I stopped walking and stood beside the blue water cooler, my hand freezing on my ring.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“The lawyers called,” Scott said, and I could hear the background noise of traffic on his end. “Evelyn’s estate is finally settling, and we have to clear the house.”
“The house in Oak Creek?” I asked. “Our home?”
“I need you to pack your bags and leave today, Avery,” he said, his words tripping over each other.
“Why would we leave our home because your grandmother’s estate is settling, Scott?”
“It is standard procedure for the tax transition,” he said, his voice rising defensively. “I do not have time to explain the legal codes to you right now.”
“We have lived there for six years,” I said, my finger tracing the edge of the plastic water cup dispenser.
“Just pack a suitcase and go to a hotel for a few days,” he said. “I will handle the details.”
“Is everything all right with you?” I asked, but the call ended before the question could clear my lips.
I stared at the black screen of my phone, the hum of the office vending machine filling the quiet space around me.
I did not go back into the boardroom to finish the presentation.
Instead, I walked past the receptionist’s desk and out through the heavy glass doors of the lobby.
The October air was cool, carrying the scent of asphalt and car exhaust from the nearby highway.
My sedan was parked under the shade of a maple tree at the far end of the employee lot.
I got behind the wheel, pulled the door shut, and gripped the leather steering wheel with both hands.
The quiet inside the car was absolute, a sharp contrast to the hum of the corporate office I had just abandoned.
