She walked out into her yard to spy on whether Jake was home, but the lights were dark in his apartment. He was the only person she wanted to be with; he would’ve made it fun. He probably would’ve played “Pressure” again and made her punch the punching bag. She slipped back into her apartment and went upstairs. She searched on her iPhone for songs with “partner” in them, but scrolling through her iPhone music made her sad. Her playlists were now filled with memories of Jake and all the songs he’d recommended. She found some songs about teamwork—potentially useful for a team meeting. She couldn’t seem to turn her work brain off.

She found “Pressure” and clicked play. The phone rang. She jumped. She fumbled with the phone to switch off the song. Off. Taking a deep breath, she answered the phone.

“Congratulations!” the voices of several partners on speakerphone chorused. She sank into the couch in relief. She’d made it. It felt like a load of bricks had been removed from her back. She attempted conversation with the partners, barely registering what she said, until they said they’d leave her to celebrate and tell her friends and family. She texted her mom, Winnie, Eve and Max. Her phone rang.

Tim: I made it. You must have made it too. Yes?

“Hi Winnie, I made it,” she said. She texted yes to Tim.

“Congratulations! I’m so happy for you,” Winnie said.

“Me too. I mean, so happy but I’m also wiped out from the stress of waiting.”

“I can imagine. I’ve been stressed, and I’m not even up for it. I had to work late, so I thought I’d put that to good use. I purposefully bumped into Michael after the partnership meeting. He said I had a good shot at partnership in two years because I was recognized as bringing in Global Capital, and that deal had been significant in the discussions. And you know, I did some more surreptitious prompting.”

“As you do.”

“As I do.” Winnie laughed. “And he said that our bringing in the deal had allowed them to promote the three of you. Before that, they were arguing over which two to make. You know that Colette and Tim made it too, right?”

“Tim texted, but I didn’t know about Colette,” Audrey said.

“Yes, the British guy didn’t make it.”

“I feel bad for him.” But not that bad.

“All right, the car service just arrived at my door,” Winnie said. “Congratulations again!”

“Good night,” Audrey said. “Thanks so much again for all your help and thank Jae for suggesting Global Capital.”

Tim: Do you want to celebrate with dinner tomorrow night?

Audrey: Yes, that’d be great.

Eve: Woohoo! So excited for you. But I’m getting crushed right now. Table of ten all eating dessert. Haven’t these people heard of sharing? Just kidding. Love my dessert people.