The Wright Mistake(13)

“What?” Sutton finally gasped out. “What the fuck?”

“Yeah. What she said,” Landon said. Slack-jawed, he pointed his thumb at Sutton.

I just stared. It was as if everything in our lives had fit into this perfect little bubble, and then suddenly, Jensen had gone and burst it.

“I know this might come as a shock to you all,” Jensen said.

“Understatement,” I muttered.

“However, I feel like this is the best move for all of us going forward. As you know, I studied architecture in college and worked in New York for some time, focused on that. It wasn’t what…our dad wanted from me, but it was what I loved. After much consideration, I’ve decided that I should follow my dreams and work in architecture again. I might be good at what I do, but I don’t love it, like when I was designing and building things. It isn’t the same.”

“Wow. That’s really awesome, Jensen,” Landon said.

“I love it!” Sutton said.

I nodded. I was happy for him. If he was going to start his own architecture firm, then by all means, he should do it. But what’s going to happen to the company?

“Am I the only one wondering where the hell we’ll go from here?”

Jensen frowned. “I’m sure you’re not.”

“Okay. Then, where the hell do we go from here?” I set my beer down and leaned my elbows against my knees. I was interested now.

“I’ve spoken to the board about my decision,” Jensen said, “but I wanted to talk to you all about what was happening. You are Wright Construction as much as I am.” He cleared his throat and continued when it seemed no one had anything to say about that, “With that said, I’ve put Morgan’s name forward to be our next CEO.”

All eyes shifted from Jensen to Morgan, who had been standing next to him with her hands behind her back this whole time. She beamed at the statement. Twenty-seven years old and set to be the CEO. Badass!

“The board approved the decision,” Morgan added.

She didn’t seem shy or nervous about the decision. She looked ready. Poised and fucking ready to take on this huge responsibility. She was going to dominate.

“Hell yes!” I said, standing and pulling my sister in for a hug.

She startled a little at my enthusiasm. But how could she be surprised? Morgan was second-in-command. Everyone knew she loved Wright Construction more than Jensen and that she had trained for this moment. It had maybe come a little earlier than expected.

Landon and Sutton jumped up next and were quick to give hugs and congratulations. Morgan looked relieved. As if she had known that she was ready for this step but still worried about what we would think, which I thought was fucking dumb. The board had agreed. They thought she was legit. And they were right. The company was lucky to have someone like Morgan run it.

“I’m really excited to take on this new challenge. I think it’s going to be a whole new step for the company,” Morgan said.

“It’s going to be great,” Jensen said. He placed his hand on her shoulder and beamed. “Of course, it won’t be immediate. There will be a transitional period while we slowly move Morgan into this key role. But this was step one, and we wanted you to know.”

“Who is going to take Morgan’s job?” Landon asked.

And then a bell seemed to go off in my head.

If Morgan was CEO, that meant that her position was up for grabs. Holy shit! That was my position. Sutton didn’t work. Landon had golf. That meant, I was next in line. It made just as much sense as Morgan stepping into Jensen’s shoes.

I was a Wright.

I deserved this position.

“We’re, uh, still working that out,” Jensen said.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“It means that the board is still in consultation about how to transition Morgan’s position.”

I narrowed my eyes. What the hell did that mean? How hard was it to say that another Wright would take over?

Jensen pushed past the rest of the family and tilted his head toward the kitchen. “Can we talk somewhere more private?”

“Sure,” I said in confusion. I couldn’t seem to grasp what was going on.

We veered out of earshot of the rest of the family, leaving them alone to congratulate Morgan. Jensen shot me a pained expression, as if what he was about to say was something he was really not looking forward to.

“What’s going on, Jensen?” I demanded.

“Look, I put your name up to the board to take Morgan’s job.”

“Great!”

“And they declined you.”

My jaw dropped open. “They did what?”

“I don’t know how to say this gently, Austin, but they don’t think you’d be a suitable replacement for Morgan. You…give off the wrong image for the company.”