“Special thanks to Tish, who has put up with a very stressed-out CEO for these past few months. I know it hasn’t been easy keeping my schedule organized. And to all of you, I know I haven’t been the easiest person to work for lately.”

Was that a slam? I mean, I am officially his executive assistant, but I’m so much more than a scheduler. We’re married, so half of his half of this now-public company is mine. My chest thumps again with the bigness of it all. John’s right, though. To say he’s been stressed out is an understatement, but I smile and turn to the EventCo team.

“I’m so proud of you, John. You worked hard to make sure this IPO would be good for everyone. As for me, I just can’t wait to whisk you away for a much-needed vacation this weekend.”

Even though this is the first John has heard about our trip, he doesn’t react. That’s fine. We leave tonight after the festivities. I’ve packed toiletries. The private plane waits for us at the airport. It will be nice to have a little weekend together in the mountains.

We have so much to talk about.

CHAPTER 2

JOHN

I take a deep breath and wipe my brow. My heart pounds in my chest as I realize it’s all over.

I stand in this familiar conference room and look at the team—my team—and remember all we’ve accomplished. I spent my best years growing this business, and now, with the IPO, it’s a bittersweet moment. Going public will change everything, that’s what everyone tells me. I smile at Ashlyn, who narrows her eyes and glares at Tish standing next to me. I’m now aware that Tish is talking and that I should be the one doing so. I snap out of my reverie and jump in.

“Anyway, thank you from the bottom of my heart, to each and every one of you. I hope you’re happy with your stock holdings. It’s too late if you aren’t,” I add, noticing the ripple of tension zipping around the table. You can’t please all the people all the time. But I tried, I really did. “And I know you know there is a lockdown period for the next ninety days, so no selling any stock before that. I predict three months from now our employee parking lot will be filled with shiny new cars.”

A wave of “wow” and “no” flows through the room, and tense expressions give way to wonder. What does it mean for me? each of them is thinking. I know the feeling when reality sets in. Jennifer walks around the conference table handing out the rules and regulations packet governing initial public offerings and company executives. She’s such an asset.

I note with relief that Kate seems at ease, too. I never meant to hurt her, and I’ve tried to tell her so lately. I’m not sure she believes me, but I have been making progress in repairing the mess I made. I hope so, at least. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. I love that habit. And I love that white suit. I wonder if she wore it today because it was my favorite.

My heart thumps loudly in my chest again, and I clutch the conference table for support while I continue watching my ex-wife. I hope her astronomical net worth will make her happy. Soften her heart a little. I can’t really count it as my penance, though, can I? We built all this together. EventCo was our baby along with Ashlyn, our greatest achievement.

I remember my promise to my daughter: dinner tonight with her friend Seth. I can’t wait.

Lance raises his hand as he stands. He’s been a key part of our management team. He took a leap of faith to come to work here, leaving a publicly traded firm. Now, he’s about to go full circle. “Are you and Kate staying on board?”

Kate leans forward and addresses her answer to me. “Of course. I’m not going anywhere. We have more innovations to roll out. Game-changing products. Isn’t that right, John?” This has been our biggest fight of late. My ex-wife begged me to release her new product before the IPO. I refused.

Kate’s Forever project is innovative, but we didn’t need it for the IPO. It is expensive, and, well, I guess truth be told, I didn’t want to share the IPO spotlight with a product launch. Does that mean I didn’t want to share the spotlight with her? Of course not, but that’s how she took it. Her instincts about what our customers want are on point and have been since day one. Despite the tension my decision caused, I hope she’s happy now. Look at the stock climb.

I smile at Kate. Her eyes soften, and she winks at me. My shoulders drop with relief. We’re still on the same team. Lately, more than ever.

I say, “Kate, I know you aren’t going anywhere. And I can’t wait to roll out the Forever project. It’s brilliant. Like you.”

“Thank you.” Kate leans back in her chair and folds her arms across her chest. “I’m in for the long haul at EventCo. At least until Forever.”

A ripple of laughter cuts through the tension in the room. If Kate can joke about her product launch being pushed back, we can all relax. I’m glad she understands. She’s been so kind this week.

Kate adds, “EventCo is my life’s work. My other baby, so to speak.” My daughter rolls her eyes. Even so, I know she’s proud of her mom and dad. “I’m glad we’ll launch the Forever project soon. The market and our new investors will be impressed, along with our customers.” Kate smiles at me, the gorgeous grin I first fell in love with all those years ago. It was her best feature and still is.

I forgot how much that smile could make my day.

Sandra Nguyen, our HR director, raises her hand. “I just want to say I’m here to review the rules regarding IPOs if anyone needs clarification.”

A sigh rolls through the room.

I jump in. “Yes, there are rules as you all know. Be careful, but enjoy yourselves.”

It used to be fun coming to work, but lately, I feel like I’m slowly dying. I need air, I need out of this conference room. I stare at the glass wall separating this room from the atrium, and I feel trapped. Like I’m an animal caged at the zoo. Look at him, the model CEO. White. Middle aged. I’m a cliché in so many ways and mostly by my own doing. Look at me, wearing all black as if I’m super hip when I’m not. And Tish keeps touching me, reaching for my hand, patting my thigh. It’s annoying, unprofessional. The black leather bracelet she gave me feels like a handcuff.

Maybe her actions are especially annoying because it’s a reminder of just how unprofessional I’ve been myself. I know she’s doing it to anger Kate and Ashlyn. I used to return the affection, even in the office, in front of my family. I’m ashamed of myself.

My daughter stands by my side, a scowl on her face. I can’t help but sigh.

“Dad, what did Tish mean about taking you away this weekend? We have dinner plans tonight, remember? With Seth? My back-to-college dinner?” Ashlyn says.

“Of course, honey. I’m not going anywhere. When did she say that?” I ask. Maybe I missed something. I haven’t been myself this week. Stress does strange things.

“She just did. Here in the conference room. She was standing right next to you.”

“I must have tuned her out,” I say. “Look, Ash, I’ll fix it.”

My daughter’s expression tells me she doesn’t believe me.

I clap Lance on the back and say, “Let’s join the rest of the employees for a drink. We’re not going to get any work done around here for a few days.” I walk out of the conference room, wiping beads of sweat from my brow.

In my daydream, I just keep walking and disappear.

CHAPTER 3

TISH

Rude.

John departs the conference room with Lance, abandoning me—and Kate and Ashlyn, for that matter—to walk out to the party. Once the baggage leaves, too, I hang back, watching the scene. Unfortunately, now I’m stuck alone with Sandra in the conference room.

“So much change,” Sandra says as she finally pushes away from the table.

“I know. I just want this to be over. Next phase and all.” I smile at her and flip my ponytail. I guess that’s nerves. I also know she hates it. If I had a piece of gum, I’d pop it in my mouth and crack it. I know how to do that, learned as a kid. The problem is Sandra doesn’t have to be nice to me when John isn’t around. And she’s not.

“Next phase? What would that be, exactly?” Sandra folds her arms across her chest. A smirk spreads across her face. Why does she always wear brown? She leans toward me and whispers, “Seems like you should be satisfied with this phase.”

Really, Sandra? John and I have been married for three years now. I’m not in the mood for this. She’s on my last nerve. So many people are today.

I lean toward her. “What is that supposed to mean?” Although I’ve asked the question, I know what she thinks: I am an opportunist. The beautiful, winning, young second-wife type. And she’s right for the most part. Except John seduced me. He did. Although it seems nobody around here believes that. Sandra and the rest of them all think I worked some sort of magic on John, took advantage of the poor man, yanked him away from his family. I did not make that first move. He did.