In Cassandra’s office, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked Lake Michigan. The skyline glittered. The conference room table where Trevor had once stood now held documents of rising profits, lower turnover rates, and record-breaking retention.
During a committee meeting, Dana asked, “Cassandra, forgive the personal question. Do you ever regret starting the way you did? It was a risk that could have ended your career.”
Cassandra leaned back, letting the weight of the memories settle.
“That first week was the most difficult of my professional life. I learned what humiliation felt like from the inside. But I also learned what kindness looks like when it is given without condition. Those lessons changed me. They broke the illusion that leadership happens from above. True leadership begins at ground level, where consequences live.”
She gazed out the window. “Power is not supposed to shield us from the world. It is supposed to help us repair it.”
Camryn nodded. “You did more than repair it. You rebuilt it.”
“What happened to Trevor?” Mitchell asked during his first culture summit months later.