Team.
Future.
Instead I said:
“I don’t want to lose control of my game.”
Pause.
Then added without thinking:
“And I don’t want distractions doing it for me.”
That landed differently.
I felt it immediately.
The air in the room shifted slightly.
Rowan’s typing stopped for half a second.
Just half.
Then resumed.
But slower.
ROWAN
That wasn’t directed at me.
Logically.
It couldn’t be.
But it still felt like it sat between us.
The interviewer wrapped up soon after.
“Good,” he said. “We’ll review this for feature placement.”
Mason stood first.
I didn’t immediately look at him.
That was intentional.
Professional distance.
That’s what this was supposed to be.
But as he passed by my table—
he slowed slightly.
Just enough for me to hear him quietly.
“Don’t write something stupid.”
