It was almost nine in the evening when Tawney got home. She was exhausted and landed on the sofa without removing her coat. The long hours at work were starting to take a toll on her wellbeing. She knew it was time to re-examine her situation and add more balance to her life.
For several years, she focused on building a career and was now ready to take that next step, meeting a dynamic man who would sweep her off her feet and take her away from all of the grueling and demanding tasks encountered on the job.
In two years, she wanted to be a wife, have at least two children, and be a stay-at-home mom. If her aspirations were going to come true, she would have to start planning her course of action soon.
After receiving her Master's Degree in Computer Science, Tawney immediately got a job at a small tech firm called Tech World, Inc., which was located in Lower Manhattan, New York. She was an educational software developer and worked at the company for over ten years.
There were times when she wanted to pack it all in, because she never felt appreciated by management or her co-workers. Because she was encouraging, hard working, and accommodating, the staff would take advantage of her.
When co-workers were on vacation, she would do their work and hers, sometimes putting in twelve hours a day.
However, when she went on vacation, her work would pile up, and upon her return, she would end up putting in extra hours and sometimes weekends just to catch up.
Since she was single and had no children, many executives saw this as justification to give her more work.
They assumed she had no added responsibilities at home and would welcome the extra overtime. Of course, she never complained about the money.
Her salary was over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and with overtime, she was pulling in close to two hundred thousand dollars a year.
In addition, she accumulated a nice nest egg through good investments and savings. Her assets were worth over six hundred and fifty thousand dollars. If warranted, she could have left her job and lived off the interest without touching the principal.
She had always lived in a rent-controlled apartment with her parents, until they retired and moved to Arizona. She remained in the modestly decorated apartment, which was still in her parents' name. Her rent would have been the envy of most of her co-workers; they were paying rents and mortgages in the four figures.
Her sense of style was unfussy. Unlike many of her associates, she had no credit debt, did not own a car and did not live a lavish lifestyle. Living within her means was her strongest suit. She ate out a lot at home and for fun would rent movies or attend off-off-Broadway plays.