Chapter 10 - People with Their Own Children
Karen Chen ran the distribution company and had no patience for family theatrics. She arrived carrying bad coffee.
"We're short on scheduled freight," she said. "Not short on people who need their wages. There's a difference."
"How long can we cover them?"
"Six weeks from cash reserves without cutting safety or insurance. Longer if we find replacement customers. But your father has already made calls."
"Calls to whom?"
"Customers who don't want trouble. He tells them the company is unstable because you've made a personal decision."
Alessandro leaned against the desk. "Can you keep it running if I separate the operation from the family partnerships?"
Karen stared. "Are you offering me actual control, or will somebody named Moretti overrule me next Tuesday?"
"Actual control. Subject to independent review."
"Then start by telling the workers the truth. Not about the wedding. About the contracts."
They held a staff meeting at the warehouse that evening. Rosa heard about it from Teresa, whose nephew drove delivery routes.
"He stood there and admitted he didn't know the numbers," Teresa said over the phone. "Karen told everyone what she did know."
"And were they paid?"
"Not yet. Ask me again on Friday."
Rosa appreciated that answer. Intentions did not cover rent.
That night Alessandro called with Rosa's permission. Lily was coloring on the floor.
"The library was good," he said.
"She liked you better as a bear."
"That's fair."
A pause stretched between them.
"My father is punishing the workers because I ended the engagement," Alessandro said. "I didn't realize how much of the business he still controlled."
"You didn't want to know."
He exhaled. "Probably."
"Don't make Lily the reason those people lose their jobs. That would be a burden she'd carry without ever choosing it."
"Then what do I tell them?"
"The truth. You chose not to marry. Your father chose to retaliate. And now you have to do the hard work you avoided for years."
In the background Lily began singing to Bun.
May you like
"Rosa," Alessandro said, "I think someone in my family has been frightened of losing control for so long that they forgot what control costs."
"That's not new," she replied. "What's new is whether you're going to stop paying that cost with someone else's life."
