Nathan closed his computer and stood up.

“Are you going back to the house?” he asked.

“No,” I said. “I sold the house this morning.”

He looked at me for a moment, his hand resting on the back of his chair.

“Where will you go?” he asked.

“An apartment downtown,” I said. “Something small, with a view of the water.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Claire,” he said.

“Tomorrow,” I said.

I watched him leave the room, the heavy glass door clicking shut behind him.

I sat alone in the boardroom for a long time, watching the lights of the city begin to flicker on in the gathering dusk.

The silence was absolute.

It was the first time in ten years that the silence did not cost me anything at all.