
Wife Left After Assistant Stole The Team Mom Jersey
Chapter 3
Sarah POV
"Seventy-two hours," I told Daniel, sliding the thick, leather-bound proposal across the glass boardroom table. "That is the exact window I need to overhaul your annual corporate summit."
Daniel leaned back in his chair, tapping his gold pen against his chin. He glanced out the floor-to-ceiling windows of my new Midtown Manhattan sublet, which I had converted into a functional office over the weekend.
"You registered this agency two days ago, Sarah," Daniel pointed out, his voice skeptical. "My board expects a ten-year track record for a multi-million-dollar event. Not a startup."
"I spent the last decade managing thirty volatile athletes, coordinating cross-country logistics, and handling emergency medical crises on zero sleep," I replied, keeping my posture rigid. "Your board members just want premium catering and a functional keynote schedule. They are easy."
Daniel let out a sharp laugh. "I like the confidence. But your proposed fee is twenty percent higher than the industry standard. You are demanding a massive upfront retainer."
"Because I do not make mistakes," I countered. "And I do not require hand-holding. You pay me to make your logistical nightmares disappear."
My work phone vibrated against the glass table. The screen lit up, flashing a long string of notifications.
Forty-seven unread messages. All from Mark.
I ignored the device. I kept my eyes locked on Daniel.
He stopped tapping the pen. He picked it up, flipped to the last page of the proposal, and signed his name on the dotted line.
"Welcome back to the industry, Sarah," Daniel said, standing up and extending his hand.
"Thank you, Daniel. I will send the preliminary vendor contracts by noon."
Once Daniel stepped into the private elevator down the hall, I walked back to my desk and picked up the phone.
The screen displayed a chaotic timeline of Mark's morning.
6:15 AM: Where is the calendar link?
6:40 AM: Maya can't find the reservation.
7:10 AM: Answer the phone!
I clicked the voicemail icon and pressed the speaker button, tossing the phone onto my desk.
Mark's voice erupted into the quiet room, carrying the loud, frantic echoes of an airport terminal.
"Sarah, pick up your goddamn phone!" Mark shouted. "The kiosk won't accept my credit card. You unlinked the family airline account, didn't you? You spiteful bitch."
I sat down in my ergonomic chair, crossing my legs. I grabbed a red pen and began editing Daniel's guest list.
"Maya booked the flights," Mark's voice continued, his tone shifting from demanding to pure panic. "But she bought basic economy. The ticketing agent won't let us check Ethan's goalie pads. They want four hundred dollars in oversized baggage fees, and Maya left her wallet in the Uber!"
In the background, Ethan's voice whined through the speaker. "Dad, the flight boards in twenty minutes! Coach is gonna kill me!"
"Hold on, Ethan!" Mark snapped on the recording. Then his voice directed back to the receiver, dripping with venom. "And where is his camp medical clearance? Registration says Maya is not an authorized guardian, and they will not check Ethan in without a parent signature. You set us up! You are trying to ruin your own son's future just to get back at me!"
The voicemail ended with a loud, abrupt beep.
I did not call him back. I opened my laptop and clicked 'Compose New Email'.
My cell phone rang before I could type the first sentence.
"Are you listening to this airport meltdown?" David Lawson asked, his voice crisp over the line.
"He bought basic economy tickets for a hockey player," I stated, pulling up the airline's policy page on my second monitor. "And his assistant forgot the birth certificate."
"He just called my office threatening to sue you for emotional distress," my lawyer noted. "He claims you hid the identification documents to sabotage the trip."
"The clearance form is in the team portal under Medical Documents," I said, highlighting the link. "Mark has his own parent login."
David chuckled. "Do you want me to call him and tell him that?"
"No. I am sending him an email right now. I want everything in writing."
I rested the phone between my shoulder and ear, my fingers striking the keyboard with heavy force.
"Mark," I read aloud as I typed. "Attached are the airline baggage links and the team portal instructions. The medical clearance is under Ethan's profile, and your parent account can sign it electronically."
"Keep it strictly professional," David advised.
"I am adding a formal notice," I continued. "As a joint guardian, you are legally obligated to manage all logistical and financial responsibilities during your custody period. If your administrative failures cause Ethan to miss the All-Star selection camp, I will preserve the incident for the custody record."
"If he misses this camp, Ethan loses his shot at the regional draft," David pointed out. "Mark knows this makes him look like an unfit parent."
"Mark only cares about looking like a winner," I corrected. "Right now, he is losing."
"That email will corner him," David said. "You are establishing a documented pattern of neglect before we even file the preliminary motions."
"Exactly. I am hitting send."
I clicked the blue button. The email vanished from my outbox.
"Give him ten minutes," David said. "He will realize he has no leverage. I will call you when he responds."
I hung up the phone. I spent the next ten minutes drafting a press release for Daniel's summit. The silence in my apartment felt foreign, yet entirely welcome. No wheezing lungs to monitor. No lost jerseys to locate. No arrogant husband to placate.
A notification chimed from my laptop.
David had forwarded a message.
I clicked the bold text.
"He surrendered," David wrote in the body of the email. "He is asking for a thirty-day extension on the divorce filing to negotiate terms privately."
I scrolled down to read Mark's actual message.
He wanted time. He wanted to avoid a public hearing that would expose his affair and his incompetence.
But my eyes caught something else.
I opened the PDF attached to Mark's formal compromise.
The letterhead at the top did not belong to Mark's corporate legal team.
It belonged to the most aggressive, high-priced family law firm in the state, and the retainer check scanned at the bottom was drafted directly from Ethan's college fund.
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