A few people shift uncomfortably.
Leon clears his throat. “Kaori’s green, but she’s thorough. Heck, her work is even better than the stuff I usually send to you. Give her six months and she’ll be leading a section like a certain other engineer was at her age.” He winks in my direction.
Theo’s jaw flexes like he’s biting back something. He’s not used to being challenged, that much is obvious. “We’ll table this for now. We need to move on. What’s the status of the Baker project, Medusa’s Fury?”
Just like that, I’m dismissed.
The rest of the meeting blurs. The voices become muffled, and one project update blends into another. All I hear is the echo of his words, looping like a scratched record—Rookie mistakes. Babysitting. Beyond her depth.
Each one lands like a tiny punch to the gut. This oneman thinks he can reduce me to a liability with a sentence? But he is so, so, so very wrong.
Let him underestimate me. I’ll dive into the math until the numbers are the only language I speak. I’ll stress test every bolt and beam until the data is bulletproof. My work will be so good that he won’t just respect me—he’ll regret ever doubting that I belonged at this table.
The meeting ends an hour later.Chairs scrape against the floor. Laptops snap shut. The room begins to empty. I grab my belongings and make a beeline for the door.
Leon falls into step beside me without a word. We walk down the hall together, my heels making a click-clack sound against the tile floor. “You okay?” he asks. “You look like you’re ready to throw water onto a wicked witch and let her melt—or in this case a certain chief engineer.”
“Yeah, I’m fine, just frustrated. I know you said not to let him to get me, but he did.”
Leon chuckles. “I promise Theo isn’t always such a grump. He’s usually better behaved.”
Before I can reply, Andy strolls up, slow clapping. “You done good, Kaori. You officially survived your first Riverton interrogation.”
I snort despite myself. “Barely.”
“Survival is survival,” Derrick says, sneaking in beside Andy. “And it calls for a celebration.”
Leon lifts his travel coffee mug. “To Kaori, who has passed through the Mines of Riverton and lived to tell the tale.”
I manage a wry smile, setting my things down on my desk.
“Nice toast,Leon the Grey, but I was thinking more of a celebratory meal. What do you say, Kaori, are you down for joining the three of us for dinner? There’s this tiny Italian place around the corner that makes the world’s best pasta,” Derrick says.
A week ago, I would’ve gone home, cracked open a tub of cookie-dough-flavored Ben & Jerry’s (the most loyal men in my life), and decompressed with a K-Drama. But right now I’m craving a mountain of pasta and a side of Leon’s terrible dad jokes. “I’m in.”
During lunch,I text Rei.
Kaori
This is your daily check-in. Have you been kidnapped by a rogue knight?
Rei
Still no knights. But I may be at risk of developing webbed feet. It hasn’t stopped raining since last Tuesday.
Kaori
Look on the bright side—at least you aren’t melting in 100% Florida humidity. My hair has expanded to twice its original volume.
Rei
I’d trade webbed feet for a palm tree right now. And I have something exciting to share. I met someone.
Kaori
Someone? As in a friend?
Rei
