Chapter 3

When Ethan walked back inside, I had just added the interview to my calendar.

"Next Tuesday at two in the afternoon, I have an online call with Megan."

"Your mother has her follow-up appointment that afternoon. You'll handle the drive, right?"

"Got it."

"Ethan, I need a definite yes."

He tossed his keys into the entryway bowl with a loud clatter.

"I said got it. Do you need me to sign a contract?"

Over the weekend, I dragged the cardboard box up from the basement.

Resting on top was a farewell card signed by my former coworkers.

Beneath it lay a stack of project briefs, and beneath those, the original transfer letter for London.

I flipped the letter facedown and began assembling my portfolio.

Some metrics had faded from my memory, and several links in the old decks were dead.

I dug through archived emails, verifying numbers line by line until the sky outside turned pale gray.

On Tuesday, I had my blouse ironed and on half an hour early.

The conference link was already open, the webcam framing the tidy, organized bookshelf behind me.

At one forty-two, Ethan pushed the door open.

"You need to take my mother to the hospital."

My fingers froze over the mouse.

"You promised you would take her."

"Vivian managed to set up a last-minute meeting with a key client. He knows me, and I have to be there to introduce her."

"My interview starts in eighteen minutes."

"Message Megan and reschedule."

He strolled toward the closet, casually picking out a tie.

"She used to be your manager. She'll understand."

I swiveled my chair around.

"Then tell Vivian to reschedule."

He looked at me.

"A client’s calendar doesn't revolve around our whims."

"And Megan's does?"

"Stop being difficult. This client dictates whether she can actually establish herself in this new role."

He adjusted his collar in the mirror, his voice edging into impatience.

"My mother is only comfortable with you. You know her prescriptions, and you know what to ask the doctors."

"You are her son."

"Which is why I trust you to handle it."

He stepped over and slapped my laptop lid shut.

"Call my mother right now. Don't make her wait."

Moments earlier, that screen had displayed the self-introduction I had rehearsed three times over.

I picked up my phone and dialed his mother's number.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready for what, dear?"

"Your checkup today."

"Oh, it's moved to Friday. The doctor had an emergency."

I glanced up at Ethan. He was fastening his cufflinks.

"Did Ethan know?"

"Yes, I called him yesterday morning. He told me he'd let you know."

I thanked her and hung up the call.

"You knew yesterday."

"It slipped my mind."

"It slipped your mind just now, too, when you demanded I reschedule with Megan?"

"Claire, do you have any idea how many calls I juggle in a single day?"

I stared at him, a suffocating tightness seizing my chest.

He remembered the exact minute Vivian was meeting her client. He remembered that the client knew him.

Yet he was entirely willing to sacrifice my interview for a medical appointment that had already been canceled.

Beside the laptop, my screen lit up.

Megan had sent a message: I'm ready. Hop in whenever you're set.

Ethan said, "Perfect. Tell her a family emergency came up."

I flipped the laptop open again.

"There is no emergency."

"You think what's happening right here counts as nothing?"

I put my earbuds in and ran a quick mic check.

"I am attending this interview."

He lingered for a few seconds, grabbed his jacket, and headed for the door.

With his hand on the knob, he turned back. "Are you seriously going to blow up our home over a job you don't even have yet?"

I clicked Join Meeting.

The door slammed shut behind him.

Megan's face appeared on the monitor. "Claire, it's been so long."

I slowly relaxed my clenched fists.

"It's been too long."