They Gave Me a Monthly Allowance, So I Took Back My Building novel · Chapter 12 of 24

Chapter 12: Harvest Terms

The meeting was held at ten in the barrel hall of the first winery.

Forty chairs stood in rows between the oak casks.

Every family in the valley had sent someone, and most had sent the head of the house.

I walked in with my lawyer and the auditor, and the room went quiet.

Ruggero stood at a lectern at the front with a binder under his hand.

Donata sat in the first row in a pale suit, with her eyes down.

"Thank you for coming," Ruggero said. "I'll keep this short."

He didn't look at me.

"Caterina Bellandi is a young woman under great strain."

He said it gently.

"Her aunt, who has managed her affairs for years, has expressed concern for her judgment. In recent days she has made accusations that have upset the staff."

He turned a page.

"This meeting will decide whether the families still consider her fit to sign for her shares."

He closed the binder on one finger.

"Until she's well, the partnership should hold her proxy."

A murmur ran along the rows.

Donata lifted her handkerchief to her eyes.

I walked up the center aisle.

Nobody stopped me.

I stood beside the lectern and faced the room.

"I'm not here to defend my judgment," I said.

"I'm here to show you what the people questioning it have been doing."

Ruggero reached for my arm.

"Don't touch me," I said, loud enough for the back row.

He took his hand away.

The auditor stepped forward.

She handed a single page to the nearest man in the front row, and he passed it back along the line.

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