Please remember to donate to Nifty, it gives so much to all of us.
Any amount, large or small, is welcome in order to keep this free site available.
Thank you, donations to the address below.
http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html
Life's Illusions - Book Five - Chapter 29
The final chapter.
The search for replacements to carry Guardian forward had been, in some cases easy, in others difficult, and at times an outright battle.
For Milo it was a no brainier, he'd watched, evaluated, trained, then glowed with pride at the point where he was bestowing the title, CEO Australasia Division, on Ferdie, telling him on the day they were connected on screen to the full board.
"I have complete faith, you are me all those years ago, but so much wiser, take us forward Ferdie, make us proud".
His appointment had been approved unanimously.
In bestowing the title CEO Europe and Canaries, Junior had chosen his second in command, his cousin, John Caswel-Thorn, son of Sofia and Rick, and again it had been approved unanimously.
CEO North America and Canada had been rightly given to Eddy, Edwina Murray, formerly Regional Head of Guardian's New York Office.
Only two positions remained left to fill, Chairman and Vice Chairman.
It was widely accepted that the positions would be going to Vinny and Junior, but who would fill which position was the subject of some serious, and often fractious debate.
In Josef's opinion he should be the one responsible for appointing both his and Rick's successors, something which Juan opposed strongly, because he knew Josef was planning to appoint Vinny as Chairman, leaving Juan's son Junior the secondary post of Vice Chairman.
The decision had been deferred several times, with Juan's objection to Vinny becoming Chairman getting more fractious, the attacks more personal, at each meeting.
They'd all thought Juan would eventually see sense, choosing not to openly challenge Josef, or to at least moderate his attacks on Vinny, a strategy they would eventually agree had been folly.
Vinny and Junior as board members sat through all of the debates, both bristling at the comments being made about Vinny but again choosing to remain neutral, until Juan said something which irritated Vinny enough to cause him to strike out with deadly serious consequence.
"I firmly believe that the Chairman must have a Military history, exactly as Junior has, anyone else would be second rate at best".
Vinny's hand hitting the table stopped all further talk, and his words, directed with his stare at Juan, were harsh.
"I've listened to you vilifying me, assassinating my character month after month in these meetings, I'm amazed I'm even allowed into this building because according to you I'm useless, ineffective, unqualified, and now second rate, so let me make it simple for you, I withdraw completely from this farce".
Juan couldn't resist a smile, turning to Josef he said.
"In which case I believe we have a clear choice for Chairman, Junior, with Vinny as Vice Chairman".
Vinny's response caused groans from around the table as he again addressed Juan.
"What, are you deaf, or really just as plain stupid as you've been sounding all these months?, I said I withdraw completely from this farce, I don't want any position with this company, find someone else to insult, I won't be around to hear you".
Turning to Josef as he rose from his seat, he'd said.
"Decide what you want to do about my shares, as of now I give them to the Chair by proxy, I don't see any point in remaining, I've made my position clear".
Vinny leaving caused a wave of criticism to be directed at Juan, but by far the next biggest, shock was Juniors scathing announcement, directed toward his Poppa.
"I understand Vinny's decision completely, we've sat and listened to you slating him for months, not once have you referred to his many accomplishments, in fact, just as Vinny said, I'm also amazed that he's even allowed into the building, because apparently he's completely useless, and it disgusts me that no one around this table has stopped your rants, well bare in mind when engaging in further deliberations, don't waste your time offering the post of Chairman, or Vice Chairman to me, I wouldn't need to decline because I've always made it crystal clear, I would stand as Vinny's right hand only, nothing else, and you've finally destroyed that possibility, so from this day I'm a shareholder only, I will have no further involvement in the operation of this company, I also give my vote by proxy to the Chair, and now I believe I am also surplus to requirements, so I'll bid you all farewell".
Juan tried to appeal to him.
"Junior wait please, think about this, you'd be a wonderful Chairman".
Junior turned to his Poppa replying angrily.
"No I wouldn't, but that doesn't matter to you does it?, because it's not about me is it, it's about you, and the fact that you could never hack it enough to get that position for yourself, I love you Poppa, but I can't condone what you've done, you only wanted me there to boost your own self esteem, and I've told you all along I don't want it, but no, you couldn't accept that, you had to destroy Vinny, rubbish his achievements, that guy's given his heart and soul to this company since the day he left school, he's who I aspire to be, why the hell would you do that, you really have disappointed me, but what the heck, congratulations on a spectacular fuck up Poppa, it's going to take a complete mega fuckwit to beat you on this one".
Junior then turned away and walked out of the room.
Juan was left with everyone glaring at him as Josef spoke.
"It seems Juan you now have a problem, the remaining board members need to elect a chairman, though why anyone would want to take on the role after your performance I have no idea".
Juan's comments only served to further rile Josef.
"I vote you stay in the job".
"I'd echo Vinny's question to you earlier, are you deaf, or really just as plain stupid as you sound?, you've known for nearly twelve months that it is our intention to retire, that hasn't changed, Rick and I vacate our roles in exactly two months, if we don't have a Chairman and Vice Chairman by then it's not by our doing, we're certainly not the ones who lost us two of the most important people in the company, we've worked for years grooming the perfect replacements, you on the other hand have spent just a few meetings destroying all of our hard work, so I personally am having nothing more to do with the subject, you know the date on which we retire, I hope you have someone ready to take over our roles, now I declare this meeting closed".
As Josef made to exit the board room Juan tried to talk to him, but his brother was clearly in no mood to listen.
"Don't Juan, the damage you've wrought today is probably your most spectacular fuck up yet, you've singlehandedly destroyed everything we've worked to build all these years, I just don't have the patience to listen to you anymore, I'd suggest you set about finding two candidates because the clock is ticking".
Josef found Vinny clearing his office, walking in he sat down, neither said anything for a few minutes, then Josef tried reaching out.
"It doesn't have to be like this Vinny, I've spent years making sure you were ready for the role, you deserve it, and I have every confidence you'd carry it out perfectly, don't walk away because of my brothers stupidity, he doesn't believe any of that crap he used against you, he simply wanted Junior in the role to stroke his own ego".
Vinny had carried on packing his personal items before finally answering Josef.
"I know that, so does Junior, we've talked about it, he doesn't want the role, he's told Juan that any number of times, so if you offer it to him he'll most likely turn it down, he told me he'd be Vice to me and no one else, and in truth he'd be my only choice, I have that much faith in him, we agreed to stay neutral but there comes a time when you can't turn the other cheek any more, I don't have a problem with Juan not wanting me, but to consistently rubbish my character and achievements in the way he has, even family don't get away with that, I'm sorry if my decision causes you pain Jo, but this time there's no going back, I'll rely on you as always to guide me on whether to remain a shareholder and board member, but for now all I want is to get out of this place".
Josef didn't try to change his mind he simply confirmed some of what Vinny had said.
"You should know that Junior did exactly as you said he would, told us he wouldn't accept either post and walked away, but not before he defended you and launched a blistering attack on his Poppa, I think that had the most profound effect on my brother, in all of his years I can never remember Junior questioning his Poppa, let alone attacking him".
As Josef was about to leave Vinny's office Junior walked in.
"Uncle Jo, I wanted a word with Vinny".
Josef patted him on the shoulder.
"I was just leaving Junior".
Junior plopped down into the seat Josef had vacated only moments before.
"I'm sorry Vinny, and I support everything you said, but I need to ask how final your decision is".
Vinny stopped his packing to answer Junior.
"You don't owe me any apology, my comments were directed at your Poppa, his actions have nothing to do with you".
Junior noted Vinny hadn't answered his question.
"But we both know that's not strictly true, okay his motivation for getting me into the Chair was purely to stroke his own ego, but when I look back I could have stopped him quite some time back, I suppose I got some perverted pleasure out of being considered for the role, I let it cloud my judgment, what we talked about still applies, if you were in the Chair, I'd stand next to you, but only next to you, I don't want the chair, and I wouldn't stand next to anyone else, so will you answer my question, how final is your decision?".
Vinny was leaning back against his desk.
"About as final as it gets, as I've just told Jo, this time there's no going back, he went too far, even family don't get a pass when they do what he has, I don't want it to cause a rift between you and I, it wasn't your actions that led to it whatever you think".
Junior stood up to leave as Vinny turned back to continue his packing, but before he left he said one last thing.
"I'm hoping my Poppa will come grovelling, and that you'll accept his apology, if that miracle happens, and you do accept the Chair, remember I'd be proud to stand beside you Vin, if you wanted me to".
Vinny turned to answer, but Junior was already gone.
Dinner that night at The Nest was never going to be a comfortable affair.
They'd all been staying there, Juan, Milo, Junior, plus Josef and Vinny, who of course lived there, add to that it had been seen as a dinner where they would be ushering in a new Chairman and Vice Chairman, Rick and Sofia were present.
Instead it was a difficult and strained dinner where Carry announced.
"I would ask you to remember this is a family dinner, there will be no business talk, nor talk of anything related to the events of the day".
They'd all agreed, though the outcome had been the strained silence throughout dinner.
But when coffee had been served, Juan couldn't hold his tongue.
"I'm sorry Vinny, I really am, I hurt you and know I shouldn't have, you're not the person I kept describing you as, you're what we need, everyone knows I've always been the loose cannon, please show us all you can rise above this, accept that I'm just a dick, please?".
But it wasn't Vinny who answered, it was Josef who stood to answer his brother, and they could all see immediately, he was struggling.
"It didn't have to be like this, I've coached Vinny for so long, we agreed years ago that he was the one, why Juan, why?".
Then to their horror he collapsed, gripping the table cloth, pulling a whole load of china and glassware with him, he disappeared, his chair flying backwards, as Carry screamed.
Juan's, Milo's, and Rick's monitors started screaming, they didn't need to check them, they knew why, this was the worst scenario, Guardian One was down.
Carry was the first to regain her senses, her wrist monitor was glowing red, she'd pressed it.
"This is Carry Caswell-Thorn, Guardian One is down, I need all the medical help you can muster, I think it's a heart attack, I'm going to administer CPR, get me some help now, bring in an air ambulance".
Surprising everyone out of their shocked state, Guardian's Controler sounded through the apartments speaker system.
"This is Guardian Control, Medics and air ambulance are on route, we don't have vitals, are you administering resuscitation, do chest compressions, he's not showing a return".
Vinny eased Carry aside.
"I'll do Chest compressions, you do mouth to mouth, I'm not kissing him, but believe me, he's going nowhere except a hospital to recover".
Carry would remember Vinny's words later.
Carry grabbed Josef's jaw and yanked it open, gulping a big breath she started mouth to mouth, as Vinny started pumping Josef's chest counting methodically with each push.
They'd administered cycle after cycle before paramedics were easing them both aside.
At just that moment, from the apartment sound system Guardian's Controler could be heard saying.
"Yes, we have vitals".
The lead paramedic looked between Carry and Vinny.
"Good work, between you, you brought him back, now let's get him stabilised, then we can send him on a little birdie hop".
Paulette was hugging Vinny in tears, but he saw Carry stood all alone, crying and looking terrified, so he lifted Paulette's head until she was level with his face.
"Your Momma, she needs you, take care of her".
Paulette understood immediately, turning to embrace her Momma.
For Vinny the rest of that night was a blur, they'd waited hours at the hospital, the atmosphere completely toxic, until Josef was wheeled back into his suite from theatre.
Carry had hardly waited for his bed to be pushed into place before she had him in her arms.
"You stupid old fool, you were told not to get agitated".
He'd had Carry on one side of him, and Paulette on the other, until he'd held out his hand to Vinny.
"Thank you Vinny, I hear I have you and Carry to thank for being here, now perhaps you'll understand, that's what I meant about coping in a crisis".
Juan had come to stand next to Carry, as she moved aside for him he hesitated, until Josef reached out and pulled him in.
"I'm sorry Jo, so sorry, this was all my fault, I could have killed you with my stupidity, are you going to be alright?, will you mend?".
Josef replied.
"I'll be alright, I won't mend fully, but as long as I know my limits I should be okay".
Carry's tone was less than friendly.
"One of those limits is no more work, so you need to get busy finding a replacement Chairman and Vice Chairman, since your stupidity was responsible for the company not having either of the ones Josef hand picked and nurtured".
Ralph had arrived during the night, not knowing about the lead up to Josef's attack but picking up bits of information all night, and seeing how they were all treating Juan, he was getting steadily more irritated.
Ralph heard Milo rebuff Juan's attempt at an apology and he turned on him.
"I hear you now firing off your indignant reply, but where was your voice during these meetings, why didn't any of you stop him, why didn't I know about his actions?, get down from your moral pedestal Milo, because believe me, I'm not the only one gunning for you".
Milo felt a shiver as he realised what Ralph meant, Piers knew, then he listened as the tirade was turned on the rest of the rooms occupants.
"You can all stop this right now, oh don't get me wrong, when we get back to Madrid I'm going to knock him around every wall in our apartment but you need to listen, because it's me your challenging now, he's trying to apologise, and you're all pushing him away".
He'd paused in the silence.
"Some of the people in this room knew this could happen, you should have told us about Josef's condition but you didn't, do you seriously think he would have done what he did if he'd known, do you actually think he wouldn't care that his actions might have killed his brother?".
He'd paused to try to get his temper under control.
"You all contributed to the events of this night so I'll warn you, don't any of you chance a face off with me on that one because I'll eat you alive and spit you out when I'm finished".
They'd started to object, but that was the point were a voice from the doorway behind Ralph silenced them all, and caused them all to worry, the voice was unmistakably Piers in fighting mode.
"And he won't be standing alone, he'll have me by his side, so who's up for a challenge, how's about you start us off my dear husband, tell me Milo, why didn't I know this was going on until I spoke with Juan earlier?, or perhaps you'd like to chip in now Carry, or you Paulette, anything you want to say Rick?, my son is being vilified and I don't get to hear about it until the person responsible has the ball's to call me to apologise, knowing he's likely to suffer my wrath
Milo started to say something, but Piers cut him off, and he was clearly on a roll.
"I'm not finished, don't get me wrong, like Ralph, I'm ready to knock Juan around the room, but that will be one on one, not a concentrated attack by several family members, who seem to have suddenly found their balls, it's a shame you couldn't have grown them earlier and prevented what you collectively wrought on Josef this night, try thinking back, not too long ago you brought Juan out to me in Sydney when I was threatening to break the family, and despite the fact I was causing him pain, he came to save me, well I'm returning the favour, yes he's been a first class pratt, yes he deserves a good smacking but again I say, that won't be a collective attack, so drop the attitude, or be prepared for the consequences".
He'd then crossed the room to hug Josef, and everyone saw the exchanged whispers, before Piers turned to address Vinny and Junior.
"And you pair can stop acting like hormonal princesses, you're the new Chair and Vice Chair, or you will be in a few moments, I believe we have the full board here, could someone please propose Vinny as Chairman, and Junior as Vice Chairman".
Milo was first to make the proposal, as Piers spoke again.
"Okay, speaking on behalf of, in the presence of, and with the express permission of the current Chairman, please raise your hands, all in favour".
The vote was carried in Josef's hospital suite, and they would laugh about it for years to come, Piers being Piers had simply walked in and done what they, the Guardian Board, should all have done many months earlier.
Guardian, like all of the individual family businesses around the world, was moving on, the dynasty was assured, another generation was taking control.
The end.
Comments are welcome to cfgw2000@aol.com.
Thank you for giving me your time, enjoy.