Julian walked over to me, his expression concerned. “Mrs. Helen, are you all right? Do you need to sit down? A glass of water, though… I suppose you’ve had enough water for one night.”
In spite of everything, I let out a laugh. A small, tired, but genuine laugh.
“I’m fine, Julian,” I said, touching his arm gratefully. “Or at least I will be eventually.”
He nodded with understanding. “What you did tonight was brave. Difficult, but brave. And if I may say so, absolutely necessary.”
“Do you think I was too harsh?” I asked, surprising myself with the question. After everything that had happened, part of me was still looking for validation, still questioning if I had done the right thing.
Julian shook his head firmly. “Mrs. Helen, I’ve worked for you for ten years. I’ve watched you build this empire from scratch. I’ve seen you treat every employee with dignity, pay fair wages when you could have paid less, give chances to people other businesses would turn away. You are one of the most generous and kind-hearted people I know.”
He paused, choosing his words carefully.