Chapter 11 - Marcus Said He Was Saving My Family
I met Marcus in an empty restaurant before lunch.
Public enough that neither of us would shout.
Private enough that nobody cared who I was.
He arrived without his assistant.
That alone felt strange.
Fourteen years and I had almost never seen him carry his own folder.
He sat.
“I assume this is the firing.”
“Agency partner tomorrow.”
“So this is personal.”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“Okay.”
I asked:
“Why did you send that message about Nora?”
Marcus leaned back.
“Because you're about to turn staying into a romantic gesture.”
“You don't know what I'm about to do.”
“I know you.”
“That seems to be everyone's favorite mistake.”
He accepted that.
I continued.
“Why did you keep talking to Ethan after Nora told you to stop?”
Marcus looked toward the window.
“I thought she was overprotecting him.”
“That wasn't your call.”
“No.”
“Why?”
He took a breath.
“Because the move needed to become real.”
“For whom?”
“All of you.”
“You mean for your commission.”
He did not pretend money wasn't part of it.
“A new market would've been good business.”
“For you.”
“For you too.”
“Maybe.”
“For your sponsors.”
“Maybe.”
“For the team.”
“Maybe.”
He looked annoyed.
“Do you think I built your career for free?”
“No.”
“Then stop acting shocked that incentives exist.”
“I’m not shocked by the money.”
“What are you shocked by?”
“That you thought my kid was part of the negotiation.”
Marcus was quiet.
When he spoke again, the sales pitch was gone.
“You want the reason?”
“Yes.”
“I watched you spend six months miserable.”
I stared.
“You hate going home when you and Nora are fighting.”
“That's my problem.”
“You hate the hotel too.”
“Yes.”
“You stay at the facility until midnight because it's the one place everyone agrees what you're supposed to do.”
I didn't answer.
Marcus continued.
“I thought a clean relocation would force you two to choose each other again.”
I almost laughed.
“You thought moving trucks were marriage therapy.”
“When everything around a family becomes contaminated, sometimes a reset helps.”
“You sell resets.”
“Yes.”
At least he admitted it.
“I also watched your parents stay in a house they hated until they hated each other.”
I looked at him.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
Good.
“I thought I could get ahead of that.”
“You don't get ahead of somebody's marriage.”
“I know that now.”
“Do you?”
He met my eyes.
“Yes.”
For the first time he sounded tired.
Not defeated.
Not innocent.
Just tired.
“Why rehearse Ethan?”
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
“Because you listen to him.”
“That's your defense?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“You stop arguing when Ethan speaks.”
I hated how observant that was.
Marcus continued:
“If he said he was okay moving, I thought Nora would stop protecting him from it. If he said he was excited to stay, I thought you'd stop acting like leaving was inevitable.”
“So you gave him both.”
“Yes.”
“That is insane.”
“It was arrogant.”
Closer.
I sat back.
“When Nora told you to stop?”
“I thought she was pulling him to her side.”
“She wasn't.”
“I know.”
“You know because she told you.”
“Yes.”
“And you ignored her.”
“Yes.”
I waited for the justification.
He didn't give one.
That made it harder to stay furious in the clean way I wanted.
Not less necessary.
Just less clean.
I placed my phone on the table.
“I’m removing you from all family logistics today.”
Marcus nodded.
“No direct contact with Nora. Ethan. School. Drivers. House. Nothing.”
“Understood.”
“My agency representation gets decided tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
“And you tell every team you contacted that I have not requested a trade.”
His expression shifted.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Because if you shut the door now—”
“I didn't say shut the door.”
He stopped.
“I said tell the truth.”
Marcus looked at me for several seconds.
Then nodded.
“Okay.”
I stood.
He said:
“Caleb.”
I turned.
“If Nora asks you not to move back in, don't punish her by leaving the city.”
My jaw tightened.
“I'm not taking marriage advice from you.”
“Good.”
May you like
He picked up his coffee.
“Take it from her.”
