Mason sat at the head of the table in the little conference room. A young woman sat to his right. Mason’s face was animated with excitement, his lips moved rapidly and his hands waved. No doubt he was recounting one of the many anecdotes from his triumphant life that he’d collected and held ready to be told whenever he was in a position to. For him, that was often. 

Scott knocked on the wall, made of glass thick enough to muffle even Mason’s voice. Seeing Scott, Mason’s expression fell into a sad little smile. The young woman looked nervous. 

Mason gestured for Scott to come inside.

Scott griped and turned the door handle firmly but not forcefully. As if he were shaking hands with it.

It was as close to a handshake that Scott was going to get that morning. Neither Mason nor the young woman stood as he entered and closed the door. Scott glanced from Mason, to the young woman and back to Mason again.

“Mason. You wanted to see me?”

“Yes Scott. Please, have a seat.”

Mason’s outstretched palm invited Scott to take the chair to Mason’s left, directly across the table from the young woman. As Scott sat, he noticed she wouldn’t make eye contact with him.

Mason sighed, “This is never easy, Scott, never easy at all. No matter how many times I do it.”

“Oh?”

“You’ve been here, what? Two years?”

“Three.”

Mason clicked his tongue and shook his head slowly, “Three years. Please know it’s not as if you did anything wrong. It’s just…”

Mason shrugged. The young woman stared down at the stack of papers in front of her.

Scott swallowed, “Just?”

“Not going to work out, I’m afraid. You’re fine at the level you’re at but I can’t see you ever advancing beyond it.”

“So, what? I’m being fired?”

“Let go. Like I said, you did nothing wrong. Though, maybe a bit too much of a focus on pro bono. Now, this doesn’t have to be a nasty thing, I’d be happy to write you an honest reference.”

Scott sat stiffly and spoke the same, “You know what’s going to happen, what this is going to do. I’ll be radioactive, no one will touch me.”

Mason pressed his lips together and bobbed his head from side to side as if he were considering that.

“Well…” he said, simply.

They sat silently for a while. Long enough, maybe, for Mason to be satisfied that Scott wasn’t going to say anything else. He broke the silence.

“This is Caroline,” he said, nodding at the young woman Scott had almost forgotten was still in the room, “She is a rep from HR and will assist you throughout your transition.”

“This is a difficult time, I know,” said Caroline, finally meeting Scott’s eyes, “but I’ll be here to help in any way that I can.”

Scott narrowed his eyes at her. Young and inexperienced was his read. He wondered if she’d ever done this before. It made this worse.

Mason stood, “Right. I’d better get back, it’s going to be a busy day.”

Now he extended his hand to Scott but Scott didn’t move.

“Ah,” said Mason as he retracted his hand, “Understandable, I suppose. Take care of yourself.”

The man who’d once claimed to be Scott’s mentor nodded at Scott and then walked out of his life forever.

“I have some forms here that I’ll need you to sign,” said Caroline, “And then we can discuss…”

She trailed off as she flipped through the pages.

“Where…? Oh, I don’t think I brought it. I’ll…I’ll be right back. Please…don’t go anywhere.”

Caroline scrambled out into the hallway and out of sight. 

Alone, Scott mechanically stood and walked to the window. He stared down at the city fifty storied below. A city of people rushing along, a city of people with purpose.

He looked back at the chair he’d just left. Expensive. Custom made. Heavy. Heavy enough to break the glass? Probably.

Scott had gone to the best schools. Participated in the appropriate extracurriculars. Endured years of private tutors on weekends. Graduated from the right colleges. All in the service of landing him a job at a firm like the one he stood in so that one day he could ascend to that mythical level of partner.

The path laid out for him by his well-meaning parents who hadn’t been afforded such advantages themselves. The path that led to the good life. 

Now that life would never be his. He’d wanted it to be but it had just never come naturally. He’d failed. It was all over.

All that was left to do was let go.

Scott sighed and looked back out the window. The streets filled with cars, the sidewalks with people. Just so many people, everywhere. Not just in that city but in every city, all over the world. So many different lives. So many different paths.

So many different paths.

Scott had only ever been on one, the one chosen for him. What would it be like to try another one? One that he…enjoyed? What did he have to lose? Maybe it was possible to have a good life some other way.

It wasn’t as if he’d accomplished nothing, it wasn’t as if he’d be starting over. He’d always felt at his best working on pro bono cases. There’d be plenty of worthy organizations that would be happy to have him. He didn’t have to become Mason.

Scott felt lighter. Free, like he’d never felt before. He could have a whole new life, he just had to let go of the one that had been forced on him. The one that had never quite fit. 

Scott had worked in that building for three years but had never really appreciated the view. He took it all in now.

The door clicked open behind him.

“It’s beautiful out there, isn’t it?” Said Scott.

“Oh,” said Caroline, “Yeah, I guess it is.”