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CHAPTER ONE

The familiar hum of the office printer filled the air as Nicole Peterson carefully arranged the final presentation boards for the Northshore Commons project. She smoothed down the corners of each mounted photograph, taking special care to make sure that it was all polished and precise.

It was that kind of precision and attention to detail that had made her indispensable at Shipley’s Design firm for the past fifteen years. She took pride in her job, always making sure that everything was flawless and to the highest possible standard. As she took a step back, surveying her work, she thought her boss would be pleased.

Over the years since she’d started work at the design firm, she’d managed to earn Leonard’s trust and respect. He rarely gave her much oversight, trusting her to always come through on a project. She had a good eye for this kind of thing, and was honestly more critical with herself than her boss was.

She gave it another once-over, making sure that every detail was accounted for. Next to the presentation board, the documentation for the project was neatly set out in color-coded folders for each stage. This was what she did best—ensuring that everything ran smoothly, that every project launched without a hitch, that Leonard could walk into any client meeting with complete confidence knowing that Nicole had thought of everything he might need.

Letting out a satisfied breath, she reached for the coffee mug behind her, taking a sip of her morning caffeine laced with peppermint. It was just after Thanksgiving, but she was ready for the holidays. She needed some festive cheer in her life, she thought, after the year she’d had.

She’d always been grateful for her job, but never more so than recently. It had become her constant in a year that had shaken the foundation of everything she’d thought she knew about her life. It had become a way for her to have something positive to focus on, something that she knew she could be proud of even when the rest of her life was falling apart and she wasn’t sure if she’d managed to mess everything else up. When she was at work, she could focus on doing the best she possibly could, knowing she was good at her job.

The soft chime of her computer reminded her to check her calendar, and Nicole settled into her ergonomic chair, the one Leonard had insisted on buying for her after she’d mentioned her back was bothering her from long hours at her desk. He’d always been a good, thoughtful boss, taking care of his employees and making sure they felt valued. That feeling of being appreciated was something that had become increasingly rare in other areas of her life, and it meant a lot to her.

She scrolled through her to-do list for the day, looking at meetings and project deadlines, trying not to let her mind wander too far. She’d been working longer hours than usual, lately, but honestly, she hadn’t minded. Those long hours had been a blessing in disguise, really, giving her something productive to focus on instead of the slow-motion disaster that her personal life had become over the past year.

Glancing over at the spot where a picture of her and her husband—soon to be ex?—used to sit on her desk, Nicole let out a long breath. It still felt strange, not seeing it there. She’d made the decision to take it off just before Thanksgiving, when it started to feel like the talk of maybe getting a divorce was becoming a real, tangible thing.

The marriage had been rocky for a year at least, she had to admit. Maybe even two. It wasn’t anything dramatic. No one had been unfaithful or screamed at the other. But it was clear that they’d begun drifting apart, maybe even before she’d realized that things were on the rocks. They’d started living their lives in parallel, and when she’d tried to talk to Carl about it, tried to see if they could get things back on the right track—maybe even go to counseling—it was clear that he wasn’t interested. He started turning up late to dinner, forgetting dates she tried to plan, and their conversations had started to feel more like an ongoing series of negotiations for running a household rather than anything resembling a real relationship.

As far as the romance department, that had been gone for a while too. She’d tried to spice it up, but Carl wasn’t interested. At her age, in her early fifties, that was a hard pill to swallow… that maybe her husband just didn’t find her attractive any longer. It wasn’t as if he was any Pierce Brosnan himself, she thought wryly as she clicked through her calendar. But she at least had wanted to try to continue the intimacy that she, personally, thought mattered in a marriage.

It had all come to a head in recent months. She’d pushed, and he’d continued to not really care if they were headed for disaster, and it had turned into a series of conversations that had felt more like business meetings about their marriage than an attempt between two people who had once promised to love each other through everything to save it.

They’d both agreed that some space might help them figure out whether their marriage was worth fighting for or if they’d simply grown too far apart. That had been six weeks ago, and the silence from his end had been deafening. No phone calls to check in, no text messages about anything at all, let alone that he was missing her, no indication that he was thinking about her or their future at all. The uncertainty was almost worse than a definitive answer would have been. They’d admitted that they were both strongly considering divorce the last time they’d spoken and then… that had just been it.

It was as if, she thought irritably, Carl didn’t care about the fact that she was left dangling while he enjoyed his newfound freedom.

She’d thrown herself into work to stop herself from stewing over it endlessly. She’d started getting to the office earlier and staying later, volunteering for extra projects. Leonard had noticed, praising her hard work and dedication. She’d smiled and nodded and said thank you, pointedly not mentioning how chaotic her personal life had become.

The sound of footsteps outside of her office door tore her attention away from the empty spot on her desk, and she looked up to see her boss walking into her office. He rapped on the side of the doorway perfunctorily, and then came in, an unusually serious expression on his face. He was usually fairly jovial, a silver-haired man in his early sixties, and Nicole smiled as he entered, hoping that nothing was wrong.

“Good morning, Leonard,” she said, pushing her chair back from her desk and standing up to head over to the boards to show him what she’d been working on. “Perfect timing—I’ve got all the materials ready for the Northshore presentation. The client’s going to love what we’ve put together.”

Leonard paused, looking unsettled. “Actually, I need to talk to you about something important. Can you sit down?”

She paused, then sat. His tone unsettled her, and she had no idea what was going on, but it didn’t feel like anything good. After the last year, she had a pretty good barometer for bad news, and this felt like any number of conversations she’d had recently with her husband, only work-related this time.

“Of course,” she managed, fortunately keeping her voice steady despite the way her heart had begun to race. “What’s on your mind?”

Leonard sat down in a chair opposite her desk, and Nicole noticed he couldn’t quite meet her eyes. This isn’t good, she thought, her stomach starting to churn with anxiety.

“Nicole, you know how much I value your contributions to this firm,” he began, and she felt her stomach drop even further. In her experience, conversations that started like that rarely ended well. “You’re an incredible employee. You’re organized, detail oriented, you have a good eye for what clients want—you’re invaluable, honestly. And lately you’ve been more committed than ever. I want you to know how much I appreciate that.”

“Thank you,” she said hesitantly, hearing the but in his voice before he continued. “I’ve always tried to do my best.”

“Which is why this conversation is so difficult for me,” Leonard continued, finally meeting her eyes. “The firm is going through some significant changes. I’ve decided to bring on a new partner, someone who can help us expand in ways we haven’t been able to before. It’s time for some new blood and new ideas, and I feel like this is a necessary change for Shipley to be competitive going forward.”

Nicole nodded, feeling a growing sense of dread in her chest. She wasn’t sure what, exactly, this had to do with her, but it was clear Leonard was building to something bad. “That sounds like an exciting opportunity,” she managed.

“It is,” Leonard agreed, but his expression didn’t change. “Unfortunately though, my new partner had some caveats about staffing if she was going to agree to join the firm. She’s worked with the same office manager for the past eight years, and she wants to bring her on board to replace your position.”

The words seemed to hang in the air between them, and for a moment, Nicole wondered if she’d misheard. Replace her position. After fifteen years of giving this job all she had, coming in early and working late, never looking for more lucrative opportunities and being grateful for what she had, she was being replaced. Just like that.

For a new partner who, apparently, got to call the shots even though she hadn’t even begun working there yet.

“I don’t understand,” she said, although even as the words left her mouth, she knew that she understood perfectly. “Are you saying that I’m being let go?”