Play with Fire || c. blossom

14

Sierra McCoy was standing next to Cheryl, watching the sea of redheads argue amongst themselves. Everyone already had something to say about what Cecilia had just announced. She reached a comforting hand out and rubbed Cheryl's back gently.

"Are you alright, Cheryl?" Sierra whispered.

Cheryl did her best to breathe evenly. "I think so?"

     Sierra nodded. "Just know that there is nothing within the contract they can bind you to. Now, it's just a matter of having everyone be okay with that."

     One young man in his mid twenties pushed forward towards Cheryl. "Dear cousin, how can we trust that you'd be an asset to the company? Just because daddy sat you on his lap and told you you were his princess doesn't make you the right heiress."

    Cheryl wanted to roll her eyes to the back of her head. Her most pretentious cousin, Victor, of course had to be the one to make such a stupid statement.

     "Victor, everyone knows you used unorthodox methods to pool in money for your portion to keep it from going bankrupt. Luckily, I'm not so full of pride; I have an entire family of businesspeople that will help me."

     Victor cleared his throat uncomfortably as everyone turned their heads towards him. He kept his chin up and readied another jab. "What makes you think this family will help you when most of them don't even want you seated?"

     Cheryl stepped forward, her glare blazing into his already weak demeanor. "Because they'll soon realize that I'm an asset, not a liability. They'll back me up because I may be new to the game, but I will be its best player."

      "You'll lose."

     "Speak for yourself, Victor. If I were you, I'd call your lawyer. Get ready to be burned."

      Victor looked around and realized he had no supporters. He gave Cheryl one last defeated look before leaving. Cecilia and Reginald approached Cheryl to stand on either side of her.

     "Anyone else want to question Cheryl's right to the seat?" Reginald asked.

     Cheryl's great uncle Thomas stepped forward. He walked slowly and haggardly, but everyone was patient; he was one of the senior presidents of their entire company, so no one was about to disrupt anything he had to say.

     "Cheryl, I'd like to personally congratulate you into the seat. I'm happy to see that you take after your grandmother instead of your mother. Penelope always had spite for the Blossom family, but Rose? Rose had the fire and the courage to reform this family, to make it better. I applaud you." He turned to face the rest of the crowd. "I, for one, will happily take her side when she needs us. We forget that we were a family before we were a business. Let's start remembering our true roots again."

    A lot of them seemed taken aback, but they slowly realized he was right. They started coming up and shaking Cheryl's hands, welcoming her. At last, Cecilia handed Cheryl the pen, and Reginald handed her the file once more.

    Cheryl took a deep breath before claiming herself as Recipient of Property. She was now a part of the Blossom legacy.

* * *

    "I own a portion of Blossom Maple Farms."

     Betty sat up from her stool at Pop's and ran towards her cousin, beaming. "Congratulations, Cheryl!"

     Once Betty was done hugging her, Veronica hugged Cheryl. The girls led Cheryl to a stool and sat her down.

    "How do you feel?" Veronica asked, grabbing Cheryl a mug for coffee.