Chapter 7 · After Eleven Years, I Let Go

When I got back to the apartment that evening, an email popped into my inbox.

The sender was Emily. The subject line was formal and to the point: [Consulting Request for HarperTech Historic Key Projects.]

The body of the email listed 12 distinct questions. She made no mention of personal ties, nor did she call me Susan.

She signed off with: [If consulting fees apply, please provide your billing rates.]

After reading her email, I actually gained a bit of respect for her. At least she didn't beat around the bush like James.

I sent back a quote for 1,200 dollars an hour, with a two-hour minimum.

In less than ten minutes, she took the deal.

*****

The next afternoon, we met in a shared conference room.

Emily had arrived ahead of time. Her laptop and a thick stack of printed files were laid out across the table. "Ms. Miller."

She'd changed how she called me.

"Have a seat." She got straight to the point, asking about the history of the Homewise partnership.

I broke down the whole project for her, covering everything from the profit model to operational hurdles.

She took it all in attentively, asking sharp, concrete questions. An hour later, she suddenly paused. "Did you handle all this by yourself back then?"

"Most of it in the early days."

"But you never had an official title at the company."

"And I never clocked in."

She bit her lip. "Mr. Harper said you only stepped in to lend a hand once in a while."

I flipped to the next file. "You're paying for my consulting time today."

She was taken aback. It didn't take her long to catch my drift. She dropped the personal questions after that.

When our two hours were up, Emily snapped her laptop shut. "Ms. Miller, I have one more work-related question."

"Fire away."

"In the past, a lot of our partners offered terms that were way better than market rates."

"Yeah."

"I want to turn all of them into standardized terms we can replicate."

I looked at her. "You can give it a shot."

"Do you think it's impossible?"

"Some of them are doable."

"What about the rest?"

"Try it first and see."

Emily frowned slightly as she didn't get the answer she was hoping for.

I packed up my laptop.

Some things simply couldn't be taught through words alone. I had to learn them the hard way back in the day, too. Since she was stepping into those shoes, she had to exercise her own judgement.

As I was about to leave, Emily blurted out, "Ms. Miller, I never meant to steal your job."

I looked over at her. "The job is already yours."

She stayed where she was, silent.

*****

That very evening, following the new policy, Emily sent out standardized renegotiation notices to all 12 of HarperTech's key partners.

Before long, the first batch of replies started trickling back in. Some accepted the terms. Others pushed for revisions.

Rivergate sent back a line: [We can re-evaluate under standard contracts, but original perks will be revoked accordingly.]

HarperTech was officially stepping into the standardized system Emily envisioned, and the trade-offs were written right into the fine print.

*****

On the day Rivergate officially renewed their contract, the conference room at HarperTech was packed.

Normally, I wouldn't have known a thing about what went down in that room.

At half past 11 that morning, Charles texted me a picture. The new contract was laid out on the table. [All signed.]

I sent back: [Congratulations.]

He texted again: [Mr. Harper didn't look too happy today.]

I didn't carry on the conversation.

*****

Half an hour later, James called as expected. I was grabbing a quick bite at a casual restaurant downstairs from my client's office.

"The Rivergate contract is signed," he said.

"Yeah."

"The price jumped 12%, we lost two tiers of promotional placements, and payment terms are back to industry standards."

"At least it's signed."

"Susan." His tone was heavy with frustration. "What's Charles' problem?"

I set down my fork. "You just finished a meeting with him. Didn't you ask?"

"He said we're sticking to the new procedures."

"Then stick to the new procedures."

"Why were they able to give us those terms for the past six years?"

"Because that was how we did business back then."

"Why pull back on everything now?"

As he talked faster, I felt surprisingly calm. "You're the one who pushed for standardization in the first place."

"I'm asking if you said something to him behind my back."

Someone carrying a tray passed by in the restaurant.

I pulled the phone away, then brought it back to my ear once they walked off. "No."

"Just like that? You expect me to take your word for it?"

"Feel free to check."

He paused. "Check what?"

"My call logs, emails, and messages from the past month. If you have any legal way to check them, go right ahead. If you find out I asked a single partner to cut HarperTech's perks, I'll take the fall."

James stayed silent.

I went back to my meal.

After a long moment, his voice got quieter. "Charles said those extra resources were perks to begin with."

"Yeah, he spelled it out pretty clearly."

"Why did nobody bother to tell me before?"

His words almost made me laugh out loud. "It's all in the contract."

"I never saw those extra clauses."

"You were the one who signed it."

The line went completely silent.

I finished my last bite of food. "Anything else?"

"What exactly did you discuss with Rivergate in the past?"

"A whole lot of things."

"Be specific."

I grabbed a napkin to wipe my hands. "Six years of partnership, over a hundred meetings, and dozens of ad-hoc projects. Which one do you want to know about?"

James probably realized there was no easy answer to that question. He tried another angle. "Why was Charles willing to do you so many favors?"

"Because I did them favors, too."

"Favors from the company?"

"Some using company resources. Others through projects I coordinated on my own."

"Why did you never mention any of this?"

"It was all there in every quarterly review."

"I'm asking about the things you handled on your own."

"You never asked."

Once those three words landed, the quiet on the phone became almost overwhelming.

My mind drifted back to years ago.

Chapter 7

When I got back to the apartment that evening, an email popped into my inbox.

The sender was Emily. The subject line was formal and to the point: [Consulting Request for HarperTech Historic Key Projects.]

The body of the email listed 12 distinct questions. She made no mention of personal ties, nor did she call me Susan.

She signed off with: [If consulting fees apply, please provide your billing rates.]

After reading her email, I actually gained a bit of respect for her. At least she didn't beat around the bush like James.

I sent back a quote for 1,200 dollars an hour, with a two-hour minimum.

In less than ten minutes, she took the deal.

*****

The next afternoon, we met in a shared conference room.

Emily had arrived ahead of time. Her laptop and a thick stack of printed files were laid out across the table. "Ms. Miller."

She'd changed how she called me.

"Have a seat." She got straight to the point, asking about the history of the Homewise partnership.

I broke down the whole project for her, covering everything from the profit model to operational hurdles.

She took it all in attentively, asking sharp, concrete questions. An hour later, she suddenly paused. "Did you handle all this by yourself back then?"

"Most of it in the early days."

"But you never had an official title at the company."

"And I never clocked in."

She bit her lip. "Mr. Harper said you only stepped in to lend a hand once in a while."

I flipped to the next file. "You're paying for my consulting time today."

She was taken aback. It didn't take her long to catch my drift. She dropped the personal questions after that.

When our two hours were up, Emily snapped her laptop shut. "Ms. Miller, I have one more work-related question."

"Fire away."

"In the past, a lot of our partners offered terms that were way better than market rates."

"Yeah."

"I want to turn all of them into standardized terms we can replicate."

I looked at her. "You can give it a shot."

"Do you think it's impossible?"

"Some of them are doable."

"What about the rest?"

"Try it first and see."

Emily frowned slightly as she didn't get the answer she was hoping for.

I packed up my laptop.

Some things simply couldn't be taught through words alone. I had to learn them the hard way back in the day, too. Since she was stepping into those shoes, she had to exercise her own judgement.

As I was about to leave, Emily blurted out, "Ms. Miller, I never meant to steal your job."

I looked over at her. "The job is already yours."

She stayed where she was, silent.

*****

That very evening, following the new policy, Emily sent out standardized renegotiation notices to all 12 of HarperTech's key partners.

Before long, the first batch of replies started trickling back in. Some accepted the terms. Others pushed for revisions.

Rivergate sent back a line: [We can re-evaluate under standard contracts, but original perks will be revoked accordingly.]

HarperTech was officially stepping into the standardized system Emily envisioned, and the trade-offs were written right into the fine print.

*****

On the day Rivergate officially renewed their contract, the conference room at HarperTech was packed.

Normally, I wouldn't have known a thing about what went down in that room.

At half past 11 that morning, Charles texted me a picture. The new contract was laid out on the table. [All signed.]

I sent back: [Congratulations.]

He texted again: [Mr. Harper didn't look too happy today.]

I didn't carry on the conversation.

*****

Half an hour later, James called as expected. I was grabbing a quick bite at a casual restaurant downstairs from my client's office.

"The Rivergate contract is signed," he said.

"Yeah."

"The price jumped 12%, we lost two tiers of promotional placements, and payment terms are back to industry standards."

"At least it's signed."

"Susan." His tone was heavy with frustration. "What's Charles' problem?"

I set down my fork. "You just finished a meeting with him. Didn't you ask?"

"He said we're sticking to the new procedures."

"Then stick to the new procedures."

"Why were they able to give us those terms for the past six years?"

"Because that was how we did business back then."

"Why pull back on everything now?"

As he talked faster, I felt surprisingly calm. "You're the one who pushed for standardization in the first place."

"I'm asking if you said something to him behind my back."

Someone carrying a tray passed by in the restaurant.

I pulled the phone away, then brought it back to my ear once they walked off. "No."

"Just like that? You expect me to take your word for it?"

"Feel free to check."

He paused. "Check what?"

James stayed silent.

I went back to my meal.

After a long moment, his voice got quieter. "Charles said those extra resources were perks to begin with."

"Yeah, he spelled it out pretty clearly."

"Why did nobody bother to tell me before?"

His words almost made me laugh out loud. "It's all in the contract."

"I never saw those extra clauses."

"You were the one who signed it."

The line went completely silent.

I finished my last bite of food. "Anything else?"

"What exactly did you discuss with Rivergate in the past?"

"A whole lot of things."

"Be specific."

I grabbed a napkin to wipe my hands. "Six years of partnership, over a hundred meetings, and dozens of ad-hoc projects. Which one do you want to know about?"

James probably realized there was no easy answer to that question. He tried another angle. "Why was Charles willing to do you so many favors?"

"Because I did them favors, too."

"Favors from the company?"

"Some using company resources. Others through projects I coordinated on my own."

"Why did you never mention any of this?"

"It was all there in every quarterly review."

"I'm asking about the things you handled on your own."

"You never asked."

Once those three words landed, the quiet on the phone became almost overwhelming.

My mind drifted back to years ago.