“Are you gonna apologize?”
“Fuck no,” I say automatic.
Around the table, everyone shifts. Maya presses her lips together. Leo rubs his temple. It’s pure disappointment layered over exhaustion—everyone is fed up with me.
“Look,” I say finally. My voice comes out steady, even though my chest feels tight. “I know I can be stubborn and quick to act out when I feel disrespected. Some of you may even call me ‘defensive’. But I still don’t think I’m wrong about what I did. So I’m not going to apologize. Now. I won’t insult you by pretending it didn’t cost us?—”
Kai doesn’t back down.
“It did cost us! Sponsors pulled back, Frankie. We spent all night answering emails instead of celebrating the one category we actually won.”
“That award doesn’t matter,” I say.
“It mattered to us,” Maya replies gently. “And I get why you did what you did. But when you walked out, the narrative stopped being about the work and started being all aboutyou.”
Leo leans forward. “We built this studio on intention. On patience. On being strategic when bigger companies weren’t.Last night didn’t feel strategic, Frank. How are we gonna stand a chance in this industry if we already have a reputation like this?”
The group starts mumbling in agreement.
My phone buzzes in my pocket again. And I ignore it again.
“And what about the internet?” Kai asks. “Because right now half of it thinks you’re a hero and the other half thinks you’re unprofessional.”
“I can’t control that,” I say.
“It’s a bad look either way.”
“I know.”
“So why not just apologize?”
“I already said I’m not going to. So why don’t we move on to what’s next?”
“And whatisnext?” Maya asks.
Before I can answer, there’s a knock on the glass wall of the conference room.
All of us turn.
Tasha stands there, eyes wide, hand still hovering near the door handle like she’s not sure she should interrupt. Realistically, she should also be in this meeting but she is in strong disagreement with my actions as well and thinks it’s best if the team voice their opinions to me directly without her being a part of the dog pile.
I think neutrality in this is a mistake but I’ll respect it.
She has her stance and I have mine.
Besides, I don’t have time to process the complexities of our relationship at the moment because behind her is a man who takes up too much space in the doorway.
The room reacts before I do.
Everyone straightens.
Everyone whispers his name.
Leo’s eyebrows shoot up. Maya’s mouth drops open. Kai looks like he’ll pass out any second.
Football fans. All of them.
Tasha pushes the door open some more. “Uh. Frankie? Your… guests are here.”
