Chapter 171: Not Going Back

"Elias, take me to Vance Holdings."

Elias glanced at him through the rearview mirror.

"Yes, sir."

That was all he asked.

Alexander appreciated it.

He settled against the back seat and looked out the window as the car pulled away from the fertility center.

The folder from their appointment rested beside him.

He’d spent the last several weeks making decisions about a future that still felt remarkably distant. Frozen sperm. Egg donors. Embryos that didn’t exist yet. Children who might someday call him and Giovanni their fathers.

Strangely enough, all that planning had finally helped Alexander decide on something much closer.

He wasn’t going back.

When Alexander first stepped away from Vance Holdings, the arrangement had been temporary.

Five months.

That was what everyone had been told, and at the time, Alexander had fully expected to return when those five months ended.

He’d simply needed time.

Time away from the Board.

Time away from the responsibilities he’d carried for years.

Time to figure out what he wanted after one spectacularly humiliating day had forced him to reconsider almost every plan he’d made for his future.

Then Second Life Workshop happened.

What had started as a business model for his master’s program became something Alexander genuinely enjoyed building. The company was considerably smaller than Vance Holdings, occasionally chaotic, and currently operating out of temporary facilities because the original workshop had caught fire.

Objectively, it was far less impressive than being CEO of one of the country’s largest companies.

Alexander liked it anyway.

Perhaps more importantly, he liked the person he’d become while running it.

His life hadn’t stopped simply because he wasn’t sitting in the CEO’s office at Vance Holdings.

Vance Holdings hadn’t collapsed either.

That realization had taken longer to accept.

For most of Alexander’s adult life, the company had been treated as something he would eventually inherit not only in ownership but in responsibility. Augustus had built it. Alejandro had carried it forward. Alexander had taken his place after them because that was simply what came next.

He’d never seriously questioned whether he wanted the position.

Until now.

The car slowed as they entered the business district.

Alexander looked down at the folder beside him.

He and Giovanni weren’t having a child tomorrow.

They hadn’t even chosen an egg donor yet.

But for the first time, Alexander wasn’t thinking about children as something that belonged to some distant point after he’d accomplished everything else.

He wanted a family.

And when that family eventually came, he wanted enough room in his life actually to enjoy it.

That didn’t mean he intended to stop working.

Alexander would probably lose his mind within a month if someone told him to stay home and do nothing.

He simply no longer wanted Vance Holdings to shape his entire life.

By the time the familiar tower came into view, Alexander knew there was nothing left to reconsider.

"Sir?"

Alexander looked toward the front.

Elias had slowed near the private entrance.

"We’re here."

Alexander nodded.

"Thank you."

He picked up the folder but didn’t open the door immediately.

For years, arriving at this building had been automatic. Elias would bring him to the entrance, Alexander would go upstairs, and somewhere inside the tower, Vincent would already have his schedule prepared.

Meetings.

Reports.

Approvals.

Problems requiring the CEO’s attention.

Today was different.

Today, Alexander was going upstairs to tell them he wasn’t coming back.

The Board members Alexander had requested were assembled less than an hour later.

Some confusion arose over the sudden meeting, especially since Alexander was still officially on leave, but nobody objected when Vance Holdings’ controlling shareholder requested a conference room.

Alexander hadn’t surrendered his ownership when he stepped away from management.

He wouldn’t surrender it now.

The shares passed down through his family still gave him a controlling interest in Vance Holdings. Resigning as Chief Executive Officer wouldn’t change that.

It would simply change his job.

Alexander waited until everyone had settled before speaking.

"When I took my leave, I told the Board I intended to return after five months."

Several people nodded.

"I’ve changed my mind."

Silence settled across the conference room.

Alexander had expected surprise.

He hadn’t expected Director Lim to speak first.

"You’re extending your leave?"

"No."

That seemed to confuse them even more.

Alexander folded his hands on the table.

"I won’t be resuming my duties as Chief Executive Officer."

This time, the silence lasted considerably longer.

Someone shifted in his seat.

Another director looked toward the chairman.

Director Lim simply watched Alexander.

"Is this resignation effective immediately?"

"Not today. I want the transition handled properly."

That seemed to release some of the tension.

Alexander continued.

"The company has been operating without me for months. I’m not interested in disrupting that simply to make my resignation symbolic. The Board can determine whether the current leadership arrangement should become permanent or whether a formal search for a new CEO is necessary."

"And your position with the Board?"

"I’ll remain available as a non-executive director if the Board and shareholders approve the arrangement."

One of the older directors frowned.

"You’re still the controlling shareholder."

"Yes."

"You intend to retain your shares?"

Alexander almost smiled.

"I’m resigning as CEO. I’m not giving away my company."

That earned a few relieved expressions.

Good.

Apparently, someone had been imagining a considerably more dramatic announcement.

Alexander had no intention of abandoning Vance Holdings.

The company remained part of his family’s legacy and a substantial part of his own financial future. He would continue voting his shares, reviewing major matters that properly came before the Board, and protecting his interests as an owner.

He simply didn’t want to run it every morning.

Director Lim leaned back.

"May I ask what changed?"

Alexander had expected that question.

Surprisingly, the answer was much simpler than it would’ve been several months ago.

"I did."

Nobody interrupted.

"When I took the leave, I thought I needed time before coming back. I assumed I’d eventually return because that was what I’d always planned to do."

Alexander paused.

"But being away made me realize that I don’t actually want to come back."

There.

No complicated explanation.

No excuse.

Just the truth.

"I have other things I want to build," he continued. "Second Life Workshop is one of them. There are also parts of my personal life that I want enough time actually to live."

He wasn’t going to announce his fertility plans to the Board.

They didn’t need to know that he’d spent the morning discussing egg donors.

They certainly didn’t need to know about Giovanni’s allegedly superior swimmers.

That particular information could die with Alexander.

Director Lim studied him for another moment, then nodded.

"Then we’ll need to begin formal transition discussions."

"Yes."

"And identify permanent executive leadership."

"Yes."

Alexander felt something loosen inside his chest.

He’d expected this moment to hurt more.

Vance Holdings had consumed too much of his life for walking away from the CEO position to feel completely ordinary.

Yet there was no grief.

Mostly, there was relief.

They spent the next hour discussing practical matters.

Alexander’s resignation would be formally documented. The Board would review the current executive arrangement and begin whatever process was necessary to appoint permanent leadership. Alexander’s continuing role as a non-executive director would also be handled through the proper corporate procedures rather than simply assumed because of his ownership.

Nothing needed to happen recklessly.

Alexander had spent too many years protecting Vance Holdings to damage it on his way out.

By the time the meeting ended, everyone understood one thing clearly.

Alexander Vance would remain an owner of Vance Holdings.

He simply wouldn’t be its CEO anymore.

He gathered his papers and left the conference room.

The corridor outside looked the same.

For some reason, Alexander had expected it to feel different.

Then he remembered someone downstairs who didn’t yet know that today’s decision might affect him too.

Elias.

Alexander stopped walking.

Right.

He’d been so focused on what leaving Vance Holdings meant for himself that he’d overlooked one practical problem.

If he wasn’t returning as CEO, what exactly happened to the man who had spent the last several months waiting to find out whether his temporary assignment would become permanent?

Alexander looked toward the elevators.

He called HR. "Is there an executive vacancy for my driver since I am no longer coming back as CEO?"

HR Manager checked his computer for vacancies.

"None at the moment, sir. There is one for a fleet driver."