“Do you feel like you handle attention well?”
I almost answered automatically.
Then stopped.
Because I could feel Rowan watching.
Not judging.
Just watching.
So I said the truth instead.
“No.”
Silence.
Even the interviewer paused slightly.
Rowan looked up for the first time in a while.
Just briefly.
Then back down.
But that second mattered.
ROWAN
That answer wasn’t expected.
Not in the script.
Not in the profile.
Not in anything I’d read before this session.
“No.”
Simple.
Honest.
Unfiltered.
The interviewer smiled slightly like he appreciated it.
I didn’t.
Because honesty in interviews usually meant unpredictability.
And unpredictability meant story material.
Which meant exposure.
Mason shifted slightly in his chair.
Not uncomfortable.
