There was no praise, no recognition, only judgment from above.
My three sleepless nights of battle were completely erased in that moment.
The sweet, cloying smell in the air made me nauseous.
My colleagues clapped enthusiastically—for Vivian’s mac and cheese, for David’s so-called “team spirit.”
No one looked at me, as if the person who had just saved the company didn’t exist at all.
Vivian stood among the crowd, her head slightly bowed, a demure and perfectly measured smile on her lips.
That huge wave of emptiness crashed through me.
I stood, silently returned to my desk, opened my laptop, and began writing the post-mortem report on the crisis.
From the hallway, I could still hear David’s voice:
“…so you see, for a company to grow, it can’t rely on technology alone—it needs culture! Culture is our ultimate weapon!”
After the meeting, I took the draft report and knocked on David’s office door.
“Come in.”
I placed the report on his desk, speaking concisely.
“David, here’s the technical post-mortem and follow-up prevention plan.”
He leaned back in his chair, slowly picked up his stainless steel mug of herbal tea, blew on it, then flipped through the report.