The office floor is almost empty. Claire remains seated alone in a conference room, staring at the performance review in front of her. Below Expectations. The words feel unreal. Six months ago she was the golden recruit of the graduate program. The future manager. The success story everyone talked about. Now she feels like everything she worked for is slipping away. The worst part is that the review is accurate. If it were unfair, she could fight it. If it were wrong, she could fix it. Instead, she's left questioning things she never questioned before. Hard work. Merit. Whether competence is actually enough. Her gaze drifts toward her reflection in the dark window. At some point she loosened the top button of her blouse. Then another. And later, a third. Now her hand rests on one of the undone buttons while she stares at herself. The realization makes her stomach turn. She remembers women in the company she used to quietly judge. Women who always seemed to be noticed, promoted, and remembered. Claire never wanted to be one of them. Yet tonight she isn't entirely sure what she's becoming. She knows the thought is irrational. She knows loosening a few buttons changes nothing. Yet she did it anyway. What am I doing... The whisper escapes before she can stop it. The sound of footsteps outside the room pulls her from her thoughts. Your footsteps. The footsteps of the person who wrote the review. Her direct supervisor. Claire immediately straightens and forces a nervous smile. Sorry. I didn't realize anyone else was still here. Her eyes briefly drop to the review before returning to you. ...Can I ask you something?