one she took with me at lunch when she tried to verbally beat me into handing her the company.
Stella’s still trying to take this company from me.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m coming,” I said.
If she thought she could walk through these doors and step up to take Harte To Heart, she was sorely mistaken. I knew she was having a hard time processing the death of her father as well as coping with me obtaining the company, but the truth of the matter was her father didn’t leave her this company. I got the distinct feeling her father never intended to ever give her the company, but convincing Stella of that would be close to impossible.
I walked behind Stella into the room and followed her to the front. If I played her little game and gave her a bit of the upper hand at times, it would give me a chance to watch her. I could watch the moves she was making and get a sense of what her plan might be, which would enable me to better position myself to protect this company. The truth of the matter was, in her father’s letter, he stated that her intentions in honoring him with the company weren’t what he wanted. She mentioned to me, time and time again, that honoring him was what she wanted to do, and every single time she said it that line the lawyer read would flash through my mind.
Part of me ached for the pain Stella was experiencing, but part of me was ready to play the game she was immersing herself in fully.
“Hello, everyone,” Stella began. “First off, I want to take a moment to, um, well, to just say I’m sorry.”
Everyone was looking at her with big, bold eyes, wondering what she was going to say. If you called the entire company in for a meeting, then that meant many people would have to roll out of bed to hear what you had to say. It meant you had something important you only wanted to address once, and I had a feeling that wasn’t what Stella was doing.
“I’m sorry that my father has passed, and uh, that you guys are here during this transition,” she said.
I furrowed my brow slightly in confusion. I had a feeling I knew what she was trying to say, but it wasn’t coming off very well.
And it registered in the other faces of the people in the room.
“Anyway,” she said. “My father loved this country — I-I-I mean, company — very much. He had some plans in the works that will continue to be produced and seen through, and I just wanted to introduce you to the man on my right. I mean, left. The man on my left.”
“That’s Christian,” someone in the back said.
“Hey, Christian!” someone else called out.
I watched Stella’s face pale a bit as she began to wring her hands together. Public speaking always made people nervous, but Stella was proving she was not cut out for it. Part of me wanted to step in and rid her of this painful experience, but I had to play her game.
Just as she was determined to show me that she could run this company better than I could, I had to show her that she did have weaknesses I could fill with my strengths.
“We have some exciting things in the mix that I think my father will really enjoy.”
I winced at the phrasing while Stella froze in place. Gone was the strong, steadfast look of the woman trying to usurp this company. In its place, however, was the vulnerable look of a child who had just lost her father. Who had just discovered a weakness she didn’t know herself to have.
Who had just lost everything.
“Morning, everyone!” I cut in. “As Stella has said, I’m Christian, and I’m very honored to be meeting all of you. I know your mornings are precious, so I’ll keep it short. My stepfather, much to the surprise of both of us, has left us both the company to run. I’ll be the face of the company as well as the runner of the front end. Customer service, client checkup, new contract negotiation, and finances will be my expertise. Stella here will be running the back end. She’ll oversee new hires, new projects, licensing, warehouse production, and all of the hard work it takes to give this place the life it needs.”
Stella slowly panned her gaze over to me, and I saw the steely look settling on her face. She was pissed that I took over. That I didn’t give her enough time to collect herself. I could see her pride was going to be a problem. She’d be angry at me for the rest of the day, and she’d come up with some excuse as to why she needed a bit more time to gather her thoughts, but I didn’t care. Everyone here was tired and had a life, and they couldn’t wait around for her to gather up her life so she could speak with them.
“We do have some projects that were near and dear to my stepfather’s heart that we will be continuing, but there are also some new projects we will be taking on as well. One of my major ideas is to take the attic space of this store and transform it into two office spaces: one for myself and one for Stella. That way, we are readily available during regular office hours and accessible to help maintain the store and address any big problems.
“In the meantime,” I continued, “Stella and I are here to help you. My stepfather was near and dear to every single person’s heart, and I want you to know that our doors and ears are open. If you want someone to talk with, we are here for you. If you want someone to cry with, we will come sit with you. If you want someone to indulge in memories with, we’re here for you. All of you. Always.”
Stella’s eyes were hooked onto the side of my face, but I didn’t care. As far as I was concerned, this meeting was over. Everyone had smiles on their faces, a few tears in their eyes, and they were nodding along with every word I had to say.
“If anyone has any questions or comments about anything, in particular, you are more than welcome to stick around and talk with myself or Stella. We want to know your feedback on how you feel we could make this place shine brighter than my stepfather ever thought possible. But, if you do not have anything you wish to talk about at this time, then you are free to leave. The schedule for the week is behind the counter out front if anyone needs an assurance and a reminder.”
They all clapped before they got up and left, and I turned to Stella with a pleased look on my face. I shoved my hands deep into the pockets of my baggy suit pants, but all she was doing was staring at me with a frown on her face.
If looks could kill, I would’ve been dead the moment I stepped into this room with her.
“I need to go call the contractor,” I said. “The sooner they can get going on these offices, the faster we can move into them.”
“You’re not going to even run that idea by me?” she asked.
“Do you think it’s a bad one?” I asked. “Having offices right here where we are accessible to our employees?”