“Maybe two more years,” I say. “Two more years should be long enough to get me promoted, right?” I’ve been two years from promotion for more than a decade now, but hey. “Four more vesting cycles.” This, at least, is solid. The future may be vapor, but the cash is real.

“Fine with me,” John says. “But how do you feel when you say that?”

“Angry,” I say, with a hard stop that indicates nothing more is coming.