The moment the door clicked shut behind me, whispers bled through.
"What's going on with Mr. Dickerson? He usually loves picking things apart."
"Who knows. Maybe he really does have a stomachache."
Kate rapped her knuckles on the table. "Ignore him. Let's continue."
I stood in the hallway and drew a long breath.
Afternoon sunlight poured through the window at the far end of the corridor, pooling white and harsh across the floor. I walked over and leaned against the windowsill for a while.
In my previous life, I'd flagged three critical flaws in that program during the meeting. Nelson's face went pale on the spot. Kate's expression hardened right alongside his. I told them the entire thing had to be rebuilt. Testing would be pushed back. We'd need to renegotiate the delivery timeline with the client.
After the meeting, Nelson caught up with me in the hall. Smiled. Thanked me for the guidance, promised he'd go back and revise everything.
I actually believed he meant it.
That same night, he drank himself into oblivion and was killed by a truck.
Kate pinned every last bit of it on me.