The Divorce Papers Gave Him The Shell And Gave Me The Future Chapter 14

The Divorce Papers Gave Him The Shell And Gave Me The Future Chapter 14

“Ethan. Don’t call me again. There’s nothing left to say between us.”

I was about to hang up when he said one more thing.

“Apex is going bankrupt. Samuel pulled his money. Grace left. She said I don’t treat her well. That I drink all day. That I still think about you. Funny, right? She said I still think about you.”

I held the phone and said nothing.

“Skylar, if I hadn’t—”

“There is no if.”

I hung up.

Not long after, my phone buzzed again.

Julian: [When do we sign the investment agreement?]

[Tmrw.]

[Good. Also, something came up. The CEO of General Motors called me. They want to increase the order. This time it’s two hundred thousand units.]

I blinked.

[Two hundred thousand units. Can our production line handle that?]

[That’s why we need to talk. When are you free?]

[Tonight?]

[ok. I’ll make a reservation.]

Seven in the evening. I met Julian at The Blind Fox.

He dressed casually. Sneakers and a hoodie. Looked like a college student.

“You never look like a billionaire CEO when we meet.”

He grinned. “Billionaires can’t wear hoodies?”

The server brought tea.

“Let’s talk business.” Julian set down his fork. “What do you think about GM’s increased order?”

“Two hundred thousand units. No way our current production line can handle that. We need a new factory or a contract manufacturer.”

“Contract manufacturing is easy. But how do you ensure quality?”

“That’s exactly why I don’t want contract manufacturing.” I said. “I want to build our own line.”

“Do you know how much a self-driving production line costs?”

“Yeah. At least thirty-five million dollars.”

“How much do you have right now?”

“With your investment, less than twenty million.”

He leaned back in his chair. “So what’s your plan?”

“That’s why I need you.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“NestWorks has existing intelligent manufacturing lines. I want to borrow them. Not contract manufacturing. A partnership. Skyline provides the technology. NestWorks provides the capacity. We split the profits.”

He looked at me for a long time.

“Skylar, do you know who you sound like right now?”

“Who?”

“Me.” He smiled. “Three years ago, I sat in a restaurant just like this one and pitched a manufacturing CEO all night to get access to production lines. He said yes.”

“So you’re saying…”

“Deal.”

The next day, NestWorks Technologies and Skyline Intelligence signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement.

Three days later, the new production line went live.

One month later, first units started shipping.

Three months later, Apex Dynamics officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Apex tower now had a “For Sale” sign hanging outside.

Half the logo had been removed from the entrance. Only the word “Apex” remained, tilted at an odd angle.

I stood at the base of the building, looking up at the glass curtain wall.

Six years ago, Ethan held my hand and we took our first photo together in front of this building.

He said next year we’d move to a bigger building. The year after, going public. And then, ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

In the photo, he was grinning. I was smiling shyly.

Back then, we had nothing, but we had each other. Then we got everything, and we lost each other.

“Let’s go,” I said to Leo.

The car drove across the city’s Lakeside Interstate Overpass. Outside the window, neon signs flickered on one by one.

My phone rang. It was Julian.

“How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know how to describe it.”

He paused on the other end.

“Skylar, there’s something I’ve wanted to say to you.”

“What?”

“You don’t need everyone to see your success for it to be real. And you don’t need Ethan to watch your life to prove you won.”

“You’ve already won.”

I held the phone and didn’t speak.

“Oh, there’s an industry summit next week. The organizers want you to give the opening keynote. You in?”

“I’m in.”

“Good. I’ll have them arrange it.”

Leo glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Boss, Julian has a thing for you, doesn’t he?”

“Don’t be silly.”

“I’m not. The way he looks at you? It’s different.”

“You’re seeing things.”

Leo smiled and didn’t argue.

I turned and looked out the window, not ready to admit it, but unwilling to deny it either.

Julian was good to me. I knew that.

But right now, I wasn’t ready to start anything with anyone.

I needed to do one thing first. Become myself.

Valerie messaged me.

[Skylar, is your summit keynote ready? There will be over a thousand people in the audience. Multiple TV stations broadcasting live.]

[Ready.]

[Nervous?]

[Not at all.]

I turned off my phone and walked into Skyline Intelligence’s new office building.

In the lobby, the new receptionist stood up. “Good morning, Ms. Chase!”

“Morning.”

The elevator doors opened. Leo and Derek were waiting.

“Boss, the new production line starts next week. GM is pushing for delivery.”

“NestWorks’ final investment tranche arrived today.”

“Oh, and Ryan Foster from the state test track wants to meet. He mentioned a government partnership project.”

I walked and listened.

The office door swung open. Sunlight poured in and filled the room.

On my desk sat a potted succulent. A gift from Leo.

The card read: [Boss, this plant is called a ‘Phoenix’ succulent. No matter what you do to it, it doesn’t die. Kind of like you.]

I laughed. Sat down at my desk. Opened my computer.

The screen lit up.

A new email notification.

From a name I didn’t recognize.

Subject line: [Skylar, I’m sorry.]

I didn’t open it, and dragged it to the trash.

Then I opened the keynote document and typed the first line.

[Hello, everyone. I’m Skylar Chase. Today, I don’t want to talk about my successes. I want to talk about my failures.]

[Because those failures are exactly what brought me here.]

Sunlight fell across the keyboard.

I looked up.

The glass curtain wall reflected the city’s entire skyline.

In the distance, new buildings were rising. New stories were unfolding.

And I sat here.

No longer someone’s wife. No longer someone’s partner. No longer someone’s enemy.

I was just Skylar Chase.

An engineer who’d written code for six years.

A founder who’d just started her first company.

A person finally learning to live for herself.

My phone screen lit up.

A message from Leo.

[Boss, did you figure out the title for your keynote?]

I typed back. [Yeah.]

[What is it?]

I looked at the words on my screen. Smiled.

Then I typed one word.

[Restart]