Jo’s lips made a valiant effort to smile, but then their face shifted, the light fading from their eyes as a reserved mask settled into place.
Emory’s lion grunted, which was the only warning he got before his mother swept into the room, followed by an incredibly stressed-looking Christopher. Emory watched as Christopher and Jo exchanged a formal handshake, with names and pronouns, before Jo offered their hand to Emory’s mother. She accepted their hand and yanked them forward into a hug. Jo was hesitant at first, just as they’d been with Emory, but then they curled their tall body down, so it appeared as if they shrank into her arms. She murmured in their ear, and they nodded several times before pulling away.
They all took their seats, and Jo gave the business version of their history to Christopher, including leaving home and paying for university by themself before working their way up the ranks to gain leadership experience. They shared a little about starting one company and then taking over another before they turned to face Emory’s mother.
“I’m sorry, Auntie,” Jo said, and Emory’s mother smiled sadly.
“You were a very unhappy child. It does not surprise me that you left; it just saddens me that you felt you could not come to us before it got to that point,” she said, and Jo bowed their head. “Are you happier now?”
Emory watched through Jo’s blonde fringe as they bit their lip and nodded.
“And you’ve returned because you finally feel able to be part of the family and part of the business? As your true self?”
Jo lifted their head, their eyes glowing amber as tears shimmered on their lashes. “Yes.”
“Then that’s all I have to say about that for the moment,” she said, and she nodded to Christopher and Emory to take over the meeting.
After all this time, Emory finally got the answers he’d been looking for. While one conversation couldn’t heal years of angst and hurt, it was a start.
It took over four hours of their combined expertise, but the four of them managed to sketch out a rough plan for the company’s future.
“You’ll begin shadowing Emory on Monday. I’ll work with my assistant to get you set up in an office on the sixth floor. How long you remain shadowing before taking on duties is up to you and Emory,” Christopher said, scrawling a few more lines across an already hectically filled piece of notebook paper. The poor man had taken nearly eight pages of notes throughout their meeting, and his hair and tie had grown progressively more askew as the meeting progressed.
“Rexford Shipping Co. is much larger than any company I’ve led or worked for. I imagine it will take some time, and as I said, I have no intention of usurping Emory from his role,” Jo said, inclining their head in deference to Emory the way they’d done several times throughout the meeting.
Emory was still trying to come to terms with his cousin, the one who would tackle him into the sandbox and roll around in the dirt with him for hours, now using words like ‘usurp’ and showing deference to anyone.
“Less of a usurpation and more of an abdication,” Christopher murmured as he violently flipped the page in his notebook and continued scrawling notes.
Jo raised a pierced eyebrow at Emory, who just shook his head. “You being here is not an imposition. Truly, it’s nothing short of a blessing to have you back in my life.”
Emory’s mother made a tutting noise and gave Emory a stern look. “Inourlives,” Emory corrected.
Jo once again bent their head and looked up through their blonde fringe at Emory’s mother. “I am truly sorry to have been away for so long, Auntie…and for not sending word after Uncle died. I miss him every day.”
“As do we, my child,” Emory’s mother said, placing a thin hand on Jo’s arm. She had taken the news of Jo’s return in stride since day one, and now, sitting in their presence, she seemed genuinely pleased to see them.
“I stand by what I said at the beginning, Emory. I’m happy to start at the bottom rung of the company and work my way up. I’m also happy to apply for a COO position, or vice-president position if one were to open up.”
Emory and Christopher had been talking about creating a new C-Suite-level position for months, but between meeting Cameron and learning of his cousin’s return, the plan had been delayed indefinitely.
In his wildest fantasies, Emory would be more than happy to give up the CEO position today and take a vice-president or second COO position himself, but that wouldn’t be fair to anyone. Not the company, his team, the rest of his employees, or his father, who had always emphasized the importance of earning one's place.
“Perhaps that is where we are heading, but for now, I think shadowing is the right strategy. You could discover you don’t like the larger corporation culture…or long working hours,” Emory admitted grudgingly.
Jo flashed him a sardonic smile. “Oh, I assure you, I love working long hours.”
“No partner waiting for you at home?” Emory’s mother asked.
Christopher’s pen froze, and he glanced up, eyes skimming over the three family members before returning to his notebook. He flipped the page again and began sketching out what looked like an org chart. Or possibly a flow chart. Or maybe both. Knowing Christopher, it was probably both.
“I’m not lonely, Auntie, if that’s what you’re asking. I have many good friends and am never without company if I want it. But, no, I don’t have a Cameron waiting for me at home.”
Jo’s smile was warm as they gazed fondly at Emory, but the creases around their eyes showed they were beginning to grow weary, just as Emory was.
“Speaking of Cameron…” Emory hedged, causing Christopher to glance up again.
“We’ll meet early next week to align schedules between the three of us,” Christopher said, jotting down one more thing before closing his notebook. “We’ll also meet with Clint, our CFO, Hayden, our Chief Human Resources officer, and Jordan, our Chief Information Officer. Emory will be taking some time off–”
