Chapter 4
The townhouse was Claire’s, the apartment was company housing, and the cars belonged to corporate fleets.
Much of his glamorous life had never been his at all.
After a month, Daniel asked Claire for five minutes.
She refused.
A week later, he appeared outside the restaurant where she ate alone on Friday evenings.
He wore an old navy suit, and his shoulders had developed a tired slope she had never seen before.
Claire stopped several feet away while her security adviser remained near the door.
“Please,” Daniel said.
“I’m not asking for the company.”
“What are you asking for?”
“My life.”
Claire studied him.
“Which part?”
He swallowed.
“Us.”
“There hasn’t been an ‘us’ for a long time.”
“I can change.”
“I hope you do.”
He looked toward the restaurant windows.
“I have nowhere to go.”
“You have choices.
They’re simply not glamorous.”
He gave a bitter laugh.
“Easy for you to say.”
“No.
It took me twenty-three years to say.”
Claire handed him an envelope.
Inside was information about a ranch in Montana owned by an old family friend who needed an operations manager and was willing to hire Daniel despite his reputation, provided he worked under supervision and stayed away from financial authority.
Daniel looked offended.
“A ranch?”
“It is honest work.
Housing is included.
You understand schedules, equipment, and people.
You are not useless, Daniel.
You were simply overpraised.”
“You expect me to shovel manure?”
“If the horses require it.”
His face reddened.
“You’re enjoying this.”
Claire shook her head.
“I loved you for more than half my life.
Watching you become less than the man I believed you were does not entertain me.”
That silenced him.
“The company will pursue repayment of improper expenses,” she said.
“What prosecutors do with the audit is not my decision.
Your lawyer says cooperation matters.
So cooperate.
Tell the truth.
Repay what you can.
Build something that does not depend on applause.”
Daniel looked down at the envelope for a long time.
“Do you hate me?”
“No,” Claire said.
“Hate is another way of arranging my life around you.”
Then she walked back inside.
Daniel remained on the sidewalk until the cold forced him to move.
At last, he put the envelope in his coat pocket.
Two days later, he accepted the job.
Part 4
Six months later, spring washed Manhattan clean.
The Harland merger was complete, profits were up seventeen percent, and Claire’s office no longer held Daniel’s putting green, sports memorabilia, or oversized portrait.