Victor had decided to make my personal relationship with Sebastian public. He had just made the worst decision of his very long career of bad decisions.
I let the silence drag for two seconds after his question. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was trying to crawl up my throat.
‘Okay. Okay. You can do this. Just… just breathe.’ I said to myself. I gripped the folder tighter under the table, praying no one could see my fingers shaking.
Then I opened it. “Thank you for raising that,” I said, keeping my voice steady and polite. “I’m glad to address it directly.”
I looked at the board members instead of Victor. The old shame came rushing back anyway, hot and sickening. ‘Don’t think about it. Don’t—’
“My contract specifies direct communication with the CEO for vendor approval
