"It's nothing more than a young girl's innocent admiration. I indulged one small wish of hers. What's the big deal? You're making a scene."
With that, he wrapped his arm around Yvonne and walked out of the venue, leaving me standing alone in the crowd like the punchline of a joke.
Yvonne. She was the girl I'd first noticed outside the office, handing out flyers. It had been nearly a hundred degrees that summer day, and she wouldn't even spend a dollar on a bottle of water because she was saving every cent for next semester's tuition and living expenses.
She'd just moved to the city for college. She had no one. Everything fell on her own shoulders.
I admired her independence, her resilience.
When I found out she was studying the same field as me, I wanted to help her.
I added her on WhatsApp and offered to cover four years of tuition and living expenses so she could focus on her studies.
To repay me, she came to the office every weekend and every school break to help with odd jobs.
That was how she met Warren, who drove me to and from work every day.