Chapter 8 - MY BONUS
The Carillon special committee reviewed my compensation before it finished reviewing Eugenia’s.
I did not enjoy the symmetry.
My $2.8 million transaction bonus had been approved by the board compensation committee twelve months earlier. No secret.
Independent benchmark now:
$1.6 million to $2.2 million for a deal of this size and complexity.
Why $2.8?
“Founder-family retention premium.”
I hated the phrase.
It meant:
Sebastian is Sebastian.
Pay him extra for remaining involved.
I told the committee to cap it at $2 million if the deal closed.
They did not simply accept my offer.
Good.
They conducted review.
Final recommended cap:
$1.95 million.
I accepted.
No martyrdom.
Still enormous compensation.
Then my cousin said:
“You’re giving away $850,000 because your mother got caught?”
“No.”
“You know how it looks.”
“I don’t care.”
That was partially true.
I cared less than before.
Then Morello Heritage Services.
Independent valuation found Eugenia’s proposed six-year scope too broad and the $5.4 million cap high.
Fair range:
$2.9 million to $3.7 million depending deliverables.
Wexler said they would prefer three years with renewal options.
Eugenia rejected first proposal.
Her company counsel kept negotiating.
Good.
No punishment by family emotion.
Then event-property lease.
Initial proposed rent twelve percent above independent midpoint.
Could location premium justify five percent.
Terms adjusted.
All owners affected.
Including a trust that benefited me economically.
Again.
Governance did not only reduce my mother.
Then Camille asked me a difficult question.
“If none of this happens, would you have reviewed your bonus?”
“No.”
“What about your mother’s fee?”
“Probably not.”
“Then she was right that the family system benefits you when nobody looks.”
I sat quietly.
“Yes.”
Camille had no corporate role.
No protected vote.
No company shares from pregnancy.
Yet her refusal to sign one household form forced a larger system to examine itself.
That did not make her an heiress.
It made her the person who said no at the right time.
Then Camille made her own mistake.
Small compared with what had been done to her, but real.
After learning Eugenia could access some household accounts, she moved $160,000 from our joint operating account into a new account in her name without telling me.
Fear.
Not theft.
Still marital funds.
Lydia explained that unilateral transfer during pending protective orders could create unnecessary legal problems.
Camille immediately disclosed.
We agreed to place half into a neutral joint reserve and keep enough for her independent expenses.
No judge accused her of financial abuse.
No one pretended fear made every action ideal.
Camille said:
“I wanted to know she couldn’t freeze me out.”
I understood.
Then:
“I should have called Lydia first.”
“Yes.”
She looked at me.
“Do not enjoy this.”
“I’m not.”
I was a little.
Then she laughed.
May you like
The first genuine laugh since the garden room.
Recovery had room for mistakes too.
