Page 143 - In Five Years

Chapter Twenty-Five

It’s Monday morning. 8:58 a.m. Aldridge’s office.
I’m sitting in a chair, waiting for him to return from a partner meeting. I’m
wearing a new Theory suit with a silk high-necked camisole underneath.

Nothing frivolous. All severity. I’m tapping my pen to the corner of my folder.
I’ve brought all our recent deals, the success I’ve helped and in some cases
overseen.

“Ms. Kohan,” Aldridge says. “Thank you for meeting me.”
I stand and shake his hand. He has on a custom Armani three-piece suit with a
pink-and-blue shirt and matching pink-trimmed detail. Aldridge loves fashion. I

should have remembered that.
“How are you?” he asks me.
“Good,” I say, measured. “Fine.”

He nods. “Lately I’ve been noting your work. And I must say—”
I can’t bear it. I leap in. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I’ve been distracted. My best

friend has been very sick. But I’ve brought all my case work to the hospital and
we’re still on schedule with the Karbinger merger. Nothing has changed. This
job is my life, and I’ll do whatever I can to prove that to you.”
Aldridge looks puzzled. “Your friend is sick. What’s wrong?”

“She has ovarian cancer,” I say. No sooner are the words out than I see them,
sitting on the table between us. They are bulking, unruly, bleeding. They ooze all

over everything. The documents on Aldridge’s desk. His gorgeous Armani suit.
“I’m very sorry to hear that,” he says. “It sounds serious.”
“Yes.”
He shakes his head. “You’ve gotten her the best doctors?”

I nod.