Page 90 of Thiago
His face softened into a smile. “You can hug me for as long as you want.”
India moved immediately into his warm embrace and lay her head on his shoulder. He rubbed her back as he held her, and tears welled in her eyes.
Verna came out of the kitchen with three glasses of tea on a tray. A smile of approval touched her lips as she watched father and daughter cling to each other.
Considering her recent breakup with Thiago, India was relieved to experience a moment of true happiness.
She didn’t have to report to her job in Miami for another month, and she would spend every moment she could with her father, getting to know him and letting him get to know her.
This new relationship would soften the blow of losing Thiago, and in time—hopefully—thoughts of him would no longer make her heart ache.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Are we ready?” Thiago asked Amir.
Amir had set up the audiovisual equipment. Nodding, he sat down with the rest of the employees crowded into the conference room. Thiago took his place behind the microphone and placed his hands on the podium.
Normally, he liked to have prepared notes to refer to, but he had decided to speak off the cuff to the thousands of employees around the world via videoconference. The screen in front of him showed images of staff in various locations, waiting for the big announcement.
“Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to all of you.”
He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts and then looked directly into the camera, speaking to each and every employee.
“In the past year since I took over as CEO, Santana International has grown into an extraordinary company. Not solely because of me or any one person or office, but because of each and every one of you watching right now—in North America, South America, and other parts of the world. Each of you has given your time and effort to make this companysuccessful. Thanks to you, we have reached a major milestone. The preliminary numbers will be confirmed in a few weeks at the end of the quarter, but I am pleased to announce we have achieved our revenue goals. Santana International is officially a billion-dollar corporation!”
Applause and cheers filled the room and filtered in from the overseas locations via the screens. They had seized twenty-three percent of Santiago Migos’s market share while the company continued to struggle with the fallout of the tequila scandal, surpassing Santana International’s goals for the quarter.
Thiago waited until the commotion quieted down. “Despite the good news, that’s not why I requested this company-wide meeting, the first of its kind. For months, you have probably heard whispers about what’s next for our company. You may have heard we were planning to take Santana International public, and yes, I considered that route. In the end, I realized something important: we do not need Wall Street to define our worth. We already know our value.”
There were a few gasps and whispers from some staff, including members of the executive team, who appeared bewildered as they looked around the room and came to the realization that his goals had changed.
“I do not wish to reduce our company to numbers on a quarterly report. We are much more than that. Our strength was, is, and will always be in the talent and dedication of the people who show up each day, solve problems, build relationships with our vendors, and simply make us one of the best companies to work for and work with.
“So today, I am announcing a new chapter at Santana International. One that I know the previous CEO, my father, Benicio Santana, would be very proud of. In honor of his vision of a company that stands for more than profits, instead of selling shares to strangers, we are going to invest in each other. We aregoing to invest in you. Starting at the beginning of the fourth quarter, we will launch a profit-sharing program delineated by region. Bonuses will no longer be limited to the top executives. All permanent employees will share in the profits of their individual region—from the mailroom to the boardroom.”
More gasps and big smiles as the admins and other support staff processed the information.
“This is not a gift,” Thiago continued. “This is recognition. You are the heart of our organization, and when you put in the work, you should share in its success. Details will be forthcoming from your managers and supervisors, but I wanted to thank you myself for your efforts. You have earned this. The future of Santana International belongs to all of us, and together, we will continue to win and succeed. Thank you.”
Half the room shot to their feet and started clapping. More cheers could be heard on the screens as the international locations also celebrated.
Standing at the podium, Thiago experienced a great sense of accomplishment.
He only wished India could have been there to share the moment, which simply didn’t feel complete without her presence.
Late in the afternoon, Thiago cruised along the highway in his red Ferrari Roma. This morning’s announcement had gone well. He’d felt a moment of self-satisfaction when staff heard the news, instead of what they had expected, which was thewe’re going publicspeech. Seeing their reactions, he had no doubt he had made the right decision, and his father had been ecstatic when Thiago called and told him of the change.
Now he was on his way to India’s apartment. On the seat beside him were peace offerings:arepas con quesofrom Bruno and chocolate chip cookies with macadamia nuts from Mama Rosa. He hoped they were enough to get him in the door.
Traffic was tight as he pulled onto India’s street and crawled to a stop at the traffic light a couple blocks away. The light turned green, and he slowly accelerated, when he saw India up ahead on the sidewalk.
Then he registered the man with her. He grabbed her arm as she tried to walk past him.
Simon.
With a surge of anger, Thiago hit the brakes without thinking. The car jerked to a stop in the middle of the street. As he hopped out of the vehicle and slammed the door, horns blared behind him.
“Hey, what are you doing?” someone yelled.
