Beyond Eighteen (27 page)

“What’cha thinkin’ about?” Joanie asked as
she lifted her head up to look at me. I looked back at her, her
body now rolling back and forth as the massage changed settings,
and didn’t say anything right away. Joanie took notice and pushed
the button to bring her chair up to the sitting position. I noticed
she sat patiently, waiting to hear the whole story rambling around
in my head. I guess the loss of color in my face clued her in.
“Wilson, what’s going off in that head of yours?” she asked
again.

“When Max and I got together, I never
thought he’d be doing anything but teaching,” I murmured. “And now,
everything has changed so fast.”

“Yeah, well, I would say maybe for the
better? He isn’t going to love you any less when he is CEO of GP,”
Joanie said convincingly.

“That’s the issue, J. It isn’t for the
better. Private jets, helicopters, and mansions in Aspen won’t give
him what he truly wants in his life. I’m not saying it isn’t
freakin’ amazing, and that some day, I too, may become accustomed
to it as nothing more than the life I have simply because I am Max
Goldstein’s girlfriend. All I’m saying is there has always been
more to Max than the perks of being the son of an oil tycoon.”

Joanie’s face dropped white. She knew who I
was and what was important to me. We both believed love and
happiness was something made in fairy tales dreamt up by young
girls who wanted something better than what they were born into. We
just never thought we’d be living something so real in our
lives.

Joanie wasn’t super rich by any means, but
her family was well off. Her father was a retired pilot, and one of
the perks was that she got to fly standby whenever she needed. When
we were younger we’d talk about meeting really rich guys who were
best friends so we’d live next door to each other and we’d use her
flying privileges to travel the world together. Now she was falling
for the son of a gazillionaire and I was in love with Max
Goldstein, the CEO of a multimillion dollar family-owned company.
Yeah, maybe fairy tales are things based on love and dreams coming
true; but at whose expense?

~ Max ~

The meeting was dragging
on and on. Signing papers and making decisions that affected so
many people and the financial standing of GP really sucked. I felt
the pressure of hundreds of people’s livelihoods changing as it
filled my lungs with shallow breaths of regret. My phone vibrated
against my leg.
God, let it be Wilson
telling me she’s safe.
I felt the tension
in my chest loosen as I pulled my iPhone out of my pocket and saw
her words light up my screen.

HeY, My LoVE. We made it 2 Cali. We R N the
Car, HeaDING to Wesley. MISS U terribly. J & I talked. lots 2
tell U. Take my <3 make sure U keep it safe. <3 U.

“
Gentlemen, can you give
me a moment?” I requested as I pushed the bubble below Wilson’s
text. I didn’t wait for their response.

“
Sure, Max, no problem,”
Gary answered as he adjusted his attention to the other end of the
table, where Calvin and Dan were sorting through the stacks of
papers we hadn’t even talked about yet.

Wilson was the reprieve I needed to get away
from the pressure of decisions I had to make. Decisions my father
must have procrastinated making because he knew they were going to
affect so many of our customers.

I took a deep breath before I tapped my
screen, answering her text.

Hey Sweets, glad you’re safe. Hope your
flight was ok. I am still stuck in meeting. BTW, when I see U I am
getting you an iPhone. No arguing either. Glad U & J had time 2
talk. Getting close to wrapping up my biz here. Will call U once
I’m done. Got UR <3 N my pocket next 2 my <3… LUV U back.

I pushed ‘Send’. All I wanted to do was wait
for her response. I wanted to read her words, hear her voice in my
head, and feel my heart pound hard in my chest for reasons she
created.

“
Okay, Gary, how much
longer do we need to thumb through these papers?” I asked, annoyed,
as I pulled on the knot of my tie to loosen it from around my
neck.

Dan must have noticed I was beginning to
stress. The next thing I knew, he was pulling me to the side and
lecturing me in a heated, elevated whisper.

“
Max, look, I know you
don’t want to be here. I also know your goal is to get to Wilson as
fast as you can. But this is way bigger than the passing of the
torch or slamming out signatures so you can wash your hands of your
family’s legacy. There are real people behind these small
companies; people who will be affected by the choices you make. I’m
not asking you to sacrifice your life or sell off your soul. But
you have an opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives; in
your family’s life.” Dan held my arms, his fingers digging into my
biceps. “Just think about it. Think about what you’re willing to
leave your family when you walk away from the company that gave you
the privileged life you have.” Dan stared at me uncomfortably long.
The darkened circles that cradled his eyes were laced with wrinkles
as he narrowed his eyes and tightened his lips. His expression was
almost begging me to crumble under his declaration.

Dan’s words weren’t lost on me as I stood
there for a moment. I wasn’t heartless or uncaring. I knew my
father had dealings with huge mega-companies as well as
mom-and-pop–sized shops. I didn’t need Dan to tell me about it.
There were plenty of evenings when I’d listen to my father tell my
mother about some small business he sold to because they were being
threatened by the mega-giant conglomerations that were swallowing
up and absorbing the small businesses in the area.

“
I appreciate your
concern, Dan. I am well aware of who is affected by the decisions I
have to make. Your concern has been duly noted.” I felt his fingers
loosen before a loud beep broke the rumbling of voices in the
room.

“
Uh, Mr. Goldstein,” I
heard my father’s secretary’s voice echo through the
speaker.

“
Yes, Elaine?” I
responded. There was a sliver of time where I heard her catch her
breath. Maybe it was because she expected my father’s gruff voice
to answer her call.

“
Umm, I have Mr. Clay
Langley here. He had an appointment set with…your father. I’m so
sorry, I thought I canceled it, but I must have missed this one.
Would you like him to come back another time? Why don’t I just tell
him—”

“
No, that’s fine, Elaine.
Let him wait in conference room one. I’ll be right
down.”

“
Thank you, Max—oh, excuse
me, I mean Mr. Goldstein,” she said, embarrassed.

“
No problem, Elaine,” I
responded, trying to ease her discomfort.

Well, here we go.
This was my moment to see if I was cut out for
the corporate world. I pushed the knot in my tie back up against my
neck, pulled my collar straight, and slipped on my navy
jacket.

“
I’ll be right back,” I
said as I noticed Gary, Dan, and Calvin standing there silently.
Their lips were closed so tight, you’d think they’d been threatened
with spoons filled with poison.

It didn’t take me long to
get to Mr. Langley. Just a short ride down a couple of floors in
the elevator to the front reception area. Elaine was waiting by the
elevator as it opened. Nervously, she tried to fill me in on what
company Mr. Langley owned and what sort of relationship he had with
GP. I listened as we shuffled to the conference room. She opened
the door, presenting me to a man much older than me, his eyes worn
by the stress of the years he’d been struggling to keep his company
afloat in this economy. His blue pinstriped suit was pressed with
sharp edges. His tie was a deep red, knotted tight around his thin
neck. He’d combed what remaining hair he owned on either side of
his head across the prevalent balding space on top. The lines dug
deep in his face told stories filled with worry and regret. His
hazel eyes gave me everything I needed to know. He was here to beg
for help.
What was I thinking?

I swallowed hard before walking determinedly
over to the space where he was standing. He pushed his hand out in
front of him. I collected his boney, dark palm in mine, and we
shook as he began to tell me why he’d come.

“
Mr. Goldstein—” he
began.

“
Please, call me Max,” I
said.

“
Max, I want to tell you
how sympathetic my family and I are for your loss. Frank was a true
gentleman, such a prudent businessman,” he said as his eyes glossed
slightly at the mention of my father.

“
Thank you, Mr. Langley. I
appreciate that.” He let go of my hand and I noticed he began to
run his fingers across the edges of his jacket as he thought about
what to say next.

“
Mr. Gold—Max, your father
and I have been in business for years. He helped me when I was
losing my shirt several years ago. He worked with me and set up
options to keep my company open. And, well, now that he is…not with
us, I am afraid that what we shook hands on a couple of years ago,
well, I am afraid—” he struggled to speak openly.

“
Mr. Langley, it’s okay to
voice your concerns. You are afraid that with my dad’s passing, the
verbal agreement you had with him will go by the wayside as well?”
I said clearly. I was actually surprised I said it without choking
up.

“
Well, something like
that. GP is the only company that gambled on us. It’s the only one
I am willing to work with. GP is one of the last honest companies
still run by the same family for generations. Max, my company is
family owned too. Every ounce of blood I’ve spilled, I’ve spilled
while keeping Langley’s independent.”

“
Well, Mr. Langley, I can
see and honor your passion,” I answered him as my stomach twisted
in knots. I watched this man giving me what he considered his last
ditch effort before he lost everything he had built for his
family—probably a relatively meager living while the fat cats got
fatter and the feral cats fought for the scraps they left
behind.

“
Max, I just wanted to
come in person and meet you. I thought the proper thing to do was
to tell you how sad we are for your loss. And if you find yourself
passing through Fraser, my wife, Lydia, wanted you to know she’d
love to have you and your loved one out to the house for dinner.
We’d really like to show you what your father has done for
Langley’s and the town of Fraser,” his voice trailed
off.

It was at that moment,
through his words, that I figured out what he represented for me.
Clay Langley was manifestation of every moment my father missed
dinners and baseball games when I was growing up, the thoughts that
resided in my father’s eyes when he was preoccupied with work. Mr.
Langley symbolized every small company my father made deals with on
a hand shake. It was at that moment I realized Mr. Langley
epitomized the legacy my father passed down to me.
Max, there will come a day when you will have to
make the decisions I’ve had to make.
Make
it with your head, but don’t forget to listen to your heart.
It happens to be the strongest muscle in your
body.
My father’s voice saturated my
soul.

We stood facing each other in silence. Mr.
Langley stood there, waiting for me to acknowledge his testimony;
and me, I was waiting to come back from the invading boom of my
father’s voice still ringing in my ears.

“
Mr. Langley, thank you
for stopping by. Your sentiment isn’t lost on me. I will personally
handle the business relationship you had with my father. You have
my word,” I said as we firmly shook hands. I felt every emotion
filter through his grip and bleed into my skin. In the split second
my heart fissured for the legacy of my father, Mr. Langley found a
way to mend the anger and take away the pain of a vacancy from my
childhood.

Clay Langley’s expression brightened. His
smile climbed up his weathered cheeks and his broken eyes filled
with new hope for his life. It was fulfilling to see the power I
had to affect and help the human side of GP. He nodded to me,
turned toward the front doors, and left. Not asking for anything in
writing, not second-guessing my intentions. With just a handshake
and a pile of words, his life had new hope. My lungs filled with a
breath of fresh air and my mind swam with the renewed purpose I had
no idea existed.

My gait was confident as I left the
conference room and headed back toward the elevators. Elaine was on
the phone in my father’s office. The huge glass windows gave me a
peek into her business. I smiled, waved to her, and then pressed
the up button next to the elevator. It wasn’t long before I was
back upstairs, surrounded by the heaviness of sorting through and
figuring out what GP really represented financially.

I had my hand on the door as I felt my
iPhone vibrate in my pocket. It wasn’t a text, because I noticed
the vibration came in waves. It was Wilson, calling me. As I pushed
the answer button, I knew I wanted to tell her about Mr. Langley
and how empowering it felt to actually help someone. Excited to
tell her I understood the reason why my father decided to name me
CEO of GP, I pushed the phone to my ear.

“
Max, are you there? Max,
can you hear me?” she spoke fast, almost frantic.

“
Yeah, hey, yes, I am
here, what’s going on?” Suddenly the contentedness that filled my
soul gave way to the fearful panic of Wilson yelling into the
phone.