MEREDITH:
His words kept replaying in my head. "Are you in or not?" I mean, I was already entangled with him. What was the point of opting out now? I wanted this charade to stop, so I could focus. I have seen scenarios like this play out on TV, and if it got worse, I might be unable to clarify. However, there was absolutely no harm in playing along until Steele was acquired. Look at the bright side - he had promised to make me a permanent staff member if this was successful. Not a bad outcome.
I regarded him in silence, encouraging myself that I was doing the right thing. I didn't know why he was so persistent about this project, but I could see it meant so much to him. I wanted to be part of that success story, to tease him sometime in the future about how I had helped him acquire the c
