Free Web NovelChapter 214: Recognition Comes At A Cost
Stan dropped Sophie off at her morning meeting with a quick kiss and a lingering smile through the driver’s window before pulling the Huracán back onto the road and heading toward Velaris City.
The shareholders’ meeting was still three hours away, leaving him with plenty of time to spare.
The meeting was going to be held at a hotel right next to the branch, but after a moment’s thought, Stan decided to stop by the Star Entertainment branch first.
Part of him wanted to see how Vivian was handling her newly restored responsibilities, while the other part simply wanted to make sure, with his own eyes, that she hadn’t fallen back into her old habit of slacking off.
The first thing Stan noticed when he pulled up to the building was that the security guard at the entrance greeted him by name.
"Good morning, Mr. Harrison." The man’s voice was filled with respect as he looked at Stan reverently with dreamy eyes. It was unknown what was going through his mind at that moment...
The second thing he noticed was that the receptionist did the same.
The third was that two staff members crossing the lobby toward the elevator bank immediately stopped what they were doing to greet him with a sort of bow.
Their respect and warmth were really pronounced; after all, they were employees who had recently learned he was far more important than they’d previously realized.
Stan paused beside the elevator.
The deference was new. None of these people had recognized him during his last visit.
Something had changed. It was strange, but Stan was sure that something must’ve happened...
Once inside the elevator, he pulled out his phone and opened Star Entertainment’s internal communications platform, the company-wide channel used for official announcements.
It didn’t take long to find the reason.
At the very top of the feed sat a formal announcement from Madeline Chen, co-signed by the company’s other senior shareholders.
The statement officially confirmed that Stan Harrison was the largest individual shareholder of Star Entertainment, holding thirty percent of the company and, in terms of voting weight and structural authority, serving as the principal shareholder among them.
Stan exhaled slowly. It was definitely strange that Mrs. Chen and the other shareholders would not only openly acknowledge this but also announce it. It was definitely strange...
Sighing, he opened his messages and sent Chen a text.
Stan: [The internal announcement.]
The reply arrived almost immediately.
Chen, like most senior figures who understood exactly how much weight Stan’s name carried, wasn’t in the habit of leaving him waiting.
Chen: [Yes. I authorized it this morning.]
Stan: [Reason?]
Chen: [Some lower-level branch staff who attended the talent show didn’t realize who you were when they saw you seated at our table. Several of them later learned the truth through external coverage, which created an awkward situation for the company. I felt it was best that every employee across the network clearly understand the ownership structure going forward. It prevents future misunderstandings and ensures you receive the appropriate recognition whenever you visit one of our properties.]
Stan considered that. From a corporate standpoint, the reasoning was perfectly sound.
From a personal standpoint, it sounded exhausting.
Being greeted by name and bowed to every time he walked into a Star Entertainment building anywhere in the world was going to become tedious at best and conspicuous at worst.
And he wasn’t particularly fond of being conspicuous.
Unfortunately, the announcement had already been distributed.
Undoing it now would require an even louder correction, which would defeat the purpose.
Stan: [That was thoughtful of you.] fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Chen: [I’m glad it meets with your approval, Sir Stan. We’ll discuss it further at this morning’s meeting.]
Sighing and shaking his head at the thought of how stressful his future visits might be, Stan slipped the phone back into his pocket.
A moment later, the elevator chimed.
The doors slid open onto the manager’s floor.
He walked down the corridor to Vivian’s office and walked in.
Vivian sat behind her desk, her head lowered over a stack of contracts, working through them with the focused, slightly tense concentration of someone who had been at it for hours and had already calculated exactly how many more hours remained before she could call it a day.
’Good,’ Stan thought. ’She was actually working. I guess the change in her I noticed during that talent show is solid. She really wants to keep her job...’
Stan noticed another thing that surprised him, she wasn’t alone.
A man in his late twenties lounged comfortably in one of the visitor chairs near the corner of the office. He carried himself with the relaxed confidence of someone who felt entirely at home in the space and had no need to prove himself to anyone. He had been in the middle of saying something when the door opened.
Stan recognized the relationship immediately.
The resemblance was impossible to miss; he had the same blonde hair as Vivian, the same family bone structure, the same jawline and eye shape. It was as though someone had taken Vivian’s features and reassembled them into a broader, more masculine face.
Vivian looked up and immediately rose to her feet, her professional composure snapping into place with impressive speed.
Clearly, she hadn’t expected her boss to walk in during a personal visit.
"Sir Stan."
She offered a small, slightly apologetic smile and gestured toward the man.
"This is Von, my elder brother. He surprised me with a visit this morning. Von, this is Sir Stan, my superior."
Von stood and extended a hand. Stan accepted it, and they shook hands...
The handshake was firm without being aggressive, steady without trying to dominate. It was the handshake of a man who had been taught proper manners and, over time, had grown comfortable enough with his own status that he no longer felt the need to put effort into impressing anyone.
Beneath it all lingered a trace of quiet arrogance. Not the loud, obnoxious kind, but the subtler variety that came from spending most of one’s life being treated as important.
"It’s my pleasure to meet you," Von said with a slight smile on his face.
"Likewise," Stan replied.
