Chapter 8 - The Chair in the Corner Office
A year after the fire, Arthur officially retired.
At the board meeting, he stood and handed Ethan the keys to the executive office.
“I don't want you to become me.”
Ethan smiled.
“I won't.”
“What will you become?”
Ethan looked around the table.
“Myself.”
The board approved his appointment as CEO.
The next Monday, Ethan walked into the headquarters early.
He passed the reception desk.
He passed the warehouse entrance.
He passed the regional operations office.
Then he saw the chair.
The chair Grant had loved.
The chair from which he had insulted employees.
Threatened people.
Signed fraudulent contracts.
Ethan stared at it.
For a moment, he felt tempted to throw it away.
Instead, he moved it.
He placed it in the employee training room.
Then he put a small brass plaque on it.
Power is a responsibility, not a throne.
Claire saw it.
She smiled.
“That is very dramatic.”
“I'm a CEO now.”
“Don't let it go to your head.”
“I have a tomato farm to run.”
“You don't run it.”
“I like the idea.”
Their relationship had become stronger.
They still didn't rush marriage.
They wanted something healthy.
Something honest.
Something neither of them had experienced before.
Meanwhile, Grant's legal case concluded.
His sentence was substantial.
Vanessa received her own punishment for participating in the fraud.
The company recovered much of the stolen money through settlements and asset forfeitures.
But Ethan refused to celebrate.
“Justice isn't a party,” he told reporters.
“It is accountability.”
The sentence stayed with people.
Not because it sounded impressive.
Because Ethan didn't need revenge anymore.
He had moved beyond it.
That summer, Bennett announced a partnership with local farms.
The farmers' market became one of the company's community programs.
Ethan returned every Saturday.
He still sold tomatoes.
Some customers recognized him.
Some didn't.
He preferred the second group.
One morning, a young man approached his table.
“Are you hiring?”
Ethan smiled.
“What can you do?”
“Warehouse work.”
“Experience?”
“Two years.”
“Come by Monday.”
The young man hesitated.
“I don't have a college degree.”
Ethan nodded.
“I didn't have much either.”
The young man smiled.
“Thanks.”
After he left, Claire whispered,
“You love this.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
Ethan looked around.
“Because I used to think getting rich would fix everything.”
“And?”
“It wouldn't have.”
Claire nodded.
“Money doesn't repair character.”
“No.”
“It only makes people more visible.”
Ethan laughed.
“That sounds like something my father would say.”
Arthur appeared behind them.
“I said something similar.”
Ethan turned.
“You scared me.”
“Good.”
Arthur embraced Claire.
Then he looked at Ethan.
“You ready?”
“For what?”
May you like
Arthur smiled.
“Your next chapter.”
