Chapter 4 - The Clean Break
At 4:00 p.m., I heard the tires of Jake's Porsche skid into the driveway.
I was sitting at the kitchen island. I didn't get up when the front door banged open.
Jake walked in. He looked completely unraveled. The custom suit was wrinkled, his tie was loosened, and the silver at his temples suddenly just looked like exhaustion.
"Emma," he gasped, stopping at the edge of the kitchen, his eyes darting to the roses and the tickets. "Emma, please. You have to stop this. You're destroying the company. You're destroying everything I built."
"Everything we built, Jake," I corrected him gently. "And I'm not destroying it. I'm just taking my half. It just so happens that my half is the foundation."
He took a step forward, his hands raised in a pathetic gesture of surrender. "It was a mistake. Amanda means nothing. I got caught up in the optics, the pressure—she wanted a commitment, the investors wanted stability—"
"You proposed to her in front of two hundred people," I said, my voice completely devoid of anger. That was what terrified him the most. I wasn't screaming. I was clinical. "You looked me in the eye and didn't say my name."
"I was in shock!" he pleaded.
"So was I," I replied. "But I used my shock to secure my assets. You used yours to kiss your mistress."
I slid a heavy, black legal folder across the marble island. It stopped right next to the Paris tickets.
"Martin drafted the divorce papers," I said. "Because of the public nature of your infidelity, the morality clause in the holding company contract is triggered. You are stepping down as CEO of Harlo Reed by Monday, or my trust will force a public liquidation."
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Jake stared at the folder as if it were a bomb. "Amanda left me, Emma. She threw the ring on the boardroom table and resigned. If you do this, I have nothing."
"You have your custom shoes, Jake," I said, taking a sip of my wine. "And a great public smile. I'm sure you'll bounce back."
