If this was a business meeting with a client, any client at all no matter how important, Ethan would have asked Lawrence to cancel it. But he learnt the hard way that he couldn't cancel family gatherings, especially one held by Grandmother Lauranne.
His grandmother held superior authority in the house and whenever she called, everybody answered. Grandfather might have been the boss at the workplace, but whenever he was home he would submit to the authority of Grandmother Lauranne when he was still alive.
Ethan didn't like extended family gatherings. There was no decent conversation, no love or unity, just the members of his family, bragging about their achievements and their legacies, trying to show off and outdo each other or arguing about the how grandfather had been unjust and showed favoritism. Tonight was just another one of those nights.
Ethan glanced down at his watch as he drove down the treelined street which led to the Sterling family villa and realized he was already thirty minutes late. He had had a meeting at the company that didn't end early. But to Grandmother, that wasn't an excuse.
He drove past the gates into the extensive courtyard and parked his car with the rest of the luxury cars that littered the driveway. A helper already stood by the driveway waiting for his arrival.
"Good evening sir." The young lady smiled bashfully as he stepped out of the car. He didn't recognize her and figured she must be new.
"Good evening." He muttered, even if there was nothing good about the evening.
"Everyone had arrived and they are all awaiting your presence in the grand dining room." She informed him and he nodded.
Ethan followed the young helper into the mansion and with each step he took towards the grand dining room, the more apprehensive he felt. He knew this was no ordinary family dinner. It was an ambush.
As the double doors to the dining room were pushed open, the animated chatter died and the room fell deathly silent.
Ethan's quick eyes scanned the room. His two uncles and his aunt and their families were present. His dad was also seated. At the head of the table sat the matriarch of the family whose face held no expression. Grandmother Lauranne.
Clifford cast a worried gaze towards his son. He was going to hear an earful tonight. But Ethan wasn't afraid. If anything, he basked in this moment.
He went straight to his seat, the one reserved for the patriarch where grandfather used to sit opposite grandmother.
"You are late, Ethan." Grandmother Lauranne's strict voice echoed in the now silent room. "Your grandfather was never this late for dinner."
Ethan didn't reply until he got to his seat.
"A very good evening to you too, Grandmother. Everyone."
Lauranne's eyes narrowed at her grandson's apathetic greeting. He didn't even bother to apologize. Clifford discreetly covered his face with his hands. What was the boy doing?
"Is this how you've raised your son to become rude, Clifford? You should have remarried when I told you to, now he acts however he wants." Lauranne turned her scolding to Clifford since Ethan was unresponsive.
"Hey, I've tried my best. And don't act like you don't know this was always how he was. And you yourself said he was just like his grandfather." Clifford tried to defend himself.
"His grandfather knew how to behave at home at least." Grandmother Lauranne counted and Clifford didn't dare say more.
Ethan ignored them all, went on to grab a dish and serve his plate with what he desired to eat, even if he didn't have much of an appetite.
Everyone at the table went back to their meals and chatter. After dinner, dessert was served, and Ethan helped himself to some red velvet cake.
The clincking sound of silverware hitting glassware rang in the room bringing everyone to silence.
The second son of the family, Richard stood up with his glass of wine in hand.
"Since everyone is here, I would like to raise a toast in honor of my daughter Heather who has landed another lead role for the new TV series on Webflix. To her success!" He lifted his glass and so did everyone at the table, except Ethan.
He rolled his eyes and went on with his drink.
"Ethan, the least you can do is not be a spoilsport." Richard said with a twisted smile.
"Yes Ethan." His other uncle, the eldest son Gerald responded. "Especially now that you're in this hard position. Now is the time you need to stand by family the most."
Ethan looked up from the cake with his brow raised in question. "And what hard position are you talking about?"
"Don't act like you don't know you're running out of time." Richard said, dropping his glass. The rest of the people at the table agreed. "You're still not married."
"And you'll be turning thirty-two next two weeks." Gerald reminded him like he didn't know.
Ethan smirked. "Oh wow. The way you all pay attention to every detail of my life is flattering. Really. But I'm not worried, so you shouldn't be worried for me."
Richard's jaw tensed. "You sound confident for someone about to lose everything."
Ethan leaned back, resting his glass on the table with a soft clink. "And you sound desperate for scraps that were never yours to begin with."
Their sister, Jeanette, the baby of the family spoke finally.
"The company isn't yours either. Grandfather really favored you, but you just let everything slip away."
"You know, the board has been pretty restless lately." Gerald folded his hands with a laid back expression. "And there has been a meeting without your awareness."
"They looked pretty fine at the last board meeting." Ethan swirled his wine slowly in the glass. "Pray tell, what was this secret meeting about, who to replace me with?"
He chuckled at the shocked look on their faces. He was ten steps ahead of their sorry old asses.
"What kind of CEO would I be if I didn't know what happened in my company, under my nose?" He asked, taking one more bite of cake.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with it. We only wanted to discuss the future of our father's legacy which he had entrusted to a reckless grandson for far too long." Gerald shrugged and the rest of the table agreed with the exception of grandmother and his father. It seemed they were both not aware of this.
He decided to spice up the conversation.
"And I commend your foresightedness at a time like this. I see they appointed Gerald because he is the eldest." Ethan tapped his chin slowly.
"So-so what if I got appointed? It's only fair." Gerald blustered, partly nervous that they had been exposed.
"Oh, it's fair all right. But what if I tell you that Richard has gone behind your back to lobby for twenty percent more votes? Would you be so confident then when the board dissolves the appointment and makes Richard CEO instead?" Ethan asked.
Richard paled with fear and Gerald became red in the face with anger.
"You. Sly. Ingrate!" Gerald cursed at Richard through gritted teeth.
Ethan only laughed. Even when they thought they had ousted him, they couldn't even present a united front. He wouldn't make the mistake of letting his uncles get hold of the company. His grandfather had built Sterling Holdings from scratch, these two sons would pull it down in a day. He would never let that happen. If he had to marry someone he didn't know for a year, he would do it.
Satisfied with himself, Ethan rose up from his seat and walked over to the head of the table where grandmother Lauranne sat. Taking her left hand, he kissed behind the palm and whispered in her ear.
"I love the cake. I know you baked it yourself. You'll bake one for my wedding, won't you?"
Grandmother Lauranne gave him a sideways glance and he winked back before leaving the table in a state of chaos.
As she watched his back leave, she smiled. The boy wasn't going to let his dimwitted uncles win. He had a plan. And that was good enough for her.