Chapter 34 - julian asked me to leave
It happened on a Tuesday.
Julian came into my office and closed the door.
"I want you to take six months away."
I stared at him.
"Excuse me?"
"Six months."
"From what?"
"Everything."
I almost laughed.
"You've lost your mind."
"No."
He sat across from me.
"You've spent twenty years building systems that can function without you."
"I know."
"Then test them."
I crossed my arms.
"You want me to disappear?"
"I want you to discover whether you actually believe what you've built."
His words hurt.
Not because they were cruel.
Because they were accurate.
I had created independent boards.
Independent legal oversight.
Succession rules.
Whistleblower protections.
A separate foundation.
And yet I still checked everything.
Every major decision.
Every quarterly report.
Every difficult personnel issue.
I wasn't controlling the company.
But perhaps I was still afraid to let it breathe without me.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
At two in the morning, I walked into the kitchen.
Julian was there.
"You knew I'd think about it."
He smiled.
"I hoped."
"What if everything goes wrong?"
"Then you'll know the structure needs work."
"And if everything goes right?"
He looked at me.
"Then you'll finally know you can rest."
I sat beside him.
May you like
For the first time, rest sounded more frightening than failure.
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