“None of this would be possible without the team we’ve built,” he said, and I waited for him to say my name. He didn’t. He gestured toward Laura instead. “Laura Vale, our COO, has been instrumental in shaping our strategy this year.”
Laura smiled. She didn’t look surprised. She didn’t look toward me. She accepted the acknowledgment like she’d been expecting it, like it was her due, like she was the partner Callum was thanking and I was just another guest at table three.
After the speeches, Gerald Finch, a client I’d worked with for years, found me near the dessert table. He’d hired Crestline for three projects, and every single one of them had my fingerprints on the design.
“Holland,” he said, his voice so warm it felt like an anchor in the shifting room. For a moment, I wasn’t just Callum’s wife; I was the architect. “I’ve been meaning to tell you. The Crestline look—it’s what keeps us coming back. You should be proud.”
I opened my mouth to thank him.
“It really is something special,” Laura said, appearing at my side like she’d been summoned. “Callum and I have been working hard to keep that vision consistent across all our new projects.”
Callum and I.
Gerald glanced between us. He knew me, had worked with me for years. But Laura was the COO, radiating confidence, and I saw the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes—the subtle recalculation of a man wondering if he’d just given credit to the wrong person.
“Well,” he said, “it’s a strong team.”
Laura’s smile widened. “It really is.”
She didn’t look at me. She didn’t need to. She’d just taken a compliment meant for my work and folded it into her own narrative, and she’d done it in front of a client who’d known me for years. And when I looked across the room at Callum, he was watching. He’d seen the entire exchange.
He gave Laura a small nod. The kind of nod that said good job. The kind of nod that said I see you.
He didn’t look at me.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur of small talk and handshakes and the particular exhaustion that came from performing warmth you didn’t feel. By the time the valet brought our car around, I was so tired my bones ached.
Callum was quiet on the drive. Then, halfway across the bridge, he said, “You were tense tonight.”
“I wasn’t tense.”
“You were. You barely spoke to anyone after the speeches.”
I turned my head toward the window. The city lights blurred across the water. “I spoke to Gerald Finch. And the Thompsons. And Margaret Wexler.”
“That’s not what I mean.” His voice was calm. Patient. The voice he used when he was about to explain something to me that I should already understand. “You were cold with Laura.”
“I wasn’t cold with Laura. Laura inserted herself into a conversation I was having with a client.”
“She was being a supportive part of the team.”
“She took credit for my design language in front of Gerald Finch.”
Callum sighed. The sound was small and tired and somehow made me feel like I was the one being unreasonable. “She wasn’t taking credit. She was talking up the firm. That’s her job. You’re reading into things that aren’t there.”
I turned in my seat to face him. His profile was sharp against the dark window, his hands easy on the wheel. “She sat in my seat.”
“It’s a chair, Holland.”
“It’s been my chair for five years.”
“She’s COO. It makes sense for her to be near me at these things. It’s optics.” He glanced at me, then back at the road. “You’re being insecure about this. It’s not a good look.”
Insecure. He’d used that word before. He’d used it last month when I’d asked why Laura was in every meeting I used to be in. He’d used it two weeks ago when I’d noticed she’d started signing off on client communications that used to come through my desk. He was using it now, in the dark of the car, while the city slid past us and my wedding ring caught the dashboard light.
I didn’t answer. I didn’t know how to answer. Because if I pushed, I was insecure. If I asked questions, I was paranoid. If I pointed out what I’d seen with my own eyes, I was reading into things that weren’t there.
He’d built a story where I was the problem, and I didn’t know when he’d started building it.
