Jack nodded to his sister, who was poised to hit the record button on her phone. When he reached the stage, he said thank you, and took the microphone.

“It’s a pleasure to be here, and an honor to be able to contribute and give back. When my sister and I started this company several years ago, we had a simple mission—bring pleasure to people. Bring happiness to people. Make them feel good. I’ve learned a lot running it. I’ve had some amazing times, and I’d like to think we’ve done some good things, and brought many orgasms to women everywhere. Some men tell me I have the best job in the world. They’re right,” he said, and took a beat to look out at the sea of faces—employees, donors, charity supporters and many more.

The hall was packed with women in evening dresses and men in tuxes, who stood for the same things, who wanted the same things—a world with more pleasure, less pain. The lights in the ballroom were bright, and he took a moment to imprint this scene in his memory, even though his sister was capturing it all on camera. He’d remember the din of the plates being cleared, the sound of footsteps from the waiters circulating, the rustle of fabric as women crossed and uncrossed their legs, waiting for him to say more.

“I do have the best job in the world. But it’s also not everything, and as of now,” he said, stopping to look at his watch, “I did have the best job in the world. Now I have something else that I want more, so I’m announcing tonight that I’m stepping down as CEO of Joy Delivered. My sister, Casey, will be taking over. She’s already the brains and the beauty and the heart behind this company. I trust you’ll all be in good hands.” He gestured to his sister, who was beaming and crying happily as she held up her phone.

“Come up here and say your first words as CEO,” he said.

She walked up the steps, and he walked down, and they stopped to hug along the way.

“I’ll send it in fifteen minutes,” she whispered.

“Thank you.”

He loosened his bow tie, and walked out the back door of the ballroom, quickly racing to the front door to hail a cab. He stopped at his home first to pick up something he needed, then headed back to Murray Hill for Michelle. All the problems she’d encountered had come from his job. All the trouble she’d suffered, the losses, and the collateral damage had been because of him. He could do this one thing for her.

The flashing light on her phone made her flinch. A knee-jerk reaction, and one she didn’t know she’d get over anytime soon. Most messages were friendly, but Michelle didn’t know that she’d ever look at email, or texts, or her phone as anything but a potential point of violation again.