CHAPTER 2 — THE JANITOR THEY NEVER STOPPED CALLING "BOSS"
Nobody sat down.
Not one person.
The ballroom remained frozen.
Ethan looked around in confusion.
"What... what's going on?"
No one answered him.
The silver-haired executive slowly walked past Ethan.
Past the reporters.
Past the cameras.
He stopped in front of me.
Then, to everyone's disbelief...
He extended both hands.
"Welcome back, Mr. Carter."
I sighed.
"You really didn't have to do this, Richard."
Richard smiled.
"We've been waiting twenty-six years."
A murmur swept across the ballroom.
One investor whispered,
"Who is he?"
Another answered,
"I thought he retired."
Richard turned toward the crowd.
"You all know Ethan Carter."
"The youngest CEO in our company's history."
He paused.
"But very few of you know..."
"...who built the company before him."
Ethan laughed awkwardly.
"My father worked maintenance."
Richard looked at him.
"Yes."
"He still does."
"Because he refused to stop."
Silence.
Richard continued.
"When Carter Technologies was founded..."
"...your father wasn't the janitor."
"He was the founder."
The room exploded.
Reporters pushed closer.
Camera flashes filled the ballroom.
Ethan stared at me.
"What?"
I looked away.
"I never wanted you to know."
He shook his head.
"No..."
"That's impossible."
Richard opened his phone.
The giant presentation screen behind the stage suddenly changed.
The company logo disappeared.
A black-and-white photograph appeared instead.
A young man in muddy work boots.
Holding blueprints.
Standing beside an unfinished warehouse.
Me.
Twenty-eight years earlier.
Underneath the photo...
Six words appeared.
FOUNDER — JAMES CARTER — 1998.
Gasps echoed through the ballroom.
Ethan stumbled backward.
"You..."
"...started this company?"
I nodded once.
"With your mother."
His face lost all color.
"But..."
"You sold your shares."
"I gave them away."
"To who?"
"To you."
The room fell silent again.
Richard quietly added,
"Every share."
"Every patent."
"Every voting right."
"Without taking a single dollar."
Ethan's knees nearly gave out.
"But why would you..."
I smiled sadly.
"Because your mother made me promise..."
"...you'd inherit opportunity."
"...not obligation."
Tears filled Ethan's eyes.
"I slapped you."
I didn't answer.
Richard looked at him.
"No."
"You slapped the man..."
"...whose signature made your success possible."
Just then...
The ballroom doors burst open.
A woman in business attire rushed inside.
She was breathing hard.
"Mr. Carter!"
She wasn't looking at Ethan.
She was looking at me.
"The state inspectors are at Plant Seven."
"They've found evidence someone intentionally damaged the flood barriers."
My smile disappeared.
"Any injuries?"
"Not yet."
She swallowed.
"But if the backup pumps fail..."
"...the entire factory could collapse."
I looked at Ethan.
Then at my muddy boots.
"Looks like..."
May you like
"...maintenance isn't finished yet."
END OF CHAPTER 2.
