Page 117 of True Colors

When the last person has left, and the glass door is closed, he says, “You don’t have to say anything.”

Good! Because I don’t know if I can say anything.

“I wanted the words on record. For you. And for them.” There’s a tremor in his voice.

Trust doesn’t rebuild itself because someone did the right thing once, but reparations matter.

“I’m…g-grateful,” I say carefully. “B-but I’m still a-afraid.”

“That makes sense.” There’s a hollow ache in his eyes when he looks at me. “Anouk, what about us? I…I don’t…I can’t lose you.”

I take a long, assessing look at him to see his truth, to give myself time to gather my thoughts.

“I…I…d-don’t know,” I say lamely.

“Yesterday, my mother said that trust is easy the first time because there’s no baggage. I destroyed your faith in me, and this second time, earning your trust will be harder. But I will earn it, Anouk. Just…don’t give up on me.”

His honesty—unguarded, un-strategic—settles deep in my chest.

Wait! His mother? He told his mother about me?

Since I have no idea how to feel about that, I decide being professional is the way to go.

“Can…can I p-present at the end of the week?” That gives me two days to prepare.

He looks so happy that it makes me feel guilty. “You’ll do it?”

I nod. “The work deserves it.” As do I!

CHAPTER 28

Luther

“What the hell was that?” Erin demands, slamming the door behind her.

I was going to talk to her later today, but now is as good a time as any.

I ease back in my office chair and look at her, really look at her. She’s in a stern Hugo Boss suit—all sharp lines, matching her sharp elbows. I always thought she was a professional star because she got things done—but then I was only focused on the result.

The past few days have taught me that it isn’t just about what you achieve, it’s very much about how you achieve it.

Winning is great, but if you do it by crushing people and compromising your integrity, it isn’t very meaningful.

“What do you think that was?” I challenge her.

She laughs, sharp and incredulous. “You humiliated yourself. You undermined your authority in front of the team.”

A flicker of relief runs through me at her words.

A part of me, the one that got fucked because of my dumb decisions, is making me second-guess myself. It’s the result of making a rather huge mistake. I’ve been wondering if I was reacting to Erin merely because Anouk got hurt—but now I know that my father is right.

Erin cannot climb the corporate ladder beyond this point because she’s arrogant and thinks she knows everything. She doesn’t learn from failure—instead, she tries to cover it up, make it someone else’s fault.

Just like all the excuses she had after the board meeting.

I didn’t have time to prepare.

The slides Anouk made were crap.