She launched into her slides with practiced confidence, referencing statistics and metrics with flair, pausing for effect, doing everything short of jazz hands.
When my turn came, I took a breath and presented my project.
I shared our team’s numbers, results, and progress on the analytics overhaul.
It was a clear, organized, clean, and concise delivery.
David nodded. He even asked a follow-up about user churn, which I answered easily.
Then Joan struck.
“Great point,” she said brightly and loud enough for everyone to hear.
She turned toward me with her rehearsed smile. “What’s your name again?”
The room froze. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks, my throat tightening as if I were about to cough.
Joan was still looking right at me.
And that’s when I made a decision.
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