12:47 PM

The money arrived at 12:47.

He knew because the bank sent three notifications.

The first said a large deposit had been received.

The second asked him to confirm it wasn't fraudulent.

The third was from his relationship manager.

Congratulations. Let me know when you're ready to talk about next steps.

He opened the banking app.

The number was there.

For years, it had existed in spreadsheets.

Then in negotiations.

Then in documents with too many pages.

Now it was just a number on a screen.

He took a screenshot.

Then wondered who he was going to send it to.

His wife already knew.

His partners already knew.

The lawyers definitely knew.

He opened Slack without thinking.

The company workspace appeared for half a second.

Then:

Your account has been deactivated.

Of course.

That had been part of the handover.

He closed it.

The house was unusually quiet.

For the first time in seventeen years there was no customer problem, cash-flow problem, staffing problem, product problem or investor problem waiting somewhere with his name on it.

He picked up his phone again.

Nothing.

He put it down.

Then checked once more.