Rene started to step forward, but Louis put a hand on his arm.
“No, this is his moment,” Louis said. “Let him have it.”
This was the moment when Gabriel decided who he was. This was his cousin’s moment to make his stand.
“Do you know what I’ve learned, Charles?” Gabriel asked. “I’ve learned what it really means to be a member of a family. It means taking responsibility and not shoving it off on someone else because you think they have it better than you. It means being strong for the people around you, not using your strengths to force them to do your will. I learned all of that from Rene. Not you. What I really learned from him is that I don’t need quick cash. I need someone who will stand beside me while I build my own world.” He turned to Rene. “I know I have no right to ask this of you, but if you give me another chance, I would like to learn more from you. I will be your most loyal employee. I won’t ever let you down again.”
“I take back what I said about him.” Sylvie proved she had a soft heart. She looked at Rene with tears in her eyes. “You should keep him on.”
“He’s not going to have the choice.” Charles shook his head and turned back to his audience. “Listen, none of you like the way Rene is running the company.”
Cheryl frowned. “I think Rene is running it fine. Why would we put this in your hands? You don’t have a business degree. I know a little about business, and what you’re offering is reckless. Rene has a firm hand. It’s not showy, but it’s kept the company moving forward.”
Marietta sighed and sat back. “Well, I for one wish we could have a CEO who took more chances, but if what Gabriel said is true, we can’t trust Charles. I have to switch my vote. I really did want that yacht.”
“There isn’t a shred of evidence beyond one young man’s word,” Charles said evenly. “And I think Rene put him up to this. It’s his last-ditch effort to keep a job he doesn’t deserve. You can vote for me, Aunt Marietta. I’ll get you that boat. It’s time the company worked for the family and not the other way around.”
“That sounds like an excellent way to not have a company in a few years,” Cheryl replied primly.
“Easy for you to say. You have almost as much money as Rene,” Marietta shot back. “And you didn’t earn it, either.”
Ashley groaned. “None of us did. Not a one of us truly earned a dime. We all came from money, and it sucks when we don’t take care of it and it goes away. Rene might look like a douchebag in a suit, but he’s a good man. He’s kind and he helps where he can. Gabriel and I are voting our mom’s shares, and we will vote for Rene.”
“No one wants to hear from you,” Charles said. “What would you know about working?”
“She knows what we all do, Charles,” Roberta said with a long-suffering sigh. “Maybe more since she actually tried to follow her dream. She wasn’t very good at it, so now she needs a new dream.”
“Why are you so rude?” Ashley asked, her disgust apparent.
Roberta shrugged her off. “Because I’m old and I can be. You’ll find something very freeing about not having to worry if some man thinks you’re pretty, honey.”
Ashley frowned. “The truth is I don’t actually like men and I’m sick of pretending to.”
“Then you have half the secret of life,” Roberta announced. “Rene, come here.”
Rene chuckled. “Oh, I’ve learned the other half, Roberta, and that’s that I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to.”
A little smile curled up his aunt’s lips. “Good for you, honey. But please come here because it can be hard for me to hear, and you’re not yelling like Charles and our little protestor here.”
Put like that, he couldn’t refuse her. He moved in. “Why did you want me here, Aunt Roberta? I made myself plain last night. I’m not going to beg for this job. And even if you decide to vote me back in, some things are going to change. I’m not going to come to the board for every single decision I have to make, especially when it comes to what’s best for our employees. We owe our employees, too, and we owe the next generation. My father was a good steward, and one of the things he taught me is that we owe it to our children and grandchildren to keep this company strong. I cannot promise that I’ll give the stockholders everything they want, but I’ll do my best to ensure this company is around for whoever runs it after me.”