Chapter 8 - THE COMPANY VOTE
Bellmere Design Group held an emergency shareholder meeting six weeks after Aloan’s birth.
Claire attended in person.
Still pale.
Still healing.
Still tired.
But present.
Sullivan had no role.
Philippa had no role.
That mattered.
Julia proposed permanent governance changes:
No spouse or relative could act as proxy without independent verification.
Temporary incapacity authority required direct confirmation from the founder or two independent professionals where legally appropriate.
Family-related projects required conflict review.
No emailed signature image could substitute for authenticated consent.
The board approved everything unanimously.
Then Julia turned to Claire.
“Do you want to resume full operational duties?”
Claire looked at Aloan’s photo on her phone.
“No.”
Everyone paused.
Claire smiled faintly.
“I want twelve weeks of actual maternity leave.”
Julia laughed through tears.
“Approved.”
Claire had spent weeks fighting to prove she was capable.
Now she understood she did not have to perform capability every second to retain autonomy.
Rest was not incompetence.
Recovery was not incapacity.
May you like
Motherhood was not surrender.
That distinction became the center of everything that followed.
