Free August 9th by Stu Schreiber Page B

conversation, by phone, with Hope but only after I shared with Maggie what I needed to do. I told Hope I would never ever see her again. I tried to assure her that Rogers Schmidt’s decision not to invest in her Company was strictly a business decision made in our partnership meeting and wasn’t influenced in any way by our relationship. I’m not sure whether she believed me or not but we ended our conversation by wishing each other the best, and when I got home that night I shared every word of that conversation with Maggie.
    Tess, I continue to learn about myself and accept my weaknesses and character flaws. I believe I now know what triggers my destructive behavior and am committed to not falling into those traps again.
    I thank you for being the catalyst that gave me back my conscience.

Dear Tess,
    It was a wonderful year especially welcome after two very tumultuous years.
    Maggie and I are back on track and really communicating. We’ve also gotten back our intimacy and with the kids older we try and get a date night every weekend. Even though I’ve now been sober without a drink for almost two years I still go to meetings.
    Business has been nothing short of fantastic. Another one of the start-ups we invested in three years ago went public with their IPO in March and it was a big payday for Rogers Schmidt. Lately, we’ve been overloaded with presentations from two different types of tech start-ups, Internet infrastructure and cellular phone components.
    My old Stanford buddy Jeff sold his Company for $29 million. Good for him and good for Rogers Schmidt as we were one of his early investors. I had lunch with him at a recruiting session at Stanford. He’s still the sameguy he was at Stanford in T-shirts, jeans and sneakers. What’s very refreshing is that he’s totally unpretentious. Now a multi-millionaire many times over it’s never been about the money for him. Maggie and I went to his wedding in April and I was honored when he asked me to be one of his ushers. His wife Bonnie, a nurse, is a sweetheart and as endearing as Jeff. She’s got a five year old son from her first marriage that Jeff’s crazy about. In June Jeff stopped by our office with the biggest grin on his face because they’re having a baby. It’s always rewarding to see good things happen to good people. After all these years we’re still talking about starting our own Company.
    My amazing little girl Caroline is now fifteen. Can you believe it? Her school work is way beyond me including her never ending ethical and morality questions. She wants to be a lawyer and practices on me by never losing an argument. I thought I was young graduating from high school at seventeen but she’s graduating a month before her sixteenth birthday. Who does that? Of course I’ve been trying to steer her towards Stanford or UCLA but she wants to go east to an Ivy League school. With her grades and test scores she can go anywhere she wants.
    That’s the good news about Caroline. Now here’s the problem. She’s dating and thinks I interrogate her dates as if they’re on trial, and of course she’s right. A couple of weeks ago a boy shows up to take her to a movie and I started to grill him when he tells me he goes to Stanford. He’s seventeen which is a much older guyfor my little girl. Luckily for Caroline her mother was there to rescue her. All kidding aside, she is the smartest, sweetest daughter imaginable. She is so much like Maggie. They’re not only mother and daughter but also best friends.
    Ben will be thirteen in December and is still a challenge in many ways. We’re thrilled the aggressive behavior he’s shown in the past had not reoccurred. His biggest challenge appears to be frustration. He’ll try to do something and keep trying over and over again not knowing how to express his frustration for not being able to do what he wants. It’s so sad to watch and I just try to shower him with love and attention. His favorite person in the