our operating capital, set up an office, hire a staff. It would increase our business exponentially. What do you think?”
“Are you asking me to move to New York and run it? I wouldn’t want to do that. I’d rather live here,” she said. “I’m not ready to live in New York again.” She couldn’t wait to leave after her six months there.
“No, I think he wants us to help him set it up, show him how we work, and then we can go home. I thought three months might do it, till he’s up and running. Does that appeal to you?”
“I would do it for three months. I owe you for the last year, between New York and Paris. I’d have to put Bethanie in school in New York while I’m there, which is fine at her age. When does he want to start?”
“Mid-September, I think. He’s already found office space in SoHo, and he’s interviewing staff now.”
“You wanted to open a New York office when you started,” Coco reminded her. “This is our chance.”
“Will you do it?”
“Yes, I will,” Coco said, wondering if she’d regret being stuck in New York again for three months. But having a fresh influx of operating capital was appealing, and she could spend time with Sam. “I could go as soon as you get back from your honeymoon. That would give me two months to help him set up and stick around for a month after he opens. I’d be back mid-October. That should work.” And she had the house in Southampton where she and Bethanie could spend weekends. And Bethanie would only be in school in New York for six weeks, which would be an adventure for her.
“I’ll get to work on it, and tell him you’ll do it. Thank you, Coco,” she said warmly. “This is a great opportunity for us. We could use our model to open in a number of cities eventually, with the right partners. This one came highly recommended by our bank and a mutual friend.”
They were working on resource lists for the New York office four days later, when Coco got a text from Sam. He was coming to London to see an important investment client and he wanted to have dinner with her. He had successfully developed a whole new aspect to his business, and his firm had grown.
“Do you want to stay with me? Plenty of room,” she texted back, and he responded that he was staying at a hotel, which was close to where he had several meetings lined up. She said she would love to have dinner with him. He was arriving the following week, and she was going to tell him then about her coming to New York for three months.
She was busy with Leslie on their New York project until he arrived, and she picked him up at the commercial hotel where he was staying. She thought he looked unusually serious and was probably tired. She took him to one of her favorite Italian restaurants where they could talk.
He waited until they had ordered dinner and a glass of wine for each of them before he dropped the bomb. They hadn’t spoken as much recently, he was busy, and she had a feeling that his life wasn’t running smoothly, or he was overwhelmed. He seemed stressed whenever they talked, his texts were short, and they never FaceTimed anymore. She assumed that broadening his business had him swamped. She wondered too if Tamar was still depressed. He looked at Coco after a sip of wine. “We’re getting a divorce.” There had been no hint of it till now. She was stunned.
“You’re what? Are you kidding? When did that happen? How did I miss that? Are you in love with someone else?” She assumed that it was his decision, not Tamar’s.
“No, I’m not. Tamar is leaving me. She said she was too young and didn’t know what she was doing when we got married. She thinks I’m too liberal. I’m not Orthodox enough. She says she feels suffocated by our life. She can’t deal with the kids and doesn’t want to. She wants to work, after law school. And it all falls to me. She thinks I robbed her of her youth,” when in fact she had impacted his immeasurably, and cut it short. “She wants to go to law school. She’s been saying it for a while, about law school, not the divorce. That’s new. My mother will have a