Chapter 9 - THE OFFICE COLLAPSE
While Ethan was being dismantled in his own living room,
his professional world was undergoing a parallel demolition at the architectural firm.
Without the master client files,
structural backup archives,
and automated billing ledgers that I had meticulously maintained for years,
the firm’s quarterly audit hit a brick wall.
Marcus stormed into Ethan’s office uninvited at three o’clock on Thursday afternoon,
slamming a thick binder of financial discrepancies onto his desk.
“Ethan,
what the hell is going on with the municipal accounts?” Marcus demanded,
his face red with fury.
“We have three major municipal zoning submissions due on Monday,
and the digital encryption keys are locked under Norah’s administrative credentials.
” Ethan looked up from the papers Rebecca had thrown at him,
his mind completely numb.
“Call her,
” Marcus hissed.
“Beg her,
pay her,
do whatever it takes to get those keys.
” “I tried,
” Ethan whispered,
staring blankly at the wall.
“She won't take my calls.
” “Well,
figure it out!” Marcus roared,
leaning over the desk.
“Because if we miss these municipal deadlines,
the firm faces a two-million-dollar penalty,
and your partnership is the first thing I’m stripping away.
” Desperate,
Ethan turned to Madison for emotional refuge,
dialing her number during a brief moment of solitude.
She answered on the fourth ring,
her voice sounding distant and distracted over the hum of a coffee shop espresso machine.
“Ethan,
I’m in the middle of a yoga class,
” Madison sighed impatiently.
“Madison,
I’m drowning,
” Ethan pleaded,
his voice cracking.
“The firm is facing millions in penalties,
my dad is recovering from a blackout,
and Lily won't even speak to me.
I need you.
” There was a long,
agonizing pause on the other end of the line.
“Ethan,
I told you last night,
” Madison replied coldly.
“I don’t do heavy emotional baggage.
You said you felt lighter when we started this,
but now you’re just dragging me down into your mess.
I think we need to take a break.
” “A break?” Ethan echoed,
his voice rising in disbelief.
“After everything I gave up for you?” “You didn't give anything up for me,
Ethan; you threw it away because you were bored,
” she snapped.
“Don’t put that on me.
” The call disconnected with a sharp beep.
Ethan sat alone in his high-rise office,
staring out the floor-to-ceiling glass windows at the gray Boston skyline,
May you like
realizing he had achieved total,
absolute isolation.
