After the door clicks shut, I study what Evelyn sent—pale pink stationery with weight to it, the kind you find in those Madison Avenue boutiques where saleswomen judge your shoes. My name curves across the front in practiced calligraphy.
The letter opener makes a satisfying slice through expensive paper. Inside: a matching card bearing the Hui-Wang monogram in gold leaf. Something cold settles in my chest as I unfold it.
“Dear Ms. Lee,”it begins, all formality despite our months of discussing her most intimate grievances. My eyes catch phrases like ‘exceptional counsel,’ ‘circumstances have changed,’ and ‘James and I have decided’ until I reach the final paragraph.
The tickets slide out when I unfold the letter fully—two first-class passes to Taipei on thick stock that feels expensive between my fingers. A Post-it clings to them:‘The spa in Jinshan healed me. You deserve the same.’
A sound escapes me, half laugh, half disbelief. The ultimate backhanded thank you—a luxury getaway as a consolation prize for not keeping them apart. I want to fling the tickets across the room, but my hand stays frozen. The Wangs have turned their reunion into the most graceful insult imaginable.
I stash the whole package in my bottom drawer as if it might burn me. The mountain of case files on my desk is waiting, and I need three new high-value clients before William snatches them up. The only way forward is the same as always: work twice as hard for half the recognition. That’s the unspoken rule for women here.
Two hours disappear into legal briefs and discovery requests—the metronome of my career ticking steadily on.
My phone lights up.
Aaron
Survived panel, signed a thousand books, and now I’m ‘yearning’ for you.
I bite the inside of my cheek, fingers hovering over the screen before typing.
Me
Yearning is dangerous. Might recommend a cold shower.
Aaron
Or you could come here and make it worse.
Something flutters in my chest, a sensation I immediately try to smother. But images from last weekend flash through my mind.
Me
I’m in the midst of a career implosion, just FYI.
Aaron
Would you like to talk about it? I have time.
Me
It’s fine. Really. I’ll handle it.
His response comes quickly.
Aaron
Remember what you told me in Napa? Even the best lawyers sometimes need a defense team.
Me
Not a lawyer joke, I hope.
Aaron
Never, unless you need to hear one.
Me
