held in my arms.
Truthfully, I was shaking like a leaf inside. This wasn’t technically myfirstboard meeting; we’d had a few smaller ones in the five months since I’d taken over management of the company from Dad. But this was the first major one, where instead of voting on issues that had already been in play for ages, I was bringing something new to the table. Lucky for me, about eighty-five percent of the board consisted of my family—my parents and my four sisters.Unlucky for me, the remaining member happened to be Calvin Ryder, better known as a giant asshole and the bane of my existence.
He also happened to be our Chief Financial Officer despite my best efforts to get him fired.
