She Acts Like a Dude

Chapter 30: The Layces

Chapter 30: The Layces

~August~

Ives stands up from his chair, almost tripping in the process. I reach out to help him but he raises a hand to stop me and quickly regains his bearing. He walks unsteadily to the podium and stays by his brother's side. A look of uneasiness is on his face as if confusion, awe and disbelief are fighting for dominance on his features. To tell the truth, he's not the only one who's shocked. It appears that all people in the room are.

Ivan bends again towards the microphone. "As I was saying, the position of the next company president and Chairman of the Board will be passed to Ives. This is because of personal reasons that I have discussed with my father. Ah, here he is— speaking of the devil! Let us all welcome Layce Senior!"

All heads turn to the main front door as a man and a woman stride in. It feels as though my eyes would drop from their sockets for the second time. The man looks exactly like Ives and Ivan. So it's not just twins... but triplets? As he and his companion pass by our table, I notice that on closer look, he has deeper set eyes than the two other Layces and his combed-back black hair already has some gray streaks starting to show at the ends. The woman beside him is a beauty, no longer at the prime of her youth but a beauty nevertheless. Her gold serpentine gown matches her dusk pixie-cut hair. The pair approaches the stage and the man replaces Ivan on the podium.

"Good evening to each one of you," his deep husky voice echoes across the hall. "I'm sorry if I'm late for today's very valuable occasion. I and my wife, Crescelda, have gone on a trip to Venice for the opening of a new restaurant branch, the biggest so far of all the Dining in Layce branches." A round of applause follows. "But of course, we can't miss an important event such as this. How can there be a take over and a successor if the owner himself can't pass on the business?

I know all of you have been expecting for my eldest son, Ivan, to take the responsibilities of the family's company after me but Ivan has offered to step down for his younger brother. I did not agree at first since he's the rightful heir and the one who has been trained to run the company. He managed to persuade me, however, by asking me to take a look at Ives' progress and dedication to the company, which I have observed through his records and various reports from his school and from the restaurant personnel. If Ivan hadn't urged me to consider Ives' ability in running the company, I wouldn't have noticed how my youngest son had great school marks and contributions to the business. Without my knowledge, Ives has been spending a lot of his time managing the smaller and nearer branches, introducing new marketing techniques and even menu recipes he had made himself. In the past few years, I have seen Ives' efforts in maintaining and bettering Dining in Layce, so I myself have assured that the company would be in good hands if he would take over the family business. Who am I to neglect skill over family tradition? After sharing this to the board, it was a majority decision that all the rights to the presidency and running the company would belong to Ives."

Layce Senior glances at Ives. "So with all that said, I, Iverny Patrick Hudson Layce, bequeath the family company, Dining in Layce, to Ives Layce, my second and youngest son, the third generation successor of the business."

Cheering erupts from the crowd as Ives' father proudly claps him on the back and gives him a light shove toward the podium. As he stands there, the applause slowly fades into anticipating silence.