Albert's Point of View

I sat back and rubbed my eyes. They had become glassy from all the paperwork piled across my desk. The idea of taking my family's footwear company international excited me, but the amount of bureaucracy and obstacles we had to overcome was enough to make anyone lose their mind.

Shaking off my fatigue, I focused on the task at hand: securing a European distributor. I was hoping the video conference I had scheduled with Amer Len would close the deal so we could move forward with our expansion plans.

There was a knock at the door before it opened. My brother, Perseo, stuck his head inside.

"Grandma wants a meeting."

"I have a call soon."

He shrugged.

"She says it's important."

I checked that all my notes and data for the call were neatly arranged on my desk for when I returned. Then I followed Perseo to the conference room.

My grandmother was already seated at the head of the table, with her trusted assistant, Andi, beside her. Approaching seventy, Grandma still possessed the sharp mind and quick wit of a woman half her age. She was a force of nature, and we all loved her fiercely.

We admired the vision she'd had as a young woman when she started a sandal business in her garage. Today, it had grown into a billion-dollar company. She had built it from nothing into one of the most respected footwear brands in the country.

My goal was to take it global.

I leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"Good morning, Grandma."

"Good morning, Albert."

"I hope this won't take long," I said as I took a seat at the table. "I have a call with Amer Len soon. It's almost closing time in France, and I don't want to keep him waiting."

"This will be quick," she assured me.

Perseo was already sitting across from me, enjoying a muffin. Carter, my other brother, walked in. Like I had, he kissed Grandma on the cheek before taking a seat.

Then all of us stared in disbelief when our youngest brother, Mose, walked in wearing his trademark leather jacket and jeans. He was well-trained enough to kiss Grandma on the cheek, but not disciplined enough to keep his manners afterward. He dropped into a chair and propped his boots up on the table.

I frowned.

My other brothers shook their heads.

Grandma frowned too, but ignored the gesture. She probably knew Mose was only trying to annoy her, and she wasn't the type to be rattled by such antics.

"The time has come, boys."

"They're men, Margaret. Well, except for Mose. We're not even sure he's human," Andi joked.

She was, more or less, Grandma's mouthpiece, saying the things Grandma was probably thinking but would never say out loud.

Mose grinned at her.

"The point is, I'm retiring soon, and I need to know I'm leaving this company in capable hands," Grandma announced.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise, yet it still caught all of us off guard. I suppose a part of us believed she'd live forever and run Torrens Incorporated until the end of time.

"What are you going to do with your free time?" I asked.

I couldn't picture her knitting or strolling along the beach collecting seashells. She was a businesswoman to her core. In that respect, I took after her. I didn't know what I'd do without this company.

"I haven't figured that out yet, but I'm not worried about it. What I do know is that I'm ready to move on. And I know that you men can handle the responsibility of keeping this company moving forward."

She paused before continuing.

"So today, I'm announcing your new positions. They're based on your strengths."

"Mose doesn't have any strengths," Carter joked, tossing a rolled-up piece of paper at our youngest brother.

"He's strongly lazy," Andi added.

We all laughed.

Mose simply shrugged.

He didn't care.

I admired that about him, even when it was irritating.

"Ronny, you'll be Chief Operations Officer," Grandma said, ignoring the laughter around her.

"That's because you're bossy," Mose joked.

I considered telling him he was fired, but technically he didn't work at Torrens Incorporated the way the rest of us did. In that regard, he was a lot like our father.

"Perseo, you'll be Chief Marketing Officer," Grandma continued.

That made sense. Perseo was creative and already worked in marketing.

"Carter, you'll be Chief Financial Officer."

That made sense too. Carter was a mathematical genius who probably could have worked for NASA or somewhere equally prestigious, but he had chosen to stay in the family business.

"Mose, you'll be Chief Technology Officer."

Oddly enough, that made perfect sense as well. Mose was every bit as brilliant as Carter. The problem was that he was lazy. He had created several apps, sold them for a fortune, and then spent his time traveling on his motorcycle.

He occasionally did work for us, but he genuinely hated corporate life.

"I don't work here," Mose replied.

"Mose, it's time you focused on something in your life besides your motorcycle. This role suits you perfectly," Grandma said in the firm tone that, for the rest of us, meant there was no room for argument.

"Grandma, you know I love you, but I'm not interested."

Mose planted his boots on the floor, stood up, and walked out of the room.

I rolled my eyes.

"Little brother needs to get his act together," Perseo said.

"We're already doing these jobs, so what's the difference if we have the titles?" I asked, also implying that Mose was a lost cause.

"It matters because now you're running the show. All four of you," Grandma said.

There was one very noticeable position she hadn't assigned.

"What about the CEO position?" I asked.

"There won't be a CEO. You'll all have to work together to ensure the company continues to grow and succeed."

I suspected there was no CEO because that position should have belonged to my father. Like Mose, he had walked away from corporate life after my mother died.

I think Grandma always hoped he'd come back someday.

He never did.

Fortunately, aside from Mose, we all got along well, so I didn't foresee many problems. Though disagreements were inevitable from time to time.

Still, I had a call coming up and no time to worry about that now.

"I'm not leaving for a few more months, so there's plenty of time to work through any issues," Grandma said. "But I'll be stepping back from the business and giving you more responsibility. Don't ruin my legacy, boys. Make me proud."

She stood and, with regal grace, walked out of the room.

Andi gathered her notes and reports and followed her toward the door.

"Do you think she's serious?" Carter asked. "This company is her life. What's she going to do with all her free time?"

"Most likely spend it at the beach with her new surfer boyfriend," Andi replied as she walked out.

We all stared at one another in shock.

"She's joking, right?" Perseo asked.

I had no idea.

But I didn't have time to discuss it.

I had a call to make and something to prove.

This company was just as important to me as it was to my grandmother.

Like her, I intended to dedicate my life to building it, nurturing it, and watching it grow.