The moment I stepped out of the building, the cool evening air hit me, and for the first time since morning, I felt like I could finally breathe. The board meeting and the initial preparation for it had drained every bit of energy out of me. It was long and completely exhausting. Right from when Mr. Daniels had gone after Nick or the way the whole room had felt like it was one wrong word away from turning into a fight.
I was still lost in thought when I heard a familiar voice call my name.
“Where have you been all day?”
I turned and saw Brenda walking toward me, her bag slung over her shoulder, her expression somewhere between concerned and curious. She was staring at me like I had just disappeared off the face of the earth, which, to be fair, I kind of had.
I sighed, rubbing my temple
