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“It’s on my list. Look, I need you to get that storyboarding done that you put off Friday.”
He rattled off details on the new client, but on top of everything else going on, I couldn’t process his demands.
“I’m about to get on the plane home.”
“You can do some workups on the flight back. I need them tomorrow.”
I laughed through my tears at how casually he could ask me to give up what little remained of my vacation time. “Tomorrow’s Sunday.”
“Molly, I can’t tell you what a headache it’s been having you gone.” He sounded exhausted, although given the time difference, he should. “You’re my strongest designer out of all of us. No one can cover for you.”
“It doesn’t sound like anyone has covered for me at all. This is the same work you asked me to do two days ago. Youdidhave the others pick up the slack, right?”
“Moll, who do you think is going to pick up the slack when you’re Head of Design?”
For a minute, relief bloomed to life that I hadn’t blown the promotion. But then a vision of what it would be like when I had the job played through my mind. Nights in the office, weekends at my laptop, no vacation even in the middle of one. Would I have any time free from Lincoln’s constant demands?
“I’m not sure I want to be Head of Design.” I trembled a little as I admitted the truth that had troubled me for days. The title and the raise would be gratifying, but I would have to sacrifice everything else I wanted in order to get them. That didn’t seem like such a good trade anymore.
“Molly.” Lincoln sounded like he was talking to a child. “I chose you for this. I’m giving you a gift, here. This could be a turning point in your career. You don’t want to miss this opportunity, do you?”
“What?” I froze, my voice loud in the empty shuttle.
“This is big, Molly. I don’t want you to throw it away on some kind of vacation high.”
He went on scolding me, but I couldn’t hear him. My chest constricted until I felt like I had fallen into Loch Ness all over again. Thiswasbig. What was building between Duncan and me, what I wanted for my work life, for my home life—I wanted alife. Life wasn’t something to think about fondly and file away aswhat might have been, it needed to be lived, savored, and loved.
I’d been standing on the edge for so long, afraid to risk failure again, but were my safe choices really any better? I couldn’t let my life pass me by. I needed to leap into the unknown.
“You’re right,” I said, cutting him off. “I can’t miss this opportunity. I quit.”
He hesitated on the other end. “Molly, what is this power play trying to achieve? You just had two weeks off.”
“Did I? You had me working almost every day.” I’d accepted it out of habit and obligation, but that didn’t make it right.
“That’s part of the deal, Molly.”
“Not anymore. I can’t keep doing this. I want more than just good enough—I want the best.” Every word I spoke gave me strength, like I’d found some untapped well of badassery I hadn’t known existed.
“You can’t just walk away.” His voice rose, hitting a mix of anger and fear.
“You’ll find someone else, Lincoln. I’ll send you an email and make it official.”
“Molly, think it over. We need you.”
“I’ll detail my grievances in my resignation letter, but for now, all you need to know is that I quit.”
“Molly—”
I hung up and tossed my phone into my bag. Blood rushed in my ears, and the aftermath of making such a huge decision left me a little giddy, but none of it felt wrong. Taking a stand for my future felt like long-overduerightness.
Now to claim the rest of the future I wanted.
“Stop!” I stumbled up the aisle to the shuttle driver. “Can you turn around?”
“Turn around?” His eyebrows bobbed at me in the rear-view as we charged ahead. “Forget something at your hotel?”
“I did, and I need it, desperately. Can you turn around?” We were who-knows-where in the city, and I had no idea how far from the airport, but I had to go back. Now.
