He talked to her like she was rusty and worth restoring.
There was a difference big enough to stand inside.
At one point he brought in the lead engineer, a blunt woman named Priya with sharp eyes and a practical haircut.
Priya asked Lauren technical questions.
Not gentle ones either.
Real ones.
Lauren stumbled twice.
Recovered once.
Blanked completely on one term she absolutely should have known.
Heat rushed to her face.
But Priya just said, “Okay. How would you reason it out?”
And Lauren did.
Slowly.
Clumsily at first.
Then with growing steadiness.
By the end, Priya leaned back in her chair and said, “You still think like a builder. That’s harder to teach than syntax.”
Lauren wanted to cry again.
This was becoming a theme.
Instead she swallowed and said, “Thank you.”
After Priya left, Ethan slid a folder across the table.
Inside was an offer letter.
