Page 92 of After Everything
I wanted to see his face when he told me he was leaving.
Needed to see it.
Even if it destroyed me.
The coffee shop below was just opening. The barista gave me a curious look through the window, probably wondering why someone was loitering on the sidewalk at nine AM on a Friday.
I climbed the stairs before I could change my mind.
The door to his office was unlocked. I knocked anyway.
"Come in."
I pushed open the door.
David was at his desk, laptop open, papers spread out in front of him. He lookedup, and his entire expression shifted when he saw me.
Surprise. Then something like hope. Then concern.
"Emma." He stood up quickly, almost knocking over his coffee. "Is everything okay? Is there a case?—"
"A headhunter called me Wednesday night." The words came out sharper than I intended. "Looking for you. Morrison & Klein. Partnership offer in New York."
His face went very still.
"She couldn't reach you," I continued. My hands were shaking, so I crossed my arms to hide it. "Asked me to pass along a message. Said they need an answer by today. Said the firm is very excited. Significant compensation package. Multiple offers from other firms."
David didn't say anything.
"I could have called you," I said. "Texted you. But I…" I stopped, not sure how to explain why I'd driven across the city at nine in the morning to confront him in person. "I needed to see you. To ask you in person."
"Ask me what?"
"Are you taking it?"
The question hung between us.
David closed his laptop slowly. Came around the desk but didn't get too close. Just stood there, three feet away, looking at me like he was trying to figure out what I needed to hear.
"Do you want me to take it?" he asked quietly.
"That's not an answer."
"No. But it's a question." He held my gaze. "Do you want me to leave? Would it be easier for you if I did?"
My throat felt tight. "Don't do that. Don't make this about me. This is your career. Your decision."
"It's not that simple."
"Yes, it is!" The words burst out of me. "It's a job offer, David. A really good job offer. Everything you used to want. Everything you destroyed our marriage trying to get. So just tell me… are you taking it or not?"
"Why did you come here, Emma?"
I stared at him. "What?"
"You could have called. You could havetexted. You said so yourself. But you drove across the city at nine in the morning to ask me this in person." He took a step closer. "Why?"
"Because I needed to know."
