The meeting room still smelled like lukewarm coffee and frustration. The presentation had gone well, but I barely paid attention. Practiced smiles, technical comments, promises for the next quarter… none of it seemed to matter.
I walked out with a knot tight in my stomach.
Back in my office, I dropped into my leather chair and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, as if the answer my heart refused to form might be written there.
Carmen walked in without knocking—as she always did—balancing a tray with two cups of coffee and my printed schedule for the day.
— Good morning again, boss — she said with the maternal smile of someone who had known me for over twenty years. — Meeting finished, no major disasters. I’m almost shocked.
— Almost — I repeated, trying to smile. It didn’t work.
