“I’ve been gone a long time, haven’t I?” I asked as I pointed to her stomach. “When’s the happy day?”
She rubbed her hands over her belly and smiled. “I didn’t know the last time we talked. I found out in January. We’re due in early August.”
“Congratulations, Michelle. Does this mean I’m going to lose you?”
“For a little while, at least. I’m hoping to return after my six week leave, but we’re going to have to find care for the baby. It’s a big change. We need to find a new apartment first, though.”
Michelle paused and a blush came over her cheeks. “I’m sorry. Here I am chattering on about me while you have a big meeting ahead of you. I did as Daryl said and notified all the members of the Stone board that you wanted a meeting at three today. The ones who are out of town will be teleconferencing, but they all said they’d be there.”
Chuckling, I said, “I’d rather talk about you than the meeting with the Board, but thank you for handling it. I have a few minutes before I have to head down, so I’m going to gather my thoughts so I’m ready.”
“Yes, Mr. Stone.”
Michelle sat down and got back to whatever work she had after months of me being absent. Before I walked into my office, I stopped and thought about what she’d just said. Never once had she called me anything but Mr. Stone, but now, it felt wrong. Mr. Stone was my father. I was Tristan.
“Michelle, do me a favor, would you?”
She spun slowly in her chair to face me and nodded. “Of course, Mr. Stone.”
“Call me Tristan. We’ve known each other long enough that you should call me by my first name.”
A broad smile spread across her face. “Thank you, Tristan.” Hesitating, she added, “That’s going to take some getting used to.”
“Well, let’s hope you have the time to. We’ll see after the meeting today,” I said as I headed into my office for the first time in months.
The fact was there was a real chance the Board of Directors would inform me that I was no longer able to handle the CEO position, in their opinion. My absence might just have been too much, and if they did move to replace me, I honestly didn’t know if I wanted to fight it. I should have wanted to, but as I stood there in my gorgeous corner office looking out the windows at the city below, I wasn’t sure. I had enough money to take Nina anywhere her heart desired every day for the rest of our lives.
Why would I stay working in that corner office for another of those days?
Michelle’s voice interrupted my thoughts to let me know the time had come. “It’s nearly three, Tristan.”
Without answering her, I took one last look around my office, just in case that was the last time I could call it mine. As much as I wanted to run off with Nina and never look back at this office and everything about the company, something inside me wasn’t quite ready to give up yet. I’d never been meant for this, but after taking the responsibility on, it had become part of me, part of who I truly was.
Michelle was waiting for me with a supportive smile, and as I walked by, I heard her say under her breath, “Knock ’em dead.” That’s exactly what I intended on doing.
The conference room teemed with board members all ready to discuss the future of Stone Worldwide. The sea of faces turned toward me as I took my seat at the head of the long polished wood table. Never before had I looked at these people and seen them as strangers like I did at that moment. They looked like me in their expensive suits and silk ties, older than I but sitting there like me in comfortable leather chairs discussing topics that until today I actually tried to care about, but now I felt like we had nothing in common.
Noticeably absent was Karl, however.
Lawrence Meister, the chairman of the Stone Worldwide board, sat to my right halfway down the table and nodded silently at me to give the signal it was time to begin. “Tristan, we’re happy to see you’re back. We look forward to hearing what you have to say.”
I took a deep breath and began. “I’ve never felt close to anyone on this board, unfortunately. If I had, my time away may have been different. That being what it is, I’m here today to let you know that if this board is planning on removing me from my place here, you’re going to have a fight on your hands. I am Stone Worldwide. When the world thinks of this company, it thinks of me, just as it thought of my father before me. Each of you may think you can take my place and do a better job, but the fact is, you can’t and you won’t have the chance.”
“Tristan, I’m not sure what you thought, but no one here wants that,” Lawrence said as he scanned the surprised expressions on the faces of the men around him. “We’re here to find out what you plan to do now that you’re back.”