I let out a soft laugh. “She’s not wrong. I’ve seen the votes.”
Tristan blinks. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing. In any case, I only own half my shares.”
“What?” Tristan goes pale.
“I got divorced, remember?”
“I thought Dad was exaggerating.”
“Nope. Mia’s got the other half. You know what, she may actually come to the board meeting as she’s now my equal in company ownership.”
“Women are not allowed,” he snarls.
I shrug. “Women have never been given shares, but Mia has them now.”
The truth is, firing me won’t actually get rid of me. I still own half the company—or rather, I did until I signed half my shares over to Mia. The paperwork isn’t finalized yet, but once it is, she’ll hold as much power as I do, and Winter Financial can’t afford to buy us out.
They’re leveraged, stretched thin, and the board knows it.
Nelson thinks he’s pushing me out, but unless he can cough up close to $50 million, I’ll still sit on that board. As will Mia.
Gianna got her payout years ago and holds no shares, and Tristan, well, he’s got enough to throw his weight around, but not sufficient enough to tip the scales alone. He’s got the title and the family name, but none of the talent. He lives way beyond his means, bleeding cash on leased cars and designer suits while pretending he’s indispensable.
If I walk, they’ll let Diana take over as CEO, and the investors think they can live with that, because she’s a solid CFO. But even they know that Diana’s good with numbers, but she’s not a leader, and she’ll never command the loyalty I built.
Losing this job won’t ruin me. My portfolio’s healthy—real estate, funds, dividends—and with a clean exit, Mia and I’ll be set for life. And if we’re not, I’ll just get a job. I’m not afraid of working.
But it’s not about the money. It’s the principle for Dad, who doesn’t just want me out—he wants me humiliated.
Good luck with that. He can’t take something away from me that I’m happy to part with.
“You don’t care?” There’s disbelief in Tristan’s voice, and something else. Confusion.
He’s looking at me like he doesn’t recognize me, as if I’ve been swapped for a better, less reactive, far more grounded version of myself.
“About Winter Financial?” I shake my head. “No, not if it means I have to lose my values like I lost my wife. You know what I care about these days? About showing up to a kindergarten fundraiser to finger paint. I care about making Mia smile. I care about holding my wife’s hand.”
Tristan looks horrified. He can’t wrap his head around what I’m saying. “You can’t be…serious, Aiden? You’ll lose everything.”
“I already did,” I snap. “When she left me. Now, I have one focus: to win my wife back. Winter Financial and all of you can go fuck yourselves for all I care. You don’t want me to be CEO? Fine by me. Just buy me out and I’ll be on my way.”
“Dad will do anything to get rid of you…. But I don’t think the company has that kind of cash flow.”
He is an imbecile, but he can do simple math.
“I’d love for them to try, because I really don’t want to have anything to do with Winter Financial, if that means I have to be Dad’s whipping boy.”
Tristan walks up to me, his eyes glazed, perplexed as he peers at my face. “Are you really just going to walk away and let Diana take over as CEO? She’ll drive the company into the ground. You know that.”
“Possibly,” I agree. “Then the board can fire her.”
Tristan stares at me like I’m speaking another language. “You’re leaving Winter Financial.”
“No reason to stay where I’m not wanted.”
I look at him, my brother, and realize that we have no connection. All thatwe’re a tight-knit familyis just talk and not rooted in reality. I’m not close to anyone with the last name Winter. The only person I am close to is Mia, and I let these assholes push her away.
