I just started a new job... yes, the one I interviewed for five times! Aside from the new job jitters, I was excited to be starting fresh at a company that doesn't know who Steve is, doesn't know who Michelle Newman is and doesn't know the history of the past 6 1⁄2 years of my life. I'm now the mistress of my own destiny and the creator of my past. It's kind of like a guilty pleasure and it's quite empowering and liberating.

Now, since starting a family is no longer in the picture at this point in time, my career is my number one priority. I left an uninspiring job and an unfulfilling marriage. I've been given a second chance and hope that this is the start of something wonderful. But as much as having a clean slate is all I want right now, it's difficult pretending the past 6 1⁄2 years didn't happen. It's normal to talk to work people about family, especially when you sit on an open trading desk and know more about your coworkers than you normally would by sitting in an office by yourself.

I called my brother Eric and asked him for his Social Security number. He asked what I needed it for and I said, "well, do you want to be my beneficiary or not?" He laughed and said "I forgot...Steve's out and I'm back in!" Eric and I were always each other's beneficiaries and he knows that I have created a pretty decent portfolio. I received an e-mail from my office manager asking for my "In Case of Emergency" contact. Steve, my ex, had been mine and I thought that he would always be my "person." I responded with my mother's information, swallowed the lump in my throat and hit "send." At least I know that my new "person" will never leave me.