Chapter 4 - Celeste Makes Me an OfferThree days before the wedding, Celeste came to my house alone.
She entered my study without asking.
“Margaret.”
“Celeste.”
She placed a folder on my desk.
“What’s this?”
“A solution.”
Inside was a resignation agreement.
For me.
I almost admired the audacity.
I would resign from the Hale Foundation board.
Relinquish advisory roles.
Agree not to challenge Daniel’s post-marital decisions.
In exchange, I would receive a lifetime personal allowance.
An allowance.
From my own company.
I looked up.
“You prepared this?”
“My lawyers.”
“Does Daniel know?”
“He doesn’t need to.”
There.
Again.
The mask disappeared when my son was not present.
Celeste sat across from me.
“You had your time.”
“I see.”
“Daniel needs independence.”
“And you’re independence?”
“I’m the future.”
I leaned back.
“What happens if I don’t sign?”
Her smile disappeared.
“Daniel chooses me.”
“Probably.”
“You lose your son.”
That hurt because it was possible.
Celeste saw it.
She leaned closer.
“You’re seventy-one.”
I was sixty-two.
Interesting negotiating technique.
“The company doesn’t need a widow clinging to the past.”
I smiled.
“What do you think I own?”
She looked almost annoyed.
“The foundation assets.”
“Anything else?”
“Enough to live comfortably.”
There it was.
She truly did not know.
I picked up the resignation agreement.
Tore it in half.
Celeste stared.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“No.”
I placed the pieces on my desk.
“You are.”
She stood.
“We’ll see.”
At the door, she turned.
“When Daniel stops calling you after the wedding, remember that I gave you a chance.”
Then she left.
I waited until her car disappeared.
Arthur stepped out of the adjoining library.
He had heard everything.
More importantly—
two independent attorneys had witnessed the conversation from the open doorway.
Arthur whispered:
“She really doesn’t know.”
“No.”
“About your shares?”
“No.”
He almost smiled.
“She’s planning to steal a company from the wrong owner.”
I looked at him.
“She’s planning to destroy my son.”
May you like
The smile vanished.
“That matters more.”
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