I sink a slow bite into the dry bread and try to push her out of my mind.
“You can’t work like this,” Val lectures me. “You’ll fall apart. It’s no use. You’ve talked to everyone and looked through all the avenues.”
“What are you trying to say?” My voice is low but tense. I know Val is just trying to help, but I can’t give up yet.
“Fletcher.” She pauses and takes a deep breath. “You can’t beat this.”
Anger rises in my chest, and I throw the sandwich in my hand across the room. Bits of cheese and bologna scatter on the floor. I close my eyes and rub the bridge of my nose, taking deep breaths.
“I’m not giving up.”
Val’s feet shuffle next to me. I hear a soft sigh.
“It’s not about giving up.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ve already looked outward, now it’s about looking inward.”
I look up, and she flashes me a mysterious smile. I’m confounded. All of my life’s work is going down the drain. I’m going to be penniless and out on the street by the end of the week. Val is losing all of her money and will be unemployed soon. And now she is giving me riddles?
“Here, look at this.” She tosses a sheet of paper in front of me. It is a spreadsheet table full of numbers. It is a list of names and numbers. There must have been hundreds of names with a number next to each of them.
“What the hell is this?”
“A list of the new investors in the company.”
“What?” I look down again and recognize the names. There are several names I recognize. In fact, I recognize every single name. These are the names of my employees.
“What do you mean? What does this mean?”
“You don’t need outside investors anymore. Your employees are fronting the cash and taking ownership of the company. Everyone is putting in their own money to keep the company afloat. They are putting in cash and foregoing their salaries to put everything into the business until we finish our project and make back every penny.”
I can’t move a muscle. I am shocked. Three hundred people are putting in their hard-earned savings and foregoing their salaries to keep my company going. These are people with families, bills, and mortgages.
“Why would they do this?” My voice shakes.
“They believe in our product. They believe in this company. And most of all, they believe in you, Fletch.”
I’m at a loss for words. I feel as if there is a heatwave burgeoning in my chest.
“Don’t worry. People still think you’re a demanding hard-ass. Your reputation is safe.” Val smiles.
“I don’t deserve this.” I really mean it. I am truly humbled.
“You probably don’t.” She shrugs her shoulders. “But we think you do. You’re mean, you’re picky, and you’re impossible. But you’re one hell of a boss and one hell of an entrepreneur. You work harder than anyone I know, and you are the best in the business. We’re just gamblers betting on the fastest horse. Of course, we expect you to win the race.” She winks at me.
I chuckle. Then I look down to see the name next to the biggest number on the sheet. “Where did you get all this money? I thought everything you had was already in the company.”
Val grins and tilts her head. “I talked to my husband, and we agreed to mortgage our house and put in our kids’ college fund.”
Valentina is such an efficient and dedicated employee that I have completely forgotten that she is also a wife and a mother of a pair of rambunctious twins.
I shake my head in disbelief. “You have that much faith in the company?”
“No, Fletch. We have that much faith in you.”
My company is safe. The project is humming along as expected. I still work a lot and drive everyone around me crazy, but it’s nice to know that they got my back. They’re not just employees who are forced to be here for a paycheck. They want to be here because they believe in me. I am still not used to the idea that these people, for whatever reason, actually like me.
It’s another late night in the office. Val shoos me out of my office and sends me home before sunrise. She demands that I get some sleep and not return for twenty-four hours. I wander into the Manhattan streets, a little dazed as dawn breaks. I realize I haven’t seen daylight in days.
Before heading home, I decide to grab some food at a little deli next door. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing but expired yogurt and beer in my fridge. As I walk in, I bump into a young mother rushing out with a heavy bag of groceries and a crying toddler in her arms.
“I’m so sorry,” I murmur. My tired eyes barely give her a second look.
“Fletcher?” A familiar voice calls my name.
I stop short.
“Rachel.”
“I’m glad to see you,” she says into a cup of steaming coffee.
I look down at my cup. After the initial surprise of running into me, she asked me if I wanted to get a cup of coffee with her. I agreed before I even realized it. So we went into the nearest cafe that just opened for the morning. I watch her as she sips her coffee and I’m not sure what she wants from me.
I furtively glance from the ring on her finger to the little girl sleeping in the stroller. She looks happy with her new family. I would have thought I’d be bitter or jealous, but I’m surprised to find I only feel a calm sense of kinship toward her. Like an old classmate or neighbor. Nothing more.
“I’m really glad everything worked out for your company. I was so worried. You’ve worked so hard.”
I take a sip of the scalding liquid and give her an awkward bob of my head.
“Fletcher, tell me. Are you happy?”
I open
