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Authors: Sophia Kenzie
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to deceive her into falling in love with me without
falling for her in the process. I think I tried to convince myself I could, but
on some level, I knew the reality wasn’t there.
Or maybe on that same level, I actually did want to fall in
love with her?
“I’ll answer any questions you have, in any order you’d like
them, if you go out with me.”
“What? No.”
“A simple dinner. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to spend an evening with you. Not the
reporter you. Just you.”
“No you don’t.”
This was a different Ashley than I had seen that night in
her apartment, a different Ashley than in the library. That layer-deep
confidence I had seen in those instances had disappeared. I was asking her out
to dinner, which meant she would need to talk to me without the help of copious
amounts of alcohol. It was as if sex didn’t scare her; it was the connecting to
other people part that did. I was asking her to connect. She turned into a
terrified child right in front of me.
“Ashley,” I reached my hand out to her, “it’s just dinner.”
“It’s never just dinner.”
It never is just dinner, is it?
“No one thinks I can do it.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father’s job. No one thinks I can do it. Everyone knows
what parties I attend on the weekends, but no one knows the work I’ve been
putting in for years to understand the inner workings of Stoneguard Holdings. A
company, especially one as big as my family’s, has a heart, a bloodline, and it
needs to be treated as such. Turn your voice recorder back on, and I’ll answer
your questions… Is it recording?”
TS: You asked me why I think I deserve to be at the helm
of my father’s company. That question has so many answers, the first of which
being that it is my family’s business. One day, my father will decide to step
down from his position, and at that time, someone else will need to take over. I
have been groomed my entire life for that role, and I take pride in the fact
that this is my family’s legacy. It’s not just about money and power for me:
it’s love. Who, more than me, would see to it that that legacy stays intact? But
I know that’s not what you’re asking, Miss Leigh. You both heard of and have
written the stories that have made me out to be an irresponsible child of
wealth. And I’m not denying those allegations, but things aren’t always as they
seem. You know how people say that you learn from your mistakes? As the head of
a company, you must be able to take risks, confident risks, but mistakes come
at a much greater cost. You make a wrong decision and thousands of people could
lose their jobs. Now, while I’m still at a point where my mistakes affect no
one but myself, I’m testing my boundaries. Even my little poker night, which
was completely legal by the way, was just a way for me to learn responsibility,
strategies, and tactics. I organized, recruited, delegated, collected,
distributed, and profited. Those are all things that are now not foreign to me.
I can take these lessons I have learned and roll them into a bigger project. I
can take bigger risks. In no way am I saying that I will be ready to preside
over Stoneguard Holdings tomorrow, but when that day does come, I will have
taken every step necessary to ensure confidence in myself and everyone who will
report to me.
OMITTED
AL: That was… wow.
TS: See why I suggested that you start small?
AL: So you’ve done this before?
TS: Nope, just practiced. This is just another thing on my
checklist.
AL: Things to do before you become CEO?
TS: Something like that.
AL: Tell me, what’s your favorite thing to do on a
Sunday?
OMITTED
TS: That’s a much better opening question: simple, original,
and yet still personal.
AL: Ha. Thanks. It feels much better. Are you going to
answer it?
TS: I will.
TS: Nothing. Honestly. I never want to be one of those
people who work
falling for her in the process. I think I tried to convince myself I could, but
on some level, I knew the reality wasn’t there.
Or maybe on that same level, I actually did want to fall in
love with her?
“I’ll answer any questions you have, in any order you’d like
them, if you go out with me.”
“What? No.”
“A simple dinner. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to spend an evening with you. Not the
reporter you. Just you.”
“No you don’t.”
This was a different Ashley than I had seen that night in
her apartment, a different Ashley than in the library. That layer-deep
confidence I had seen in those instances had disappeared. I was asking her out
to dinner, which meant she would need to talk to me without the help of copious
amounts of alcohol. It was as if sex didn’t scare her; it was the connecting to
other people part that did. I was asking her to connect. She turned into a
terrified child right in front of me.
“Ashley,” I reached my hand out to her, “it’s just dinner.”
“It’s never just dinner.”
It never is just dinner, is it?
“No one thinks I can do it.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father’s job. No one thinks I can do it. Everyone knows
what parties I attend on the weekends, but no one knows the work I’ve been
putting in for years to understand the inner workings of Stoneguard Holdings. A
company, especially one as big as my family’s, has a heart, a bloodline, and it
needs to be treated as such. Turn your voice recorder back on, and I’ll answer
your questions… Is it recording?”
TS: You asked me why I think I deserve to be at the helm
of my father’s company. That question has so many answers, the first of which
being that it is my family’s business. One day, my father will decide to step
down from his position, and at that time, someone else will need to take over. I
have been groomed my entire life for that role, and I take pride in the fact
that this is my family’s legacy. It’s not just about money and power for me:
it’s love. Who, more than me, would see to it that that legacy stays intact? But
I know that’s not what you’re asking, Miss Leigh. You both heard of and have
written the stories that have made me out to be an irresponsible child of
wealth. And I’m not denying those allegations, but things aren’t always as they
seem. You know how people say that you learn from your mistakes? As the head of
a company, you must be able to take risks, confident risks, but mistakes come
at a much greater cost. You make a wrong decision and thousands of people could
lose their jobs. Now, while I’m still at a point where my mistakes affect no
one but myself, I’m testing my boundaries. Even my little poker night, which
was completely legal by the way, was just a way for me to learn responsibility,
strategies, and tactics. I organized, recruited, delegated, collected,
distributed, and profited. Those are all things that are now not foreign to me.
I can take these lessons I have learned and roll them into a bigger project. I
can take bigger risks. In no way am I saying that I will be ready to preside
over Stoneguard Holdings tomorrow, but when that day does come, I will have
taken every step necessary to ensure confidence in myself and everyone who will
report to me.
OMITTED
AL: That was… wow.
TS: See why I suggested that you start small?
AL: So you’ve done this before?
TS: Nope, just practiced. This is just another thing on my
checklist.
AL: Things to do before you become CEO?
TS: Something like that.
AL: Tell me, what’s your favorite thing to do on a
Sunday?
OMITTED
TS: That’s a much better opening question: simple, original,
and yet still personal.
AL: Ha. Thanks. It feels much better. Are you going to
answer it?
TS: I will.
TS: Nothing. Honestly. I never want to be one of those
people who work
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