They dissect.
Judgment.
Optics.
Risk exposure.
Reputational damage.
They talk about the spectacle. About how quickly it spread. About why it resonated. About how silence reads as avoidance and explanation reads as weakness.
They ask if there were any undisclosed relationships.
If there were power imbalances.
If any employees were involved.
“No,” I say. Steadily. “Absolutely not.”
Legal confirms it. HR confirms it.
That part lands.
Some tension eases.
But not all of it.
“Intentional or not,” one of them says, “this reflects a lapse in judgment.”
“Yes,” I agree.
No defense. No spin.
Another voice. “We need assurances this won’t repeat.”
“You have them,” I say.
“How.”
I meet their eyes, one by one. “Because I understand now what I failed to before.”
That earns me a pause. Not forgiveness. Attention.
They adjourn with conditions.
Oversight.
Visibility.
Consequences that won’t make headlines but will make a point.
When it’s over, I feel emptied out.
I return to my office and close the door again.
Jamie doesn’t come in.
She sends a calendar update instead.
