“It’s an anonymous website, kind of like Gawker for job hunters. People share gossip and information about openings at different companies. Salary ranges, what the corporate culture is like, that sort of thing—but in a kind of...snarky way.”

“And they’re snarking about us?” Holly laughed, as if it were an honor to be roasted, but her stomach cramped.

“No one knows who the employers are. But they have the ad text, verbatim. Anyway, it’s no big deal. It’s just speculation at this point, and I’m sure it’ll blow over. But I thought you should know, in case the Henrys have seen it. Plus the party tonight—I didn’t want you to get caught by surprise if anyone brings it up.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Holly had brushed it off in the garage—surely whatever this scoop situation was, it wasn’t important enough to talk to Ted about—but the word speculation rang in her ears. As James turned south onto Lincoln, she searched online for the ad. Then her stomach gurgled so loudly Flynn looked up. She shielded her phone and, when it was safe, looked again.

Shit! Holly locked her phone. She looked at James’s eyes in the rearview mirror. He was staring straight ahead, minding his own business as usual. Had he seen the ad? It would be just like him to pretend he hadn’t, to act like it was any old Tuesday even as planes were crashing into skyscrapers.

Oh God, was this all her fault?

She’d seen Dawn’s resignation come in late last night, in an email addressed only to Ted and her, and she’d understood immediately what would happen next. Ted would want to give the job to Zanne, and Holly would object but without having a suitable alternative to propose. Erin couldn’t very well be chief of staff to them both, and anyway, Ted would never accept her. Mark, the house manager, was too new; neither of them felt comfortable around him yet. But if she brought up the idea of interviewing outside candidates, Ted would only try to talk her out of it. They didn’t have time for a full-blown search, he’d say, not with Dawn giving only two weeks’ notice—which was galling in and of itself. Dawn knew better than anyone how difficult it was to manage a transition like this, and with the amount of money she’d made off them over the years, she owed the Stablers more lead time than two measly weeks.