Chapter 13 - The Return to the Office
Three weeks later, I returned to the Ashford Innovations headquarters.
The building was thirty-eight floors of glass and steel.
I had designed the original office layout.
Malcolm had spent years telling people he had.
I entered through the main lobby.
The receptionist stood immediately.
“Good morning, Ms.
Ashford.”
I smiled.
“Good morning.”
Employees looked up.
Some smiled.
Some whispered.
Some simply stared.
I walked toward the elevators.
A young engineer approached me.
“Ms.
Ashford?”
I stopped.
“Yes?”
He looked nervous.
“I just wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not firing everyone.”
I frowned.
“Why would I?”
He gave a small laugh.
“Malcolm said after the board removed him, you might shut down entire departments.”
I shook my head.
“I built this company for the people who work here.”
His eyes softened.
“Then why did you disappear?”
That question stayed with me.
Why had I disappeared?
Because I thought love required sacrifice.
Because I thought marriage meant sharing the spotlight.
Because I believed that if I worked quietly enough, supported him enough, loved him enough, eventually he would remember that we had built something together.
I smiled.
“I thought staying quiet was the same as keeping the peace.”
He waited.
“I was wrong.”
The elevator doors opened.
I stepped inside.
On the thirty-second floor, the executive office had been cleared.
Malcolm’s photographs were gone.
His awards were boxed.
His nameplate had been removed.
My assistant placed a folder on my desk.
“What would you like to do first?”
I looked through the glass walls at the city.
“Open the company archives.”
She blinked.
“All of them?”
“All.”
“Why?”
“Because I want every employee to know where this company came from.”
She smiled.
“And after that?”
May you like
I looked at the brass key hanging around my neck.
“Build the future.”
