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Did it matter? I knew I had what it took to run this Pendragon. It was my legacy.
There was a chorus of nays around the room, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The worst part was over, but we weren’t finished quite yet.
"There is one more matter concerning Pendragon shares before we adjourn. As is the custom when a Price marries, their spouse is gifted a bulk of Pendragon shares as part of the marriage agreement. So Gwen Christin-Becker-Price has been allotted the appropriate shares. In addition, as CEO of Pendragon, I am going to gift my shares to her in total."
I could feel her stare now. Her intent gaze on the side of my face.
But I couldn't look at her. Couldn't see what was in her eyes--whether surprise or confusion or God help me, what I wanted most, love. Not when I still had a board to command. And now I commanded it for her.
My mother sat forward then. "And in light of Atticus taking the role as CEO, and considering he does not wish to be the one to exercise voting shares, I too will gift my shares to Gwen Christin-Becker-Price."
Pandemonium hit.
Several board members gawked at us. Others pushed to their feet.
Micah raised a hand. "Everyone can relax. I'm not about to gift Gwen my shares. I like voting for myself. But in the interest of transparency, our father's shares were never his to vote. They were shares in proxy for Atticus until his thirtieth birthday. And since he has now gifted the entirety of his shares to his new wife, as of tomorrow, Gwen Christin-Becker-Price will hold majority shares of Pendragon Tech."
The other shareholders were clearly flustered and wanted to have some kind of conversation about this new turn of events. Calvin Tatum sputtered, "Does she have any knowledge about running a business?"
I held up a hand. "Any business acumen you think my wife does not have, be assured she does. Not only has she built the R&D team we acquisitioned, their product Sword-in-the-Stone, will now launch with a full scale pilot in The Winston Isles. It will launch a new age of technology and a new future at Pendragon"
I fixed each of them with a very direct glower, making it very clear that she was the most powerful person in this room. Every decision she made would affect all the shareholders. And they were going to have to learn to play nice with her.
I turned to look at her, and I could see the panic in her expression.
My mother reached over and took her hand as I said, "If there's nothing else, we're adjourned."
Each of the board members knew enough to come over and introduce themselves. Several offered her business cards. The others said that they'd schedule meetings with her assistant to get to know her better.
Yeah, they’d fucking better.
When the room was empty, Micah grinned. "That couldn't have gone better if I'd planned it."
I laughed. "You did help plan it."
My mother pushed to her feet slowly. "I thought I would feel different. For the first time in almost a decade, I am well and truly free. And it just feels, I don't know, anticlimactic."
Gwen muttered, "Speak for yourself."
Micah reached out for my mother's hand. "Come on, Mama Jessica. Let's go find some tea, shall we?"
She patted his hand. "I do love when you treat me like I could be British. I always wanted a country estate in England."
"I have a fantastic piece of property. Let's make a plan to go see it,” Micah suggested, and I could hear them doing exactly that as they strolled off down the hall.
Once Gwen and I were alone, she stared at me and said, "You cannot do this."
"It's done. It was official this morning as soon as we finalized the marriage at the registrar’s office."
"Why would you do this?"
She was cute when she was bewildered.
"I meant what I said, Gwen. I have the utmost faith and belief in you. But I made you doubt that. This way, you and I have to work together. I can't make a single move without you, and you can't make one without me. I wanted to show you that I trusted you. Literally put my money where my mouth is."
"By giving me majority shares in your company? That's insane."
"No, you're brilliant, you're levelheaded, and you care about the people who work for you. It's rare that someone who actually cares about people ends up in charge. This is a good choice."
