When she came back inside, she looked like someone had just offered her the world and asked for her soul in return. "That was my CFO," she said. I figured, "There's an opportunity, a big one." She sat down across from him, her hands folded on the table. Global Tech wants to acquire us. Full acquisition.
They're offering four times our current valuation. Ethan set down his pen. How much is that? Enough that I'd never have to work again. Enough that neither would you or Chloe or Khloe's kids.
That's a lot of money. It is. She wasn't smiling. But there's a condition. They want me to stay on as CEO for the transition. three years minimum. based in Seattle.
The word hung between them like a grenade with the pin pulled. Seattle, Ethan repeated, their headquarters. I'd have to relocate, oversee the integration, manage the existing teams, report directly to their board for three years. At least three years. Could be longer depending on how the merger goes.
Ethan picked up his pen, set it down again. What did you tell them? That I'd think about it. That's all. What else was I supposed to say?
It's the biggest opportunity of my career. It's everything I've been working toward for 10 years. Her voice cracked slightly. But it's also everything we said we wouldn't do. More distance, more time apart, more choosing the company over us.
So, don't do it. She looked at him like he'd just suggested she cut off her own arm. It's not that simple. Sounds pretty simple to me. They want you to move to Seattle for three years.
You say no and walk away from $4 billion. Yeah, walk away from $4 billion. Selena stood up, started pacing. You don't understand what you're asking. I understand perfectly.
I'm asking you to stay. You're asking me to give up everything I've built, everything I've sacrificed for. I'm asking you to pick us. Ethan stood too, his frustration finally breaking through. I'm asking you to remember that four months ago you stood in this exact kitchen and told me you loved me more than the company.
That you were done sacrificing our relationship for your career. And now the second someone waves money in your face, you're already halfway out the door. That's not fair. None of this is fair. But you made a promise.
I made a promise when I thought the choice was between being in Singapore twice a month or staying here. I I didn't think she stopped, pressed her hands to her eyes. $4 billion. Ethan, do you have any idea what that kind of money means? It means you'd be in Seattle and we'd be here. We could come with me.
The words dropped like a bomb. Ethan stared at her. What? T you and Chloe. You could move to Seattle.
I'd buy us a house. Any house you want. Chloe could go to private school, the best in the city. You wouldn't have to work if you didn't want to. I I like my work.
Then you could teach there. They have schools in Seattle. They have schools everywhere, Selena. That's not the point. Then what is the point?
The point is you're asking me to uproot my entire life. To take Chloe away from her grandmother, her school, her friends, to leave the only home she's ever known. Because you got offered money. It's not just money. It's security.
It's never having to worry about bills or mortgages or whether we can afford Khloe's college. We can afford Khloe's college. I've been saving since she was born. community college, maybe not Harvard, not Yale. Who says she wants Harvard or Yale? Maybe she wants to stay close to home.
Maybe she wants a normal life where her dad isn't married to someone who's too busy running a billion-dollar company to show up for her recital. Selena flinched like he'd hit her. I've made it to every single one of Khloe's events since I came back from Singapore. because you restructured because you promised you'd be here and now you want to throw all of that away. I'm not throwing it away. I'm asking you to come with me to a city where I don't know anyone.
Where Chloe doesn't know anyone. Where everything familiar gets ripped away because Selena Vaughn got a better offer. Don't say my name like that. Like what? Like I'm some corporate monster who doesn't care about you.
Then stop acting like one. The silence that followed felt like the end of something. Selena grabbed her coat from the back of the chair. I need to think, she said. You need to choose.
Maybe I do, but I'm not doing it while you're looking at me like I'm the villain in your story. She headed for the door, then stopped. I love you. I love Chloe, but I also love what I've built. And I don't think it's wrong to want both.
It's not wrong to want both. It's impossible to have both. She left without answering. Ethan stood in the empty kitchen, surrounded by half-graded papers and the wreckage of another fight, and wondered how many times they could do this before one of them stopped coming back. Khloe appeared in the doorway, her dinosaur pajamas rumpled from sleep.
"Why are you yelling?" she asked. "We weren't yelling." "Yes, you were. I heard you from upstairs." She climbed onto one of the kitchen chairs. Is Selena leaving again? I don't know, sweetheart.
Because of money? E. Because of work. That's the same thing. Chloe picked at the tablecloth.
Mom left because of work, too. She said dad was holding her back from her dreams. Ethan's chest tightened. He'd never told Khloe the details of the divorce, but kids heard things, remembered things. Selena's not your mom, he said quietly.
I know, but she's doing the same thing, isn't she? Choosing work over us. It's more complicated than that. No, it's not. Either she wants to be here or she doesn't.
Chloe looked at him with those two old eyes again. And I think she doesn't. That's not true. Then why does she keep leaving? Ethan didn't have an answer.