He Sacrificed My Career for Her—Then I Resigned Without Looking Back Chapter 06

For the first hour after I submitted my resignation, Graham didn’t come looking for me.

In the second hour, he had his assistant cancel all his nonessential meetings that afternoon.

By the third hour, screenshots of Brooke’s Instagram post had spread through every little group chat at the

firm.

Tara was the first to send them to me. She was probably afraid I wouldn’t see it on my own, and her message

came across as nervous.

Tara: [Ms. Kane, um, you might want to look at this?]

I opened it. Brooke had posted a photo carousel.

The first photo was of her and Graham at a Halcyon client dinner. Graham stood beside her, bending his

head to listen to her. The lighting was soft, and the table held wine and flowers from the client.

The second photo was of Graham’s office. There were two coffees on his desk, and one had a sticky note on

it that said: [Light ice, half the syrup.]

That was how I used to order his coffee.

The last photo was a selfie backstage at the holiday party. She was wearing that black jacket.

The caption read: [When I started out, I was always afraid I couldn’t make it. I’m so lucky someone kept telling me not to be scared and to keep going.]

There were a few comments under it.

[This is literally a real-life power couple.]

[The way Mr. Whitmore looks at you, I can’t.]

[Don’t forget us little people when you’re famous.]

Brooke had replied to one of them.

Brooke: [I just got lucky and met someone willing to give me a hand.]

Tara texted again.

Tara: [Ms. Kane, want me to go make her take it down?]

Me: [No.]

She answered in a second.

Tara: [But it’s way over the line.]

I looked at the photo of the jacket. The cut had scabbed over, and all that was left on the back of my hand

was a faint pale line.

Me: [At four o’clock, sync every digital file for Everstone to the shared drive and give Lucas access.]

Tara went quiet for a long time. At last, she only sent back one word.

Tara: [Okay.]

I closed the chat. A little flirty Instagram post wasn’t worth another fight to set the record straight.

For eight years, everyone at the firm had assumed I was single. They assumed Graham was cold and aloof, and that Brooke was the only exception he’d ever made. Once an assumption like that settled in, it turned into

someone else’s place.

I used to be terrified of that. I was afraid of people getting the wrong idea, afraid of people talking about Graham, afraid our relationship would get buried in ugly gossip before we ever went public.

So I kept reminding him to keep his distance, and I kept trying to push Brooke back into the role of coworker.

Graham said I was too sensitive.

Now I’d stopped reminding him.

At four, Tara set up the shared drive access. I sat in the conference room and walked her and Lucas through

the Everstone case.

The case was a fight over control of a public company, and the chain of evidence was thick and tangled. Lucas was good, but he’d only ever worked in the second chair, and he didn’t know the client’s internal

politics well enough yet.

I didn’t skip anything.

I went from the notes on our first client meeting to opposing counsel’s habits at trial, and from the personalities of the key witnesses to what the judge had focused on at the last two pretrial conferences.

Lucas listened closely and filled more than a dozen pages with notes.

Halfway through, Everstone’s general counsel, Daniel Shaw, called.

“Ms. Kane, I’m hearing your firm is shuffling its team?”

The news had traveled faster than I’d expected.

I didn’t dance around it. “Yes. I’m making a career change down the road, but I’ll handle Everstone through the

end of this trial stage.”

“After that, the case goes to Lucas Reid. He’s been on it from the beginning, and I’ll brief him on every file and

every piece of strategy.”

Daniel was quiet on the other end for a moment. “Ms. Kane, we hired you.”

In the conference room, Tara’s pen stopped moving. Lucas looked up at me too.

I didn’t let it rattle me. “I understand your concern. That’s why I’m telling you now, so nothing gets handed off the day before trial. Your case won’t be affected by my personal plans.”

Daniel sighed. “What goes on inside your firm is none of my business. But if you’re sure you’re leaving, let me know where you land. We’ve worked together a long time, and trust follows the lawyer, not the firm.”

As he said it, someone stopped outside the conference room door. Through the frosted glass, I saw Graham standing there. I didn’t look away from him.

“Thank you, Daniel. For now, I’m still representing Everstone for my current firm, and anything that happens

later will go through the proper channels.”

After the call ended, the room was quiet for a few seconds.

Lucas cleared his throat to steer us back. “Should we keep going with the witness list?”

“Yes.”

I turned to the next page. “Don’t open with the payment dates with Witness Two. Start with when the board

meeting notices were delivered. The other side is definitely going to dodge there.”

Tara bent her head and scribbled it down fast. The shadow outside the door lingered for a while, then moved

That night, Brooke came to see me.

I’d just finished the handoff, and the only light left in my office was my desk lamp. She knocked, holding a

cup of coffee. “Iris, do you have a minute?”

I put the last file into a box. “If you have something to say, say it.”

She came in and set the coffee on my desk. The sleeve had the logo of the coffee shop downstairs.

“I heard you’re leaving.”

“Yes.”

She bit her lip. “Is it because of the junior partner thing? Honestly, I never expected Mr. Whitmore to

recommend me. I know I’m junior, and I know a lot of people here don’t think I deserve it.”

I closed the box and didn’t answer.

Brooke stood in front of my desk, her eyes slowly reddening.

“But I really need this chance. Iris, you’re already so good. Waiting six more months won’t matter for you. But

it’s different for me. If nobody gives me a hand, I might not even get to stay.”

I looked at her. Her face was full of hurt, and she was very good at it.

For six months, she’d always managed to make her own needs sound completely justified while everyone around her came off as pushy.

I pushed the coffee back to her. “Ms. Wynn, the development seat has already been announced. You don’t need to come to me to confirm you’ve got it.”

She froze for a second. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then why are you here?”

Brooke’s lashes fluttered. “I just think there might be a misunderstanding between us. Mr. Whitmore has always looked out for me, but he’s only like a mentor to me…”

She stopped short.

She probably realized how strange it was to say that to me. After all, as far as she knew, there was nothing

official between Graham and me.

I finished it for her. “You don’t have to explain your relationship with Mr. Whitmore to me.”

Brooke looked up at me.

I didn’t let up. “There’s nothing personal between you and me. You got the seat, so do a good job on Halcyon.

Clients won’t overlook holes in a contract because your Instagram captions are touching.”

Her face went pale. “Iris, are you saying I’m not good at my job?”

“In the second draft of the Halcyon due diligence report, the related-party transactions section missed two

payments. Mr. Whitmore filled them in for you. If that shows up in the final version, the client will file a

complaint.”

Brooke’s hand tightened around the coffee cup. This time, the tears in her eyes dried up fast.

Footsteps sounded at the door. Graham pushed it open, and his eyes moved between Brooke and me.

“What’s going on?”

Brooke lowered her head at once. “Nothing. I came to explain about the Instagram post to Iris. The photos I

posted may have given people the wrong idea, and I wanted to apologize.”

I

She murmured, “I think Iris is still upset.”

I put the file box into a cardboard box.

Graham looked at me. “What Instagram post?”

Brooke’s face stiffened. She obviously hadn’t expected him not to know. I didn’t show it to him, and I didn’t

cover for her either.

Tara happened to come by with the handoff sign-off sheet and got stuck in the doorway, unsure whether to come in or leave.

I reached for the sheet and signed my name. It listed the first batch of cases being handed off, Everstone, Kendall, Daybreak, and Summitcrest.

Behind every one of those names were years of my time.

I signed the last line and handed the sheet back to Tara. “Starting tomorrow, except for the Everstone trial, every case goes by this plan.”

Tara’s nose went red. “Got it, Ms. Kane.”

Graham looked down at the sheet, and his expression went completely dark. Brooke stood beside him and

finally stopped talking.

I packed my personal things into the box one by one. There was my mug, my pen cup, a few law books, and

the little saucer that used to sit under the pothos.

When I got to the bottom drawer, my fingers found an old photo. It was from the firm’s fifth anniversary party.

Graham and I stood at opposite ends of the crowd, with a dozen people between us. On the back, in his

handwriting from back then, it said: [When the time is right.]

I looked at it for a few seconds and put it back in the far corner of the drawer. I didn’t take it.

Graham watched me, his voice tight. “Iris, I haven’t approved your resignation yet.”

I picked up the box. “The approval is sitting with you.”

“I could refuse to sign it.”

I looked at him. A few people were still working in the common area outside my office, and I could feel their eyes flicking our way. I didn’t lower my voice.

“My contract only requires thirty days’ written notice. Your approval is internal paperwork. It doesn’t change when my resignation takes effect.”

Under the light, Graham’s face looked a little pale. He’d always been good with rules, so he knew better than

anyone that I was right.

I carried the box out of my office. Tara followed me and held the elevator door.

Before the doors closed, I saw Graham still standing in my office. Brooke was beside him. In front of him were half-empty bookshelves and the old photo I’d left behind.