By the time I finally stepped off that stage, my ankles were near collapse.
Every step drove pain straight up through the bones of my feet, like walking on the tips of knives.
Drew didn't give me a moment to rest.
He had someone escort me straight to his office.
When I walked in, he was going over the project with Shelagh.
He left me standing there for over half an hour before finally, unhurriedly, lifting his head.
"Delilah, you were too impulsive today."
"In that condition, you had no business being up there. You put your pride ahead of this company's future."
"You're thirty now. You don't have the stamina you used to."
"Stepping aside for someone more capable would be better for everyone, yourself included."
Someone more capable? Shelagh?
Six months as an intern and she still couldn't get basic punctuation right.
All she had was pouting and playing cute—her actual work was hopeless.
How could I hand over everything I'd fought for to someone like that?
I kept my chin up, refusing to bend.
"Drew, I've been with you since I graduated college."
"You know better than anyone how much I've given and how hard I've worked."