Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Weston
I hadn’t spoken to my grandmother much since the day she showed up at the brownstone. She’d pop in here and there, and her attitude was always a bitter one. But I did have to tell her about the baby and our engagement, eventually.
I was sitting behind my desk when my office door opened, and my grandmother walked in.
“Grandmother,” I said.
“I’ve heard rumors, Weston.” She shut the door and sat down.
“Rumors?”
Her eyes drifted to the framed ultrasound picture I had on my desk.
“So it is true. You and that woman are having a baby.”
“Her name is Samantha.” My jaw clenched.
The door opened, and Kylie stood in the doorway.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were in a meeting. I’ll come back.”
“No. You stay. Sit down.” I pointed to the other chair next to my grandmother.
She slowly stepped inside, fear written all over her face.
“Meet your great-granddaughter.” I picked up the frame and tried to hand it to her, but she declined.
“Okay, then,” I sighed, setting the frame back on the desk.
“I couldn’t be more disappointed in you,” she said.
“I’m sorry you feel that way.” I leaned back in my chair.
“First, you pick up trash off the street, move her and her unruly daughter into your home, and now you’re having a child with her?”
Anger rose inside me when she called Sam trash.
“She’s a goddamn high school teacher!” she shouted.
“She’s an English Literature teacher.”
“No difference. I can’t believe you’re going to throw away years of legacy for a woman who has nothing to offer you.”
“That’s enough!” I slammed my fist on the desk, and Kylie flinched.
“That woman has a mouthy, disrespectful teenage daughter, no connections, and no understanding of our world.”
“Our world? You mean your world. ‘Our’ world is exactly why I spent years believing I didn’t deserve to be happy.”
“Don’t be dramatic, Weston.”
“I’m not being dramatic. I’m being real. You’re nothing but a cold-hearted old woman who doesn’t know what happiness looks like.”
“How dare you!” she snapped. “That woman has manipulated you into believing—”
“Stop.” I put up my hand. “If you’re about to insult Samantha, I suggest you think very carefully about your next words.”
She stared at me with pursed lips.
“Samantha Hollis is the best person I’ve ever known.
She is kind even when people are cruel. She’s patient.
She spends her days teaching teenagers to think for themselves and to believe in something bigger than themselves.
And she raised an incredible daughter on her own, with no help from anyone.
She loves me for me, not for what I have.
And that is why I asked her to marry me. ”
My grandmother’s eyes widened.
“I will not accept any of this.”
I stared at her intently, and something hit me.
“You knew. You knew all along.” I cocked my head.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She looked away.
“You knew about grandfather’s infidelities. You were miserable, but you couldn’t leave him because you refused to give everything up. You’ve been miserable all these years, and you can’t stand to see me happy, something you never had.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “Yes, I knew. I let it go on without saying a word because you’re right, I wasn’t about to give it all up.
I helped him build this company from the ground up.
It’s mine just as much as it was his. There was no way I was walking away from it all because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. ”
I almost fell over when she said that.
“Your grandfather was a strong businessman, but weak when it came to women. He used his status and his power to lure them. But we built this company together, as a team. I was the one who carefully picked each board member. Those who were easy to manipulate. And when a seat opened up, I started the process again. And now you’re going to throw your life away on some teacher when you could do so much better. ”
“You think wealth makes people valuable, and you couldn’t be more wrong. The woman you called trash is worth more than everything this company owns. And if you ever speak that way about my future wife again, we’re done.”
“We’ll never be done, Weston. Not as long as I’m alive and still have a seat on the board.” She stood, grabbed her purse, and headed for the door.
“By the way. It’s a girl.”
She turned and looked at me with the disapproving look I spent my entire life seeing. Then, she walked out. Kylie let out a breath.
“That was intense.”
“That was exactly what needed to happen. I need to find a way to remove her from the board.”
“Well, maybe this will help.” She grinned, holding up her phone.
“What do you mean?” I furrowed my brows.
“I recorded the whole thing. Maybe you can let the board hear for themselves.”
“You are a genius.” I walked over and hugged her.
“Oh, okay. Wasn’t expecting that.”
The following morning, I called an emergency board meeting at seven a.m. before everyone else showed up and spilled the beans to my grandmother. Finn stood near the window of the boardroom overlooking the city.
“You sure you want to do this?” he asked.
“I’ve never been more sure about anything. Well, except for Samantha. In a few minutes, I’m going to dismantle the illusion she’d spent decades building.”
“And you think the board is just going to get rid of her?” he asked.
“Once they hear how she hand-chose members who could be easily manipulated? Yes.”
The board members filtered into the room one by one and took their seats.
“Where’s Evelyn?” James looked around.
“She won’t be joining us today,” I said.
“What is with this early meeting, Wes?” David asked.
“Does Evelyn even know about this meeting?” Susan asked.
“She does not,” I said, folding my hands on the table.
“Weston, what is going on?” Richard leaned forward with narrowed eyes. “Since the start of this company, your grandmother has never missed a board meeting. She always had great influence over this board.”
“You mean manipulation.” I tapped the button, and the recording began.
Each board member sat there and listened. I could see the anger on their faces. Susan gasped, and Richard ran his hand down his face. Once the recording ended, they all stared at me.
“She never trusted any of us to think for ourselves,” Susan said.
“No, she didn’t.” I shook my head.
“She called your fiancée trash,” David said. “Who says that to their grandson?”
“Evelyn has spent decades building this board based on loyalty to her and her only. Manipulating you, your ideas, getting you to make you do what she wanted. I want to build one on trust.”
“What are you asking from us?” Michael asked.
“As CEO of Castile Properties, I’m formally requesting a vote to remove Evelyn Castile from the board.”
“I’m fine with that,” Susan said, raising her hand.
The rest of the board stirred in their seats.
“Listen,” Susan said. “You heard the way she spoke to Wes. The horrible things she said to him. And you also heard what she said about us. We’ve been played, and it’s time we listened to Wes.
Do we really want that kind of woman having influence over this company?
Weston is young. He’s getting married and has a child on the way.
He is the face of this company now, and in the last quarter, our stock prices shot up higher than they’d ever been.
He’s doing something right. I vote yes.”
“I second the vote.” David raised his hand.
I let out a breath as each board member voted yes to remove my grandmother.
“I’ll call an emergency board meeting for later this afternoon. Does four o’clock work for everyone?” Michael asked.
“Yes.” They all nodded.
After they left, Finn walked over and placed his hand on my shoulder.
“You did it, man. You finally did it. Congratulations.”
“Thanks. It had to be done.”
For the first time in my life, I was free. Free to be my own man. Free to run my company as I see fit. Free from the grips of the woman who strived to see me miserable instead of happy.