Page 5 of A Family Affair: The Vow
The CEO didn’t expand or offer details as he slid a set of papers across the desk.You’ll be an asset wherever you go. On behalf of the company, thank you for your years of service. We wish you well.
And then it was over: the meeting, the hopes, the career. Rae had walked into the CEO’s office prepared to receive a promotion and a vision for her upcoming role. She hadnotanticipated a separation notice along with a letter of recommendation and a severance package.
Did you know?she’d asked Richard seconds after she left the meeting.
Know?
The two-second hesitation and the way he clutched his pen told her the truth. Richard had known exactly what was going to happen to her and he’d done nothing to prepare her.Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you let me walk in there with no warning? Just tell me the truth. But that’s not what she really meant because people don’t always want to hear the truth. What they want is a reworking of the truth, the one they want to hear, and more than anything, they wantthatto be real. But Richard had his own truth and it definitely wasn’t one she wanted to hear.
I couldn’t tell you. How could I when I knew it would crush you? I get promoted and you’re let go?He’d worked up the smile that won him accounts and invitations to board meetings and dinner parties.I’ve already made a list of people for you to contact. Do you want to see it?
No, I don’t want to see your list.
We’ll figure this out, okay?Another smile as he pushed back his chair, stood, and moved toward her.
She wanted to stay angry with him, blame him for her unhappiness, but when he pulled her into his arms, held her close and murmured,We’re a team. We’ll figure this out,she’d believed he would help make her world right.
The demise of her job and the Perfectly D line, which she’d overseen since its inception three years ago, was devastating and forced her to rethink everything: her career, her goals, her future. At least she still had Richard and his unwavering support. Together, they’d formulate a plan to find her another job where she could grow and share her skills. Not that she wanted that because she didn’t, but when had wishing ever made a difference? Practicality and perseverance were the key.
What Rae had not counted on was Richard’s short-lived “support” or his unavailability. It started a few days later with the company’s formal announcement of his promotion.There’s a dinner and drinks tonight. I’d take you as my plus-one but I’m sure you won’t feel comfortable. You understand, don’t you?Of course, she understood but that didn’t make it easy.
Two days later, she’d called to invite him for Tai and to brainstorm her next career step, but he’d sidestepped the offer.Sorry, can’t make it. Working late tonight on strategies for a new line. I’ll see you soon, though. Love you. That went on for three days and on the fourth he visited her apartment, remained standing as he delivered a forty-second speech that would sever and demolish their future together. I will always care about you, you know that. But...we’re in an impossible situation and I don’t see that it can be resolved.Long pause and then an almost apologeticThis is not the trajectory I’d envisioned for us.
Trajectory? Are you referring to our relationship?
A shrug, a narrowed gaze settling on the vicinity of her right ear.Our relationship has always been so closely interwoven with our work, that it was often difficult to separate the two. That’s what made us such a great team. But if you’re not with the company, then we’re not in this together...And I guess I don’t see the point.
After three years together, you don’t see the point? Are you dumping me?
Don’t use that word. It’s distasteful and not true. I’m being a realist.His gaze darted from her right ear to her eyes.Try to understand. This really is best for both of us. I’ll always care about you but we aren’t going to work.
I see.And for once, since the very first time they began dating, she did see: the one-sidedness, the lack of interest inhergoals, the minimal support, the disinterest in her family or a life that was not about the company and where it would take them. Rae saw it all and wished she hadn’t. Richard didn’t possess the capacity to care about people or situations he couldn’t understand or control.Why were we together? Did you ever care about me, aside from my role with the company and how I helped support and advance your career goals?
They were our career goals, Rachel, don’t pretend they weren’t. And of course, I cared.Richard cleared his throat, correctedI do care, but it’s going to be very difficult to maintain a relationship under the current circumstances.
Circumstances? You mean because I’ve been fired.
A dull flush swept over his cheeks.Yes, why pretend it didn’t happen? Can you honestly say you don’t hold it against me? Wish you were the one who’d been promoted and I’d been let go?
I wouldn’t want either of us to be let go, but that’s not the point. I’m struggling here. Can’t you help me get through this?
He shook his head, offered her a sad smile.I’m really sorry, Rachel.Richard moved toward her, gave her a quick hug and whispered,Be happy. And then he was gone, taking with him their plans and hopes for the future they’d meticulously planned out. Too bad she hadn’t realized their personal future together depended on the success of their careers. Rae had settled for Richard’s idea of love, which translated asI will love you until it’s not convenient to love you anymoreinstead of a true pledge that saidI’m here for you, no matter what—always.
How had she not seen this? Why had she been okay with his lukewarm affections and insincere compliments? There’d been that one moment three years ago before she met Richard when she’d had an opportunity to trust her instincts, but she’d rejected them, just like she’d rejected the man who’d made her question her goals.
Two weeks after she lost her job, destiny stepped in with a phone call from her parents. Leah had been visiting them in Florida and was hit by a car while out for an afternoon walk.She’s in surgery now but...it’s going to be a long road for her. The doctor says she’s got a broken leg, fractured ribs, and a concussion. Lots of recovery and therapy. She can’t leave Florida. Can you head to Magdalena and check on things?Long pause, followed byEven for a few days to see that the business is okay, maybe meet with the foreman? Your father wants to come back but with his bad knees and high blood pressure, I told him no. Can you do this, Rae? We know you’re busy, but I’m afraid your father will turn stubborn and insist. He says you’re the only one he trusts to figure this out.A sniff and a softYou always could figure out any situation.
Not always. Of course, she had to make the trip home to Magdalena and help out. She could do a few days, or a few weeks. It’s not like anything was keeping her in Virginia. Not a job, a person, or a solid future. Why not drop herself into small-town life where she could hide and figure out the next step in her sad and tragic existence? Her sister’s accident and necessary rehabilitation in Florida gave Rae a place to be and a purpose. A bizarre purpose, for certain, and returning to the small town where she’d grown up had never been on her must-do list. Still, it could be worse, like running into her ex at the local café and spotting ads for the new company on massive billboards.
Umm, no thank you.
She didn’t need to tell her parents or anyone in Magdalena that she’d been cut loose by her jobandher boyfriend. Nope, she could pretend life was grand and she’d come to help out her family. No worries about working remotely either. With the technological capabilities of businesses these days, it was feasible she could work offsite—if she had a job.
Who would ever guess?
But there was another reason her parents wanted her in Magdalena and they’d hinted around it toward the end of several conversations.Would you mind keeping an eye out on Josh?
How difficult could it be to look out for her twenty-two-year-old nephew? Rae hadn’t seen him in three years, but she remembered Josh as easy-going, polite, and in love with tearing apart cars. He’d also been in love with the computer tablet she’d bought him, claiming she was cool and more like a big sister than an aunt. Rae would take “cool” and with only eight years separating them, she could see why he’d say that.
