Page 2 of Mostly My Boss
There was always a reason with Ethan. This time I managed to hold my tongue.
“Well then, let’s begin, shall we?” Carol said. “Obviously you both know who I am as I come to you recommended by a mutual friend, Daniel. But for the purposes of introductions, I’m Dr. Carol Longmire. I can list all my credentials for you, but that would be boring. Enough to say I’ve spent the past ten years focused exclusively on couples therapy. Obviously I’ve heard and read quite a lot about you both, but I hadn’t realized you were married.”
“Oh, we’re not married.” I snorted. “Did Daniel tell you that we were?”
“No, I suppose I just assumed that beyond the corporate relationship there was a personal relationship.”
“There is,” Ethan said. “We’ve been together…in some way…for over twelve years. Since our freshman year in college. That’s personal. That’s a relationship. That’s why I said we needed counseling.”
Carol turned her attention to me while I focused on my tea. “And you, Julia? Would you call what you have with Ethan a personal relationship?”
“I’d call it something,” I quipped as I sipped my tea.
“That’s her defense mechanism,” Ethan pointed out. “She uses sarcasm like a sword to keep the hordes at bay. You just have to see through it.”
I sniffed. Okay, maybe I did a little. Buthordes? Really? That was being overly dramatic.
“Ethan, Julia said she thinks you both have separate agendas today. It’s probably important for me to know what both of those are.”
“I want to fix what I broke,” Ethan said.
I shook my head. He couldn’t. There was no going back. Didn’t he see that?
“I just want out,” I said. Out of my job, away from Ethan. To be someplace where I wouldn’t hurt so damn bad.
“Jules,” Ethan muttered, and I could hear the desperation in his voice, but I couldn’t let it touch me. If I did, it would be too easy to crumble, too easy to cave.
“Why don’t you tell me what happened, then?” Carol said. “What broke you?”
I looked at Ethan and his expression was desolate.
“It’s simple,” I said. “I quit.”
* * *
One week earlier
The Seattle office
Julia
“You can pull over here, Sean,” I directed our company driver.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to try and get closer?” he asked. “It’s raining.”
“It’s always raining in Seattle. I won’t melt. Thanks for picking me up.” I opened the car door. Having a driver on call was definitely a luxury I was going to miss.
“Am I waiting for you?”
I shook my head. After I did what I was going to do, I would no longer be entitled to the service. Sean worked for Phoenix, after all.
“Thanks for everything, Sean. Truly.”
“No problem, Julia. See you tomorrow.”
I didn’t correct him. Instead, I shut the door behind me and wrapped my raincoat more tightly around me.
My assistant, Jordyn, had been the one to call me. To tell me that the light was on in the penthouse office.
