“You made me look like your pet project.” She's shaking, hands clenched at her sides. “You did it in front of my boss.” Tears form at the corners of her eyes. “In front of Miles. I feel like throwing up.”
“Emma—“
“Hawthorne is going to wonder why you specifically demanded me. Miles already thinks I slept my way onto this pitch. You just confirmed every suspicion they ever had.”
“That's ridiculous. You earned your place.”
“They don't know that!” Her voice cracks. “They don't know about us. All they saw was a company owner demanding a junior team member for a major account. What do you think their first assumption is?”
I stare at her. The architecture of my perfect plan crumbling.
“I was trying to help you,” I say, and it sounds hollow even to me.
“Help me?” She laughs, jagged and humorless. “You wanted to see me during the day. Admit it. This wasn't about my career. This was about you wanting access whenever you felt like it.”
The accusation lands like a blow. It's not entirely wrong.
“I thought?—“
“You thought you could arrange my life to fit yours. Move people around like pieces on a board and call it a favor.” She presses her hand to her forehead, breathing shallow. “God, Kai.Do you have any idea how hard I've worked? How long it’s taken to get those people to take me seriously?”
“They'll take you seriously when you deliver results. I've seen what you're capable of.”
“That's not how the world works for me!” She's nearly shouting. “You don't get it. You've never had to. You walk into a room and people respect you automatically. I have to earn it every day. I had to restart from scratch, and you just destroyed all my progress.”
She breaks off, voice thick.
And then it hits me. What she told me in her apartment. James made her feel like nothing. Stupid. Worthless. He diminished her until leaving felt impossible.
I just did the same thing. Not with cruelty, but with carelessness. I undermined her in front of the people she needs to respect her. I made her small.
“Emma.” I reach for her arm.
She steps back. “Don't.”
“I didn't mean to?—“
“I know.” She takes sharp breaths, steadying herself. “That's almost worse.”
She waits. I’ve got nothing.
“I don't have many people here,” she says finally, her voice hollow. “No friends at work. No family nearby. The people at GVM are the closest thing I have to a social circle, and you just made me an outsider all over again.”
I open my mouth. Nothing comes out.
“I need to go.” She gathers her portfolio, gaze fixed on the floor. “My team is waiting.”
“Emma, please. Let me fix this.”
She pauses at the door. When she turns back, her face is exhausted.
“You can't fix this, Kai. That's the whole point.”
The door clicks shut.
I stand alone in the conference room. The GVM materials are neatly stacked on the table. Proof of my perfect plan.
I pull out my phone. My thumb hovers over her name. I type three different messages and delete each one.
