So far in her career, the only way she’d succeeded was by giving it 100 percent. Could she give it 50 and still achieve her goals? It wouldn’t be fair to Wes and Marissa if she tried to maintain her workaholic pace, putting them last on her priority list. They certainly weren’t there in her heart.

She sighed, then tried to appear completely focused as her boss entered the room.

Donning her usual black power dress—square neck, cinched at the waist, just below the knee—and four-inch red heels, her short white hair slicked back and airbrushed makeup on her thin face, Gail was success personified. For so many years, Sarah had looked up to her mentor. She’d wanted to be just like Gail.

Suddenly, her own suit and heels felt confining. She longed to change into the sundress and sandals in her car.

“You ready?” her boss asked as she checked the monitor cables on the table.

“Absolutely,” Sarah said. This was what she wanted. This was the setting she was comfortable in. This was what she was good at. She needed to push everything else aside and show Gail that she deserved the promotion. Maybe if she was working on her own projects and not having to jump whenever Gail called, she’d have more time for the other things she now knew she wanted in her life.

“Great. Let’s run through it,” Gail said, sitting at the head of the boardroom table. She crossed one leg over the other and folded French-manicured hands on her lap.

Sarah frowned, checking the time. “I don’t think we have time.” The executives from SmartTech Kids would be arriving any minute, and she didn’t want to be in mid-presentation when they arrived. That wouldn’t exactly look professional.

Gail waved a hand. “The meeting’s not until noon. We can run through this a few times to make sure we nail it.”

Heat rose on Sarah’s neck. Noon? Her boss had told her nine thirty. She’d told Wes she would be back as soon as possible to try to salvage part of parents’ day if she could. She hadn’t promised him and he wasn’t expecting her. But she’d been planning on trying her best to be there for at least part of the day. Now that wouldn’t be possible.

“Why did you tell me nine thirty?”

Gail looked surprised that it should even matter. “Because I wanted to make sure you were here on time.”

When had she ever let her boss down? Sure, in recent weeks she’d been divided in her focus and not as available as usual, but her work hadn’t suffered at all for it. In fact, Gail herself had admitted that the time away had helped.

“Is there a problem?” Gail asked when she continued to stand there.