Chapter 16 - The Auction
The yacht auction drew ridiculous attention.
Reporters.
Influencers.
Former Richardson friends.
People who wanted a souvenir from collapse.
I almost stayed away.
Rosa asked me to come.
So I did.
Eleanor did not.
Charles did.
He stood at the back in a dark suit.
Julian stood alone.
The employee cooperative submitted its bid.
A private buyer topped it.
Then another.
The price climbed.
Every extra dollar improved recoveries.
The final winning bidder surprised everyone.
Not the cooperative.
A maritime hospitality company specializing in training programs.
They offered to lease the vessel back to the employee cooperative for one dollar a year for five years.
The yacht would become a hospitality training center.
Scholarships.
Marine safety.
Culinary apprenticeships.
The Richardson name came off the stern.
Rosa asked me to choose the new name.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Not mine.”
Employees voted.
They named it Second Shift.
I loved that.
Charles watched workers cheer.
His face looked empty.
He approached me afterward.
“You took everything.”
“No.”
I pointed at the yacht.
“You borrowed against everything.”
“There’s a difference.”
He looked at Julian.
“My son abandoned me.”
Julian heard.
He walked over.
“I testified truthfully.”
“That’s abandonment to you because obedience was the only loyalty you accepted.”
Charles looked like he had been struck.
Julian had finally learned to say things aloud.
Too late for us.
Maybe not too late for him.
Then federal agents approached Charles.
He was arrested on pension fraud, bribery, and conspiracy charges.
He looked at me as they handcuffed him.
“This is your revenge.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Revenge ended when I stopped loving Julian.”
May you like
“This is accounting.”
