The Balance Project Read online

  Praise for Susie Orman Schnall

  The Balance Project

  “A fast-paced tale of a twentysomething desperately trying to balance her own life while, ironically, working for a woman known as America’s Darling of Balance. If you liked The Devil Wears Prada, you’ll enjoy this charming romp, which delivers with heart, depth, and a perfectly satisfying conclusion.”

  —Kristin Harmel, bestselling author of The Sweetness of Forgetting and The Life Intended

  “A smart, refreshing, fast-paced read with twists and turns that will have you turning pages well past your bedtime. Schnall nails her portrayal of two heroines, in different stages of their lives, wrestling with the oft-debated question: Can women really have it all?”

  —Emily Liebert, author of You Knew Me When and Those Secrets We Keep

  “Destined to become a book club favorite, Susie Orman Schnall’s The Balance Project is a clever, compassionate look at the modern woman’s quest to juggle it all. Schnall’s heartfelt—and, at times, hilarious—storytelling is just like real life, and had me rooting for Lucy from page one.”

  —Kristyn Kusek Lewis, author of How Lucky You Are and Save Me

  “Sharp like the clicks of a stiletto, The Balance Project is a piercing look at the damaging illusion that women can ‘have it all.’ Readers will delight in watching Katherine Whitney dangle on her rapidly thinning thread as she falls into the deep abyss of pride, work, motherhood, and friendship.”

  —Colleen Oakes, author of the Elly in Bloom series and the Queen of Hearts saga

  “Utterly compelling and impossible to put down, The Balance Project speaks volumes about how important it is for women at any stage of life to find realistic and meaningful balance.”

  —Melissa Amster, Founder of Chick Lit Central

  On Grace

  “In Schnall’s debut novel, shocking news derails a woman’s plans for her fortieth birthday and prompts a journey of self-discovery. . . .

  A cozy, conversational read featuring a lovably neurotic heroine.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “A telling, touching exploration of modern marriage, fidelity, and friendship, Susie Orman Schnall’s debut is riddled with the little truths that make up the texture of women’s daily lives. Fans of Emily Giffin will relate to this engaging read.”

  —Beatriz Williams, internationally bestselling author of The Secret Life of Violet Grant

  “A moving and vibrant debut that packs a sweet emotional punch. You’ll laugh and cry along with Grace as she treads the complicated waters of marriage, motherhood, an unexpected betrayal, and a revelation that changes everything. Susie Orman Schnall is a fresh new voice in fiction.”

  —Kristin Harmel, internationally bestselling author of The Life Intended

  “Grace is an imperfect woman with a less-than-perfect life, but readers will find themselves drawn to her authenticity and grit.”

  —Colleen Oakes, bestselling author of Elly in Bloom

  “An authentic portrayal of the intricacies inherent in modern relationships. Susie Orman Schnall’s debut is relatable, honest, and insightful. I look forward to seeing what’s next from her.”

  —Emily Liebert, bestselling author of When We Fall

  The Balance Project

  SUSIE ORMAN SCHNALL

  SparkPress, a BookSparks imprint

  A division of SparkPoint Studio, LLC

  Copyright © 2015 Susie Orman Schnall

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  All company and/or product names may be trade names, logos, trademarks, and/or registered trademarks and are the property of their respective owners.

  Published by SparkPress, a BookSparks imprint,

  A division of SparkPoint Studio, LLC

  Tempe, Arizona, USA, 85281

  www.gosparkpress.com

  ISBN: 978-1-940716-67-1 (pbk)

  ISBN: 978-1-940716-66-4 (e-bk)

  Cover design © Julie Metz, Ltd./metzdesign.com

  Cover photo © Getty Images

  Author photo © Tiffany Oelfke

  Formatting by Polgarus Studio

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Also by Susie Orman Schnall

  On Grace

  Kirkus Best Indie Books of 2014

  2014 International Book Awards,

  Finalist in Fiction: Chick Lit/Women’s Lit

  2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards,

  Bronze Winner in Popular Fiction

  For all the women who work at anything.

  Especially the moms. . . .

  “I absolutely believe you can have it all.”

  —Katherine Whitney, The Balance Project

  Table of Contents

  Praise for Susie Orman Schnall

  Also by Susie Orman Schnall

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Epilogue: Six Months Later

  Acknowledgments

  Book Club Discussion Guide

  The Balance Project Questionnaire

  About the Author

  About SparkPress

  Chapter One

  Sometimes things fall apart because life has something better to come. I read these words over and over again, trying to parse their meaning, trying to relate them to my own life as Katherine and I wait in the small and windowless dressing room, the beige walls heavy with the scent of all the ambition that has previously filled them.

  I didn’t make that quote up. My best friend, Ava, posted it this morning on Instagram. For someone my age, twenty-five, I have a lower-than-normal interest in following my friends on social media, or so I’ve been told by people my age. I am wretchedly bored by duck-faced group selfies, look-at-my-exotic-dinner shots, and destination-wedding sunsets. I am, however, a keen devotee of the quote post.

  “Katherine Whitney,” a goateed production assistant says, peeking his head around the open door. “You’re on in five minutes. Please come with me.” He looks down at his clipboard as Katherine stands, pats down her dress, and smiles at me.

  “Good luck, Katherine!” I say, smiling back.

  “Thanks, Luce,” she says as she follows the assistant toward the Today show set.

  I sit back on the faded and itchy couch, relaxing for what seems like the first time since I woke up two hours ago—my morning a frenetic rush because I accidentally set my alarm for 6:00 p.m. instead of a.m. Luckily I woke up on my own at six fifteen, but I barely had time to throw on one of my uninspiring work outfits, brush my teeth, and put my hair up in a ponytail before I had to race down to Rockefeller Center in time to meet Katherine at seven. I managed lip gloss on the subway.

  I had just enough time to buy a Glow juice for Katherine and an extra-large, extra-hot, full-fat, full-sugar latte for myself before meeting her in the dressing room. While she sat for hair and makeup, I read her theSkimm and the briefing from Brooke, her publicist, on t
he details for this interview. Impressively and characteristically, Katherine wasn’t nervous at all.

  Now that she’s on her way to the set, I pick at the overflowing catering trays of cut melon and golden pastries on the small coffee table. My mouth is filled with a flaky and gooey chocolate croissant when I hear Katherine’s cell phone ring. I try to chew as quickly as possible, while I search frantically through her bag looking for the phone.

  “Katherine Whitney’s phone,” I say, just before it goes to voice mail.

  “Who’s this?” an angry sounding British-accented voices barks back.

  “This is her assistant, Lucy Cooper,” I say.

  “Lucy, it’s Nigel.”

  “Oh, hi Nigel. Good morning, sir.”

  “Good afternoon. Lucy, where is Katherine?” he asks urgently. “I’ve sent her three e-mails this morning and she hasn’t returned any of them.”

  “It’s been a busy morning. She’s about to go on the Today show. Her interview starts in a minute or so. Can I help you with something?”

  “Bollocks!” Nigel shouts. “I need you to get Katherine. There have been last-minute changes to one of the contracts for the London restaurant. I need Katherine to read them over and approve them within the next five minutes. I’ve just had the lawyers e-mail her the document. She needs to print it, sign it, and then have it scanned and e-mailed back. Immediately.”

  “Um . . . ,” I stammer.

  “Is there a problem, Lucy?”

  “She’s actually about to do a live interview with Matt Lauer, and there’s no way I can interrupt that.” I look at the television monitor that’s on mute in the dressing room and see that Matt is introducing Katherine. I tuck Katherine’s phone between my shoulder and ear, and turn up the volume on the remote.

  “Katherine Whitney is here with us today,” Matt Lauer says. “As you all know, she’s the wildly successful forty-five-year-old chief operating officer of Green Goddess & Company. She’s been called the woman who woke up Americans to a healthy lifestyle. She’s a wife and mother of two. She’s a philanthropist and a fixture on the New York City social scene. And, today we celebrate the six-month anniversary of the launch of her bestselling book, The Balance Project. She’s America’s Darling of Balance, a beacon for women everywhere trying to do it all and trying to master the elusive work-life balance. Katherine, welcome. It’s good to see you again.”

  “Hi Matt, it’s good to see you, too. Thanks so much for having me back,” Katherine says in her best confident businesswoman voice.

  “Lucy! Are you there?” Nigel is shouting again.

  “Yes, sorry, sir, but, uh, if you could just wait maybe ten minutes, then I can get her to sign the document when her segment is over.” I feel like that emoticon with the stuck-out tongue and greater-than and less-than signs for eyes.

  “Bloody hell. Hold on,” Nigel says impatiently. I hear him cover the phone and start speaking to someone else, but I can’t understand what they’re saying because it’s muffled. “Okay, ten minutes is fine, Lucy. But this needs to happen or we may miss the deadline to register the premises and then the opening will have to be delayed. Do you understand? These bloody lawyers are up my arse, and we need Katherine’s sign-off. We cannot afford a delay at this point.”

  “I’m on it, sir.” I say, as the line goes dead.

  Shit!

  I look up at the television to see the time in the bottom corner of the screen: 8:21. And though I may be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Katherine is the perfect vision of serene gorgeousness. Perfectly blown-out, shoulder-length, blonde wavy hair. Sophisticated yet flirty blush-colored Alaïa dress. Very high nude Louboutin patents. Nicely done, Katherine, nicely done.

  “So, your bestselling book, The Balance Project, is celebrating its six-month anniversary today,” Matt says. “Remind our viewers how this book came about.”

  “Two years ago,” Katherine says, “I gave the commencement address at my alma mater, the University of Michigan. I talked about a lot of things, how Green Goddess started, my thoughts on success, and I also talked about work-life balance, as it relates to both men and women. That speech went viral—”

  “A couple million hits on YouTube, I think,” says Matt.

  “Yes, it was amazing. And a few weeks later, I got approached to write a book. The feedback I got from the speech was overwhelming, and I realized that not only was this a hotly debated issue, with people on every side, but also women, and men, who were struggling with balance, wanted guidance. That’s what this book provides.”

  Shit!

  I open the e-mails on Katherine’s phone and find the one from Nigel. I stick my head out of the dressing room and see the goateed production assistant walking by.

  “Hey!” I shout to get his attention. “Is there somewhere I can get a document printed?”

  “Sorry, we don’t do that here,” he says and continues down the hall.

  “Wait!” I shout. “I’m desperate. Please.”

  He looks at me for a moment, like he’s sizing me up, trying to decide what’s in this for him. I guess he found something because he says, “Um, sure. Come with me.”

  “Thank you so much, you’re a lifesaver,” I say as I follow him down the hall lined with glossy photos of all the Today show hosts, past and present. “I don’t mean to be obnoxious, but I’m on a tight deadline here, can we step up the pace a bit?” I smile at him kindly. He gives me a look that I can’t quite decipher and starts to walk a little faster. I can not mess this up. If I need to dress up like Pippa Middleton and let Goatee Boy feel my boob to get this document signed and back to London, then I will make that happen. I despise these urgent, walk-on-water types of impossible requests, but in a company like Green Goddess and with a boss like Katherine Whitney it happens a lot. And even though I’m getting better at not freaking out entirely when presented with one of these situations, I absolutely hate them.

  We wind our way through the back maze of Today show offices and, after what seems like forever, end up in a large room filled with desks.

  “You can use one of the printers here,” he says.

  “Um, okay,” I say, looking at his name badge. “Steve, is it?”

  “That’s me!” he says, pointing his thumbs at his chest.

  “Okay, Steve. I just need to forward this e-mail to a computer that I can print off of. Can I use one of these?”

  “No, sorry. I don’t have access to these computers so I can’t log you in.”

  Deep breath, Lucy.

  “So, I have an e-mail on this phone,” I say, holding the phone up in the air like he’s never seen one before and trying not to sound impatient, “and I need somehow to get it off of this phone before I can print it.”

  “I wish you would have said that at the beginning. Come with me, I’ll take you to Lorraine.”

  I’m starting to feel exasperated as we walk for another forever. I glance at Katherine’s phone: 8:24. Shit! Finally we enter another office where a woman, Lorraine presumably, is sitting behind a large wooden desk answering phones on an elaborate system. She’s got wild burgundy hair, heavy eye makeup, and acrylic nails polished in a navy and purple argyle pattern. We wait until she’s off.

  “Hey, Lorraine,” Steve says in what I take to be his flirty voice.

  “Hey, Stevie,” she says, smiling as she cracks her gum.

  “This lady,” he gestures to me, “needs something printed. Can you help her?”

  “Sure, honey. Anything for you.” She says to him before turning to me with a smile. “How can I help, honey? Oh, wait, hold on, I gotta answer this.”

  By now, my palms are sweating, perspiration stains are starting to spread underneath my arms, and I feel like the entire African elephant population has decided to stampede from my esophagus straight down to my stomach. I eye a trash can next to Lorraine’s desk, which will be oh so helpful if I end up having to hurl. While I wait for her to get off the phone—8:25—I look up at the television mounted near t
he ceiling.

  Katherine and Matt sit in white leather chairs facing each other. Matt sits back comfortably in his. Katherine is eagerly on the front edge of hers. Feet firmly on the ground. The huge electronic screen behind them rotates photos of Katherine, the dust jacket of The Balance Project, and the Green Goddess lemon-yellow and grass-green logo.

  “Why is balance such a, as you say, hotly debated issue?” Matt asks.

  “Well, women make up approximately 60 percent of the American workforce, yet they spend twice as many hours as men on child care and housework. Add to that the fact that in this economy, women often feel they need to work harder to keep and advance in their jobs. Whether this is actually true is irrelevant. It’s the perception and that becomes the reality. And that reality translates into a significant amount of pressure on women just to manage what is on their plates. So it’s hard. It’s a challenge. And women are talking about it a lot to vent, to get ideas on how to manage it better, and to try, in many cases, to affect policy to support working women.”

  “And what specifically do women seem to be citing as the toughest part of this balance?”

  “Oh, Matt, just about everything,” Katherine laughs. “But one of the hardest things for women is to take any time for themselves. If a woman is spending more time in the office, because of that perceived or actual pressure to keep her job, that’s less time that she can spend with her family and taking care of her own needs. There’s this belief out there, much to the detriment of women, that any time not spent on work or family is somehow selfish. That to exercise, take time to eat well, to have lunch with a friend, to read a book, or heaven forbid sleep, that all those things should be given a lower priority than work and family, and not necessarily, but quite possibly, in that order. Women are famous for foregoing sleep to gain the extra hours they need to get by. Coffee helps.”