Page 107 of Partner Pursuit
She paced around her apartment. The meeting was taking forever.
She walked out into her yard to spy on whether Jake was home, but the lights were dark in his apartment. He was the only person she wanted to be with; he would’ve made it fun. He probably would’ve played “Pressure” again and made her punch the punching bag. She slipped back into her apartment and went upstairs. She searched on her iPhone for songs with “partner” in them, but scrolling through her iPhone music made her sad. Her playlists were now filled with memories of Jake and all the songs he’d recommended. She found some songs about teamwork—potentially useful for a team meeting. She couldn’t seem to turn her workbrainoff.
She found “Pressure” and clicked play. The phone rang. She jumped. She fumbled with the phone to switch off the song. Off. Taking a deep breath, she answeredthe phone.
“Congratulations!” the voices of several partners on speakerphone chorused. She sank into the couch in relief. She’d made it. It felt like a load of bricks had been removed from her back. She attempted conversation with the partners, barely registering what she said, until they said they’d leave her to celebrate and tell her friends and family. She texted her mom, Winnie, Eve and Max. Her phonerang.
Tim:I made it. You must have made ittoo.Yes?
“Hi Winnie, I made it,” she said. She texted yes toTim.
“Congratulations! I’m so happy for you,” Winniesaid.
“Me too. I mean, so happy but I’m also wiped out from the stress ofwaiting.”
“I can imagine. I’ve been stressed, and I’m not even up for it. I had to work late, so I thought I’d put that to good use. I purposefully bumped into Michael after the partnership meeting. He said I had a good shot at partnership in two years because I was recognized as bringing in Global Capital, and that deal had been significant in the discussions. And you know, I did some more surreptitious prompting.”
“As you do.”
“As I do.” Winnie laughed. “And he said that our bringing in the deal had allowed them to promote the three of you. Before that, they were arguing over which two to make. You know that Colette and Tim made it too, right?”
“Tim texted, but I didn’t know about Colette,” Audreysaid.
“Yes, the British guy didn’tmake it.”
“I feel bad for him.” But notthatbad.
“All right, the car service just arrived at my door,” Winnie said. “Congratulations again!”
“Good night,” Audrey said. “Thanks so much again for all your help and thank Jae for suggesting GlobalCapital.”
Tim:Do you want to celebrate with dinner tomorrow night?
Audrey:Yes, that’dbe great.
Eve:Woohoo! So excited for you. But I’m getting crushed right now. Table of ten all eating dessert. Haven’t these people heard of sharing? Just kidding. Love my dessert people.
The phone rang again. It was hermom.
“I couldn’t sleep. I’m so happy you made it. But I also couldn’t imagine you not making it. You’ve worked so hard,” her mom said. “How doyoufeel?”
As she heard her mom’s warm voice on the other end, she almost cried. Maybe it was a release from all the tension. “Ecstatic, but also tired. And so, so relieved. I bought a Levain Bakery cookie to eat either to celebrate or as consolation, but I think I’ll freeze it and crash after this. I’m glad it’s the weekend and I have time to rest and process itall.”
“It’s good that you don’t have to work this weekend. Maybe you should take aspur-of-the-momenttrip somewhere to celebrate.”
Is this my momspeaking?
“I’ve been thinking about what you said to me on that one call. About how dating Jake made you happier and made it easier to shrug off Malaburn’s barbs. It’s so easy in Paris to take these weekend trips to other countries. It’s amazing. You just fly two hours and you’re somewhere completely different. I guess I’m learning from you and as I live here about how it’s important to recharge. And especially for you now, after all this pressure and breaking up withJake.”
“I’ll think about it tomorrow, after I’ve had a good night’s sleep. I feel like I haven’t slept well in ages. But I do agreewithyou.”
“You know, I worked so hard after your father died. I buried myself in work because that was how I dealt with the pain of his loss. And I was comforted by the words of the French literature that I studied. But there’s another lesson in your father’s death I should’ve recognized: you only have one life, and you should liveit fully.”
“France is affectingyou.”
“Well, I’m still learning not to let work swallow me up. But one way is to take the time to savor your successes.”
Chapter Fifty-Nine
