Chapter 6 - The Ghost of Christmas Past
Three weeks passed. The public scandal had cooled from a roaring fire to a steady, toxic simmer. I had been formally terminated from Reed & Parker. My name was stripped from the glass doors. My equity was frozen in an escrow account pending the outcome of the federal investigation.
I was living out of a sterile, two-bedroom corporate rental near the river, a place that felt more like a waiting room for purgatory than a home.
One evening, unable to bear the confinement any longer, I drove down to the Near North Side. I found myself parking down the street from a small, familiar bakery. It was the place where Callie used to order the cookies she brought to the office every Christmas.
I stepped inside, the warm smell of cinnamon and sugar hitting me with a wave of intense nostalgia. I sat in a booth near the corner, pulling my baseball cap low over my eyes.
"Dominic?"
I looked up. Standing by the counter, holding a box of pastries, was Thomas Bennett.
I froze. "Thomas. Hi."
He hesitated for a long moment, then walked over and sat down across from me. He wasn't wearing his usual pristine suit. He looked relaxed, casual, wearing a simple wool sweater.
"I heard the board finalized the termination," Thomas said quietly.
"Yeah," I replied, staring down at my coffee cup. "They didn't waste any time. How are things at the office?"
"Quiet. They hired a new senior partner from New York. He’s... efficient. But he doesn't know the city like you did." Thomas paused, watching me closely. "You look tired, Dominic."
"I haven't slept in three weeks, Thomas," I admitted, the confession slipping out before my pride could stop it. "I’m looking at five to seven years in federal prison if Robert can't negotiate a plea deal. And Callie... I don't even know where she is."
Thomas took a sip of his tea. "She’s at her sister's place in Michigan. Up in Traverse City. Near the lake. She needed to get away from the reporters."
My eyes snapped to his. "You talk to her?"
"She called to check on my mother last week," Thomas said, his voice softening. "My mother passed away last month, Dominic. Right before the leak happened. Callie knew she was failing, so she made sure to call."
A profound sense of shame washed over me. "I didn't know your mother passed, Thomas. I’m... I’m so sorry. I should have been there."
"You were in Aspen, Dominic," Thomas said, without malice, just stating a fact. "But Callie was there. She sent flowers to the funeral home. She even helped me arrange the reception catering."
I covered my face with my hands. The depth of my own self-absorption was staggering. I had spent years surrounded by people who were genuinely good, people who valued connection and loyalty, and I had treated them like pieces on a chessboard.
May you like
"Does she hate me?" I asked through my fingers.
"No," Thomas replied. "Hate takes energy, Dominic. She’s just done. She’s focusing entirely on the baby now. She told me she spent ten years trying to love a man who only loved his own reflection. She’s just glad she finally broke the mirror."
