Monday morning arrived with a vengeance. I dropped Lily off at school, my mind replaying Friday night’s surreal encounter. Catherine had stayed for nearly two hours talking with Lily about everything from favorite colors to whether unicorns could swim. By the time she left, the rain had stopped and something had shifted between us.
Walking into the office, I braced myself for awkwardness. Instead, I found chaos.
“Jake!” My assistant, Terra, practically tackled me at the elevator. “Where have you been? Haven’t you checked your email? The whole place is going nuclear.”
“What’s happening?”
“Catherine’s ex showed up this morning — made a scene in the lobby. Then the board called an emergency meeting. Rumor is they’re using this as an excuse to force her out. They’ve been looking for a reason for months.”
My stomach dropped. “Where is she now?”
“Boardroom. They’ve been in there for an hour.”
Without thinking, I changed direction, heading straight for the executive floor. Terra called after me, but I was already gone, taking the stairs two at a time when the elevator proved too slow.
The executive assistant outside the boardroom tried to stop me, but I pushed past her, bursting through the heavy wooden doors. Twelve heads swiveled toward me, including Catherine’s. Her face was composed, professional, but I could see the strain around her eyes.
“Mr. Sullivan,” Charles Westfield, the board chairman, said coldly. “This is a private meeting.”
“I need to speak with Miss Pierce. It’s urgent.”
Catherine stood, smoothing her impeccable suit. “Excuse me, gentlemen. Five minutes.”
She followed me into the hallway, closing the door behind us.
“Jake, what are you doing? They’re looking for any reason to question my judgment right now.”
“Is it true they’re trying to force you out?”
She sighed, rubbing her temples. “My personal life has become a liability. Apparently, Richard — my ex — he’s threatening to sue the company, claiming I used corporate resources to spy on him. It’s complete BS, but the board is spooked.”
“That’s ridiculous. You built this company from nothing.”
“Welcome to corporate America,” she said bitterly. “A woman can be brilliant, but the moment her personal life becomes messy, she’s a liability.”
I lowered my voice. “About Friday night — “
“We can’t talk about that here.” She glanced nervously at the boardroom door. “I shouldn’t have come to your home. It was unprofessional and unfair to you, Catherine. I need to go back in there and salvage what’s left of my career.”
She straightened her shoulders. “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Sullivan. But I’ll handle this.”
The formal use of my last name stung more than it should have. I watched her walk back into the boardroom, head high, every inch the untouchable CEO again.
By lunchtime, the news had spread throughout the company. Catherine Pierce had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. Charles Westfield would be acting CEO, and somehow I had been promoted to interim CFO.
The message couldn’t have been clearer. They were buying my silence. They thought I knew something damaging about Catherine and were offering me a carrot to keep quiet.
That night, as I tucked Lily into bed, my phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.
Congratulations on the promotion. You’ll make an excellent CFO. — K
The words felt like a slap. Did she think I’d orchestrated this? That I’d somehow used her moment of vulnerability against her?
I typed and deleted a dozen responses before finally settling on: This isn’t what I wanted.
Three dots appeared, disappeared, then appeared again. Finally: We don’t always get what we want. Take care of yourself and Lily.
I stared at my phone, feeling something important slipping through my fingers. Before I could respond, another text came through.
For what it’s worth, Friday night was the first time I felt real in years. Thank you for that.
Two weeks passed. Catherine remained on leave, and the company atmosphere grew increasingly tense. Westfield implemented sweeping changes — most of which undid Catherine’s progressive policies. Employee morale plummeted.
As interim CFO, I was now invited to executive meetings where I watched Westfield systematically dismantle everything Catherine had built. Each time I objected, I was reminded that my position was “temporary and could become permanent if I demonstrated appropriate team spirit.”
The implication was clear. Play along or go back to middle management.
With Lily’s private school tuition and my mother’s medical bills, I couldn’t afford to lose this opportunity. But every compromise felt like a betrayal — not just of Catherine, but of myself.
Then came the bombshell.
Westfield called me into his office late one Friday. “Jake, my boy,” he said, pouring himself a scotch without offering me one. “You’ve been doing excellent work. The board is impressed.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“We’ve decided to make your position permanent. With a substantial raise, of course.” He slid a contract across his desk. “All you need to do is sign this statement.”
