Chapter 3 - The Rebound
I didn’t go to the office. Instead, I went to a high-end apartment complex in the city, the kind of place I had admired in magazines but never dared to visit. I signed a lease for a penthouse suite. It was sleek, minimalist, and mine.
For the first time in a decade, I wasn't buying things for someone else. I bought a bed that was designed for my back, not a couch for my brother to play video games on. I bought groceries that I actually wanted to eat.
But the real transformation happened on Wednesday. I received a call from the Senior VP at the firm I’d worked for during that brutal ten-day trip.
"Rebecca," he said, his voice grave. "We need to talk about the Chicago deal. The board was blown away by your presentation. We have a position open in our London office—Managing Director. It requires total relocation, a massive salary increase, and a team of fifty. I know you turned it down last year because of family obligations. Is that still the case?"
I looked around my new, quiet, empty apartment. I thought about the suitcase in the hallway. I thought about the "parasite" comment.
May you like
"No," I replied, my voice steady. "I have no obligations left. When do you want me to start?"
I didn't just move on; I outpaced them. I spent the next two weeks in a whirlwind of professional activity. I hired a lawyer to handle the sale of the house—my name was on the deed, and as it turned out, I had enough equity to force a sale. The house wasn't theirs; it was a luxury I had been renting them out of pity.
