Page 6 of This Moment

“Yes, she’s on the line, Mr. Carter.”

“Thanks so much, Betty. Go ahead and take the rest of the day off, paid.”

There was a moment of silence on the line before she asked, “I’m sorry. Did you tell me to take the rest of the day off?”

“Yes, paid. Just put in that you were running errands for me. Go get yourself a massage or do something for yourself. Enjoy the day—fulfilling moments like this are hard to come by.”

Jim raised a brow.

“My daughter has a school play this afternoon.”

“Perfect, then. I’ll see you in the morning. Before you leave, cancel the rest of my meetings today.”

“All of them?” she asked.

“Yes, all of them.”

“Um, okay. Should I let Mrs. Carter know?”

“No need. I’ll talk to her later. Enjoy your day, Betty.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Carter.”

Jim grinned and leaned forward. “Did you know her daughter was in a play?”

“I saw it on her phone. It popped up as a reminder. If you don’t mind, Jim, I need to speak to my sister.”

Standing, he held up his hands. “Sorry I couldn’t warn you in time.”

“Yeah, next time, just tell me over the phone.”

“I would have but your father walked in. He scares the hell out of me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Later, Jim.”

I picked up the phone and cleared my throat. “Hey, Macy.”

“Hey, little brother. What did they do now?”

Quickly filling my sister in, I waited for her response.

“What exactly do you want me to say here, Kian? You know how they are. You were going to settle because the clients want closure, but they only see dollar signs. Nothing with our parents is ever going to change.”

Sighing, I dropped back into my chair. “I know you’re right. I just don’t think I can do this anymore. I feel like today was the last straw.”

“Then do what your heart is telling you to do, Kian. Leave.”

A bitter laugh escaped. “And do what, Mace?”

“You and I both know the answer to that question.”

I paused for a moment and thought about the guy on the subway.

“You know, there was this older gentleman on the subway today. He started a conversation with me, told me he used to be a lawyer, left it, and is a writer now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the crazy thing is, I was interrupted by a call from Jim, and when I got off the call, the guy was gone.”

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