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quit? Quit. As in stopped working? As in your job?”

Christina nodded. Taylor could only sit there and wait. She had the

feeling that Christina was supressing a giant smile, and she had no idea

why. She couldn’t think of a single question to ask, because holy shit, had

Christina really quit?

“I did. Today. Well, I gave my two weeks’ notice to Michelle. So, I

guess my last day will officially be two Fridays from now.”

“I— I can’t believe that. You just— I thought you liked your job.”

“You know…” Christina was thoughtful. “I thought that I did. I mean, I

did. I really did. It wasn’t that. That wasn’t it.” She sighed and forced

herself to slow down. It was obvious she was excited about something. “It

was fine. I just— when I started this, I wanted to do what you were talking

about. Change the world. I wanted to help people who had extraordinary

ideas get funding to make them a reality. Kind of like your business.

Something that would make a difference. That was my long-term plan. I

wanted to get experience working at a firm before I went out on my own. I

guess I kind of lost sight of that. Is that what people say? Does that sound

too cheesy?”

“On your own?” Taylor gaped. “No, it’s not cheesy.” She wanted to be

supportive, but she still couldn’t grasp what Christina was telling her.

“I have enough money to do it. I’ve had enough money for a long time.

I have enough experience now too. I’ve built up a bunch of contacts. People

who went to invest. People who want to lend. I wouldn’t take clients away,

but I do know people that would want to put their money into something

like this. Even if they don’t, they’d know people. I know that I could get it

up and running in no time at all. I wasn’t brave enough to do it before, or

maybe I just wasn’t ready.”

“Oh— um…” Taylor finally realized what Chris

tina was saying. The

words finally registered. She wanted her own business. She wanted to do it