Something in my chest cracked clean open.
The client committed on the spot. He wanted initial concept sketches that night. Kate hesitated again.
This time I didn't push. I slid a pen toward her instead. "Your contract. Your pace."
She held my eyes and made her choice.
"I can send you a project timeline by morning, but I'm not delivering concept sketches tonight. Scale requires judgment, not reflex. If you need reflex, hire someone cheaper and faster."
After he left, Kate turned to me.
"Were you praising me back there, or raising the price tag on the contract you just rewrote?"
I raised a brow. "Are those mutually exclusive?"
She laughed. I caught it like a coin I would never spend.
She didn't realize it yet, but the woman in front of me, the one rebuilding her name brick by brick,
