Nobody stopped her.
David turned back to my husband.
“Section seven of our conduct policy, Carl. You signed the attestation in January. No undisclosed relationships with direct reports. Add the misuse of a company card and you can imagine how Monday goes. Priya will walk you through the paperwork.”
“You can’t fire me at a party,” Carl said hoarsely.
“I’m not firing you at a party. I’m informing you.”
David’s voice dropped.
“Tonight, you can go home. Although I’m not sure which home you think you have.”
“Laura.” Carl turned toward me, and there was something in his face I had never seen, and it was terror.
“Laura, come on. Twenty-three years. We can talk about this.”
I looked down at the two halves of the photograph in my hands.
I put them together.
I held them against my chest.
And I walked out, past a hundred and twenty silent people, into the night.
