★Cassandra★
The day had been long, but it was the kind of long that felt rewarding. After weeks of pressure, preparation, and second-guessing, the presentation had gone exactly as planned. No interruptions, no flaws, no last-minute chaos. The board had approved everything with ease, and for the first time since the project began, I allowed myself to breathe. The hard work wasn’t over, not by a long shot, but this was a moment worth pausing for. By late afternoon, my office was quiet again. Pauline was finishing up paperwork near the window, and her glasses kept slipping down her nose as she typed.
“You look happy,” she remarked as she glanced over at me.
“I am,” I admitted. “Tired, but happy,”
“You deserve to be. Today was a success,” she said, and I smiled.
“We both know that is not
