Is Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond The Management Track Worth Reading?

In Kieran Chase's eyes, I was not his wife. I was a non-performing asset waiting to be liquidated. When I got sick and asked for help, he became impatient. He said, "This is a minor problem. You can handle it on your own. No need to tell anyone." When I broke down in tears, he reprimanded me. "Losing emotional control shows weakness. It exposes the fragility of our alliance. I'll have the PR team teach you emotional management." Even when I called for help after a car accident, he hung up. "Nothing about you is important enough to interrupt a transaction worth hundreds of millions." I spent seven days in the ICU fighting for my life. On my first day home, I found Kieran leaning over another woman, his voice suddenly soft and coaxing as he convinced her to take her medicine. He opened his mouth to explain. I smiled bitterly and handed him the papers I'd prepared long ago. My tone mirrored his perfectly. "Mr. Chase, regarding our marriage project, the return on investment is unacceptably low after comprehensive evaluation. I'm formally proposing we terminate our cooperation. "Here's the divorce agreement. Sign it."

Jennifer Lockwood and Greg Davenport thought they would be together forever. Breakups and differences in hobbies couldn't separate them. But then came the phone and text that put an end to all that dreaming. He decided to go on a journey that she couldn't follow him on. Meanwhile, she ended up with her original plan of going to law school. Everything goes well for her until a devastating call leaves her shattered. Now she's left deciding. Deciding about her future, about what to say to the man in the bed in front of her, deciding whether she can love. While he falls in love with her, she's left with the memories of everything that happened before. Can she return to that life where her heart got broken, or is she forced to walk away and break his?

The game: Mafia. The rules: Lies are required, deceit is essential, betrayal is highly encouraged. Who wins? The remaining one left at the top. Who loses? The one who falls in love first. Eirene Evander's identity had always been kept a secret, her family made sure of that. Since she could remember, she was trained in the art of illusion and deception. But a tragic event led her to run off and enlist in the Marines as Rein. Now that she’s come home, it’s time to see what the mafia’s up to these days. Will pretending to be a man help with her mission for the military? Will she finally find the truth about her father’s death? Or will it lead to her demise just like her predecessor? Delian Leofric is a calculated, mean-spirited brute. Every person he meets would warn others to avoid even just a glimpse of his shadow. But what they don’t know is that he’s more than that. Now that he’s about to become the mob leader, will he turn things around? Or in the end, will he be swallowed up and forced to do their bidding until he’s replaced by another? A vengeful soldier, a puppet mob king, with all the other players from the underground organization and more. These combinations may just bring tragic deaths, unexpected greatness, or maybe a concoction of both.

When Eloise Garpin, my daughter, comes back from kindergarten, she tells me that her teacher, Karen Linsell, has given her class a weird assignment. Apparently, everyone is to record their mothers' menstrual week. But what makes things weirder is that whenever I'm on my period, John Garpin, my husband who's often busy with work, keeps offering to pick Eloise up from kindergarten. One day, I come across a post on a social media app. "What should I do? I've fallen in love with my student's rich father! Oh dear, I really like him so much! You have no idea that his taut and slim waist looks so seductive! Every time I see him, I can't help but moan!" Someone begins admonishing her out of fury the moment they see the post. "What the hell? Are you itching to become a mistress? You really are shameless! Goodness, you're so disgusting! I can't believe you call yourself a teacher!" Unexpectedly, the original poster doesn't care about the comment at all. She even posts a photo featuring the aftermath of her carnal fun with the man. "So what if I am? Anyway, we regularly sleep together every month whenever he picks his daughter up during his wife's period. This is so thrilling!" I'm stunned when I see the million-dollar custom watch strapped to the man's wrist in the photo. And today… happens to be the first day of my period.

The day before the long weekend, I stopped by the branch office to deliver a file in my capacity as chairman. I had barely stepped through the door when I saw my old college classmate, Whitney Sims, surrounded by her usual circle of admirers. One of them said enviously, "I heard your fiance, Shane, is taking you home for the holiday? That's basically meeting the family, right?" "And tomorrow night at the corporate gala, he's bringing you out for the first time? Looks like the position of Mrs. Wilson is already secured!" I didn't react. I lowered my gaze and walked straight toward the office. Whitney called out behind me, "Skylar? I sent you my wedding invitation this morning–why didn't you reply?" "Oh–right, I almost forgot. The wedding's at the Grand Bellevue. You need at least a million in assets just to get in. I'm guessing you don't qualify?" She tapped my shoulder lightly, a faint smile on her lips. "Tell you what–I'll have my fiance speak to your supervisor and get your name on the guest list for tomorrow's gala. You can come watch me have my moment. Think of it as a preview of my happily-ever-after." I didn't even look up. "I'm busy that night. I won't be going." The moment I finished speaking, the woman beside her shoved me. "Who do you think you are? You're just a clerk running paperwork between offices–what are you putting on airs for? "Our Whitney is engaged to the CEO! She's being nice offering you a seat–don't push your luck!" "And don't think we don't know–if you hadn't stolen Whitney's college thesis, how would you have even gotten hired?" I almost laughed. I was the only daughter of the Reed family. Before I had even finished college, my parents had already handed over Reed Group to me. I was the chairman. What interview would I ever need?

"He is the only true heir to my throne. I must take him back." That day, the Alpha King descended upon our remote little pack with his royal soldiers. He pointed at Jasper—the man I had saved a year ago in the wilderness, my fated mate—and with those words, he shattered my entire world. I remember feeling this tight knot in my chest, because I'd always known Jasper was different. When I'd saved him from falling off that cliff last winter, I could feel something about him. I guessed it was his Alpha blood, but I wasn't totally sure back then. Now, his secret was out in the open. And me? I was still scrubbing dishes in the corner, because that was an Omega's duty, while everyone else cheered and celebrated. But Jasper… he stayed calm. He looked the Alpha King dead in the eyes and said, “I’m taking my pup Liam and Amelia back to the Shadowfang pack.” Yes. Amelia. Not me. In my last life, only their favorite she-wolf, Amelia, also the Beta's daughter, got to leave with them. When I broke down and asked Jasper why, his answer was cold and simple: “Her status suits me better than yours.” And just like that, my mate and my pup abandoned me. But this time—when Jasper spoke those same words again—under the mocking stares around me, I took a deep breath, forced a smile, and whispered my blessing: “Oh, well. I wish you both a happy future. I still have work to do.” I had already made up my mind. I was gonna work hard, save enough money, and get out of here, start a fresh life somewhere else. But tell me this, if I was so unworthy, then why, after I finally walked away, did he come begging me to return as his Luna?