When Ethan Coleman got the call, he was standing in his kitchen, half-watching the evening news while his youngest daughter, Emily, sat cross-legged at the counter with a coloring book. The sound of the phone vibrating against the marble pulled him from the numbing drone of current events.
“Mr. Coleman?” A clipped, professional voice on the other end.
“Yes, this is Ethan,” he replied, already sensing the weight behind the tone—formal but laced with something bigger.
“Mark Stevens, CEO of AmTech. I’m calling to offer you the position of Regional Director, effective immediately.”
Ethan’s heart pounded. Regional Director? He wasn’t even on the shortlist, at least not to his knowledge. The leap from his current role as Senior Manager was enormous. “Wow, Mark—thank you! I’m honored,” he said, glancing at Emily, who was now humming a tune from one of her cartoons. He felt a sudden rush of responsibility and pride—a sense that maybe, just maybe, things were finally coming together.
“You’ve earned it. We’ve watched you for years, and your work speaks for itself,” Mark continued, his tone softening. “The board believes you’re the right person to lead the expansion into the Southeast. I’ll have my assistant send over the details. We’ll want you to come in for a formal briefing next Monday.”
Ethan barely registered the rest of the conversation. After hanging up, he stood there for a long moment, staring out of the kitchen window at the twilight settling over the city skyline. His wife, Julie, walked in, her hands full of grocery bags. “Who was that?” she asked, her tone casual but curious.
“AmTech. I just got offered the Regional Director position.”
Julie’s eyes widened. “What? Ethan, that’s huge!”
“Yeah… yeah, it is.” He smiled, but something inside felt… tight, restrained. The enormity of it hadn’t fully hit him yet. He felt excitement, yes—but there was also a tremor, a low hum of anxiety threading through his thoughts. Still, this was a victory. He wasn’t about to let nerves spoil the moment.
That night, after the kids were in bed, Ethan and Julie sat on the porch, wine glasses in hand. They talked about the future—new opportunities, more travel, maybe even moving closer to the city. It felt like a dream coming true.
But there was a restlessness in Ethan’s chest, one he couldn’t quite name. He chalked it up to the typical anxieties of a big transition. You’ve prayed for this, haven’t you? he reminded himself. This is the path God laid out for you.
Monday morning came quicker than expected. Ethan strode into AmTech’s sleek, glassy headquarters, his nerves coiled tight beneath his professional exterior. The elevator ride up to the executive floor felt like the longest two minutes of his life.
“Congratulations, Ethan,” Mark Stevens greeted him as he walked into the office. The room was minimalist and modern—floor-to-ceiling windows revealing the sprawling city below. Mark stood from behind his desk and motioned toward the chair. “Take a seat. We’ve got a lot to go over.”
Ethan sat, listening intently as Mark outlined the scope of the job. It was massive—overseeing operations for half the state, managing new acquisitions, and spearheading growth strategies. The more Mark talked, the more Ethan felt the enormity of it all pressing on him. He nodded along, though his mind began to race. Could he really handle this? Was he ready?
“And one last thing,” Mark added, his eyes narrowing slightly. “There’s a lot of responsibility on your shoulders now. A lot of eyes on you. This isn’t just about numbers anymore, Ethan—it’s about leadership. People will look to you not only for guidance but for how you carry yourself.”
Ethan swallowed, feeling the weight of the words. Leadership. The word seemed to echo in his mind long after the meeting ended, following him as he walked through the building, smiling politely at colleagues and shaking hands with department heads. His new office, on the top floor, felt like an alien space—too large, too pristine. As he stood by the window later that afternoon, looking out over the bustling streets below, a strange thought crept into his mind: What if they made a mistake?
By the time Ethan got home, his earlier excitement had curdled into something heavier, more complicated. He tried to shake it off during dinner, but Julie noticed. “You’re quiet tonight,” she observed, pouring him another glass of water.
“Yeah, just… a lot to process,” he replied, offering a tight smile. “The job’s bigger than I thought. A lot of pressure.”
“You’ll handle it,” she reassured him, squeezing his hand. “You’ve always risen to the occasion.”
Her words should’ve comforted him, but instead, they felt like another weight added to the growing burden on his chest. He nodded, forcing himself to believe it.
As the weeks passed, Ethan settled into his new role, though “settled” wasn’t exactly the right word. It was more like survival—moving from one task to the next, juggling meetings, reports, and decisions that seemed to grow in complexity by the day. People praised his calm under pressure, his ability to think on his feet, but inside, Ethan was drowning. His responsibilities kept mounting, and the doubts he’d managed to push aside crept back, whispering louder with each passing day.
He found himself working late more often, staring at spreadsheets long after the office had emptied. He told himself it was just the price of success—sacrifice now, reap the rewards later. But even at home, he couldn’t fully switch off. His mind was always churning, always anticipating the next challenge, the next fire to put out.
Julie noticed. The kids noticed. Emily asked him one evening, “Daddy, are you mad at me?”
He’d been staring into space, his mind miles away, when her little voice pulled him back to reality. “What? No, sweetheart, I’m not mad,” he said, scooping her up. “Daddy’s just tired, that’s all.”
But the truth was, he was more than tired. He was restless, uneasy. There was a gnawing sensation inside him, one that no amount of late nights or successful meetings could fix. The pressure from work, the expectations from everyone around him—it all felt like too much. Yet, he couldn’t let it go. He couldn’t admit weakness.
And so, the cracks began to form—small at first, nearly invisible. But deep down, Ethan knew. Something was shifting. Something was wrong.
Part 2
