Everything for the Career

(This part of the story does not contain any sex. If you are waiting for sex, wait till the third part comes out.

This is a story of a strong career-oriented woman, who gives up everything, including her sense of responsibility to her husband, her duty towards her family and the security of her future to promote her own career. When she sees her mistake, she tries to make amends. But, is it too late?

Note that comments are more than welcome. You can comment on this story or send me an email via the link below.)

JENNIFER's SIDE

The decision was long overdue. A memo circulated by e-mail to all staff members, just confirmed the same.

American Corporation Bank had named me as their new Vice President – International Business.

When the e-mail was first circulated in the office, I was simply sitting in my cabin, working. I check e-mails every two hours. So I did not see the e-mail as other people did. However, I could see much movement in the office from my glass door, most of it directed towards me. People smiled and gave me two thumbs up when they passed my cabin. People huddled together, as if in a secret discussion, then they would look towards my cabin, all smiles. I credited it to some client we may have scored.

It was only when Shirley, my secretary of seven years, rushed into the room with a big smile on her face that I knew something was up. When she told me what happened, I could not believe it. I still did not believe when I read the memo. It was from Edwards Sterling III. He was the CEO and President of ACB (American Corporation Bank – in short) and did treat me like a daughter.

I got up and called Mary, Edward's secretary. When she congratulated me, before putting me on to Edwards, I understood that this was no fantasy. My dream had indeed come true. I, Jennifer Grace, 32 years old, had become the Vice President of a global bank after 18 years of giving it my blood, sweat and tears. I was grateful for the recognition. The position meant everything to me. It was my dream. I lived it every day. Any action I took in the last 18 years, was to further that dream. And today, I had finally achieved it.

When Edwards, a serious man, had a smile on his face as I entered the room, I knew the news was true. When he had taken me through the speech of how he and the board members found only me worthy of this position, I was running out of breath. My heart had stopped. I just could not believe it. Finally, in something totally uncharacteristic of me, I let out a small whoop. I could see Edwards grinning paternally towards me. I apologized for the loss of control, but he rubbished it with his hand, saying it was okay to let go once in a while. I could see that he was genuinely feeling happy for me. I had everything now. I had my dream in my hand. I was Vice President!

I literally ran back to my cabin, well, actually ran as far as my high heels would allow. The first people I called were my team in Asia, Australia and Europe. I spoke with each of them for half an hour to an hour each. Thanking them, I spoke with them as a team, and even individually. Everyone was so happy for me. I hoped that I had not let my excitement show when I spoke to them. But I think they noticed anyways.

I felt that this one time, in my entire 18 years, I needed to express how I felt. And I did. To my team, who had helped me reach where I was today. To my line managers who reported to me, without whose dedication I would not have reached here. To my different departments, who functioned as a cohesive whole, and raised the bar on international deliveries. God, I was so happy today.

Next were calls to all close family friends and relatives. Each one reacted positively. They knew how much this meant to me. Everyone congratulated me. They wished me luck and blessed me. I loved every moment of it. I had tried calling Mom and Dad, but they had left a message on the answering machine that they were out to a small local fair and would not be accessible on their cell phones. I'd call them later.

Now next were calls to all my important vendors and customers. Of course, they were only too pleased at the developments. They all felt that I would indeed make a good Vice President.

By the time I looked up from my watch, it was 2:00 pm. God, it was so difficult to figure out where the time goes by. I was late for lunch. I grabbed my coat and rushed out to get a bite to eat. Not so easy. Edwards stopped me midcorridor. He invited me for lunch, stating casually that a few board members would also like to meet you. He grinned at me, noting that my eyes were wide like saucers. And told me that I would have to get used to meeting important people from now. I was thrilled, nervous and excited at the same time. This was so perfect. Nervously, I excused myself from Edwards, rushed towards the women's room and freshened up. Then I was all smiles as we moved towards his chauffeur driver car, and towards the most expensive restaurant in town. Lunch was good, but brief. I discussed future plans with the board members and everyone seemed genuinely interested in my plans.

I rushed back to office around 3:00 pm and faced another barrage of congratulations and well-wishers. The queue of people who wanted to shake my hands and wish me luck over the phone just kept on growing. And I never turned down anyone. I took all calls, answered all queries, accepted all congratulations and kept on going tirelessly. It was so perfect.

It was late evening around 7:00 pm when I was finally free from all the meetings and handshaking. I was tired, but felt a warm fuzzy glow inside me. I knew I had my life exactly where I wanted. I thanked Shirley for staying with me extra late to help me dealing with the onrush of congratulations. She just smiled and said she would always be there for me.

Around 7:30 pm, I was caught in a traffic jam while returning home. I decided to make that time in the car useful. I called up my parents' house. This time, they were there. Mom answered and I just could not control my feelings. I gushed out everything. The Vice Presidency, the joy, the meetings, everything, it just came on and on like a flood. When I finished speaking I could make out Mom was crying. She composed herself and congratulated me, giving me a couple of kisses over the phone. Dad had been standing on the line too. He blessed me and said that his little princess had all grown up. I could tell from his voice that he was proud of me. I could tell he was trying desperately to stay in control, but was not able to stop the tears coming from his eyes. He knew how badly I wanted that position. He knew how much I had toiled and sacrificed for it. I could feel the tears in my eyes too. All the heartaches and working long hours finally paid off. I got what I wanted. And it was so good. It was the peak.

And then my Dad asked, "Honey, does Arthur know about this?"

I almost had an accident as I braked the car hard at that question!

My God. MY GOD! I was so deep into feeling good about myself and accepting the congratulations the whole day that I had forgotten about informing my husband, Arthur about it!

I felt the regret rise immediately from the base of my spine. Guilt filled my heart. What was I thinking? Arthur should have been the first person to know. First person to share the good news with. He was the man I loved the most in this world. He was the man I wanted to grow old with, to hold when I wanted comfort. How could I have missed him? How could I have missed my husband? Just what kind of a wife was I? I found myself getting angry at my obvious lack of oversight of Arthur.

Oh GOD! How could I be this stupid?

How *could* I forget this? It was the most important event in my life. And I had not told my husband about it. I would never forgive myself for this. Arthur would have heard this by now from outside sources including my relatives. Why did I overlook him, the most important part of my life?

I pushed the pedal to the floor out of frustration and sheer stupidity on my part. I wanted to be there home. Hold my Arthur, tell him how much I loved him and how stupid I had been not to inform him first, how I would make it up to him and how he was the most important man on the planet to me.

I only hoped that this small forgetfulness on my part would not affect tonight. It had been a perfect day and I did not want one slip on my part to spoil it.

As I rushed to our house, my panic turned to relief. The house was dark and no lights were on. Arthur had not even arrived. I felt my body relax. But this was not time to relax yet. Fumbling, I took out the keys from my purse and opened the door. Once inside, I threw the purse, and reached for our phone. Thank God Arthur answered on the second ring.

"Hi honey." His voice sounded flat.

"Arthur, love, I am so sorry. I forgot to tell you some excellent news. I have been selected as Vice President of International Affairs!! Oh Arthur! This means so much to me. I love you. Come home to me. I want to celebrate with you. Oh Arthur, I am so sorry I forgot to tell you earlier. Please, overlook that mistake honey and come home fast."

"Relax. It's okay. Honestly. And congratulations on finally bagging that post. I know you wanted it so badly. You've given your everything to that company. Everything." He said. I thought he placed a lot of emphasis on the last "EVERYTHING" he mentioned. But I did not pay much attention to that fact. The rest of his voice still sounded tired.

"If it's ok, can you come home early today?" I asked, not wanting to upset or depress him further. I figured if he were home, I'd be able to snap him out of whatever blue mood he was in. After all, one of my trips during the evening was to "Victoria's Secret". I had gotten a see-through negligee. One of those things Arthur had requested me occasionally but I never conceded.

"Okay honey, I'll be there in the next hour. I am working at the moment and this has to go out today." His tone was still flat.

I tried to deduce from his tone whether he was angry. I guessed he was not.

But his voice did seem a bit flat, almost indifferent, and downbeat. While there was no indication of any anger in his voice at the fact that I informed him about my new position at the end of the day, I was mildly regretful as to why his voice was not upbeat after hearing about his wife's promotion to such an important position.

"Are you sure you are not angry?" I asked hesitatingly. "Or upset with me for not telling you earlier?"

I could hear him sigh resignedly.

"No." Again, the terse reply. But the voice, it bothered me. He was speaking out the words so slowly. It was the voice of a man who had seen the end of the world with his own eyes. I know my husband. And as every married woman will vouch, we can know the state of our man by his voice alone. I thought it was best not to press him further.

"Will you be home in the next hour? I've ordered your favorite. Chicken and baked potatoes. And I've also got some champagne." I said, trying to bring back some of the happiness of the day into the night.

"OK." Again that sad voice. I could not stand it any longer.

"Arthur, why are you sounding so low today honey? Is there some problem?" I asked again.

"No. Its work... something I started around 15 years ago... ends today." He said in a flat voice. I did not give much thought to it. Just a fleeting idea wondering what was it that took him 15 long years to complete. But like I said it was just a fleeting moment and in the next instant it was forgotten.

"Right honey. Look, I'm sorry to disturb you. But you have forgiven me, haven't you?" I asked, still not convinced that everything was okay.

"Yes. I'm not angry with you for anything at all. And congratulations once again for realizing your dream." He said.

I thought I detected sadness in his voice. But I decided to put that thought past me and get him to come home. I'd fix him up. I'd give so much of myself that he'd be tired just taking it!

"Thanks dear. Come home soon to me. And don't get too tired. You have some work at home too... in our bedroom." I giggled as I spoke.

"Look Jennifer, I'll touch base later."

And he simply disconnected.

I was left with my mouth hanging open, and the telephone receiver still cradled in my ear. This was the first time in 18 years that Arthur had disconnected the phone on me. This was the first time he broke off while I was hinting for sex. He never, ever, disconnected. Never. It was always me who did that. Whether it was the time when the company he worked for was under the threat of being taken over. Or whether it was the multibillion dollar client who was changing his mind at the last moment to shift his account somewhere else. Or whether we had huge fights over my excessive dedication to my career and not enough attention to him, or sometimes I was too tired to have sex with him. Arthur never disconnected on me.

What was more discouraging, as I thought more about it, was that Arthur did not even tell me "I love you." His standard closure line, which he told me every time he finished a conversation. And for a moment my heart lurched when I realized that he always called me "Jenny", never "Jennifer." At least not since the day we took our vows and sanctified our relationship. But I decided to overlook it. Maybe I was reading too much into this. He was just tired. And if I were closing something that was open for 15 years, well, I would be jittery too. Maybe it was not going on as planned by Arthur. Maybe his client was not paying in time. Maybe they were asking for more free time. I decided not to be an inadvertent nag.

I put the phone in the cradle. I shrugged and decided it was probably his work, an exception to 18 years of predictable behavior. And I attributed his strange, sad tone to a bad day at the office. After all, Arthur was also human. And just because my day today was phenomenal for me, did not mean it would be the same for him. Plus, even if he did not admit, I knew he would subconsciously be hurting that his wife did not call him first. And that he was the last to know. I felt guilty again, but decided that guilt would serve no purpose. Instead, I would let him come home. Then I will show him how much I love him. And just how much he means to me and how much I needed him.

I giggled at a mischievous thought. Well, once he came home, he would not be so flat. In fact, he would be positively "horizontal". I would order a fantastic dinner as I had told him and would make love with him. Today, I would even take him in my mouth, something he awkwardly hinted at me to do for 18 years, and something I had always refused, glaring him down when he did suggest that. Today I would give myself to him, do whatever he wanted, in ways I had never done before for him. I may even try anal. I giggled again at that thought. And now that my lifetime dream of becoming the Vice President had been realized, I could even think of becoming a mother. I wanted no less than four children. I giggled again as I thought that means Arthur and I could not waste any more time. I felt good again. Warm inside.

I showered, ordered dinner from the best hotel, THE CLUB, and waited for Arthur to come home. I jumped from the chair as I head the doorbell ring thrice. It was what Arthur always did. I ran to the door. I wanted to open the door, jump on him and love him all at the same time.

The moment I opened the door for Arthur, I knew my life would change forever.

He was a shadow of what I had seen in the morning. His suit was all crumpled. His hair was in disarray, his shoulders were slumped in defeat. His shirt was partly out of his pants. His tie was askew. And then there were his eyes. Dear God his eyes! They were so full of unidentified pain! They were so very sad!!

"My God! Arthur!" I screamed. Part in surprise, part in fear. This was not the man I knew so well for 18 years. Arthur never wore flip-flops even when he wanted to get something from a convenience store, and here he was, looking like a street bum.

"What happened, my God, HONEY!!??" I was trying hard to control my voice, failing badly, as my mind ran through all kinds of conceivable bad scenarios. And I was fast losing my composure to panic. "WHAT HAPPENED?" I screamed out aloud.

He looked at me. My God, he looked SO tired. And so sad. As if the burden of the entire world was on him. As if he had given up on the world and decide not to continue living. Something was seriously wrong here.

The spark had disappeared. His eyes were dead. Tired. Red, as if from crying. I also noticed he was still standing in the doorway, not coming in. But what scared me most, was that he was not wearing our wedding ring.

"Jennifer," he said to me in a tired voice, "I am divorcing you."

And as I simply stood there stunned, trying to understand what he just said, the world came crumbling down my head.