I set my glass of wine next to the lamp on the side table, kneel down in front of Jean and look into her eyes. “Listen, my love, I will never, ever, put you in a situation that’s not good for you. Not good for both of us.”

How the hell can she buy any of this?

“From the bottom of my heart, you have my word. My commitment.”

But maybe she is. She’s relaxing a bit. Her eyes soften, and with that I take her head in my hands and lean in and plant a loving kiss on her lips, hoping she’ll accept it. She does.

“Why don’t we take this conversation upstairs, you know?” It’s the moment of closeness we’ve needed.

“Okay,” she says. I click off the table lamp, take her hand in mine, and up the stairs we go, with a peek into the kids’ rooms on the way by. Once we’re in our bedroom she takes off her robe, I shed my clothes, and we climb into our king-size bed.

Lights off. And while I’m still trying to figure out what else I can say to reassure my wife of nearly fifteen years, she pulls her nightgown up over her head and offers herself to me with a lingering, loving kiss. The kind of kiss built on a history of marriage and family that’s lost none of its flame or desire.

It’s not sex we have. It’s pure love. Which instead of being good for me, breaks my heart.

I toss and turn awhile, half awake.…

Where is all this shit going?

…And finally drift off into a reluctant sleep.

Chapter 31

Another day, another dollar, thanks to Paul, for now. Back at work.

The day of the pitch, and first a quick run-through before Zimmerman and his colleagues from Weight Watchers come to the office and dare us to amaze them. And we’ve got to. We need this business.

I’ve promised Steve some innovative, top-line insights into their business, and we’ll use some of the agency’s work to demonstrate how we’ve successfully addressed similar challenges for other clients. Weight Watchers has had, like, six agencies in the last ten years. Nobody can get it right, at least that’s what they think. But we can. I’m sure of it—with groundbreaking work that produces results.

That’s what a lot of agencies lose sight of—the work has to work! If it doesn’t sell the brand, or something relevant—it’s a waste of the client’s money.

I’m up in my cubicle, grabbing some stuff I need for the rehearsal, when I get a text from Barb Lundquist:

Congratulations! You’ve got the job! Linda loves you! Call to discuss details.

Yes!!! In the middle of all this chaos, all this horror happening around us, this lights me up!

Will do!! I text back, then head downstairs to the third floor and walk over to the meeting room. I’ve got our heavy hitters set up to participate in this one: Chris Berardo, our top creative guy—overlooking his bullshit from the other day; David Gebben, the copywriter; Bill Kelly, our best art director.