“She’s partly right about me too,” he said.
The room went still. I saw Vanessa’s eyes widen.
“I should have set boundaries a lot sooner than I did,” Irvin said. “I kept going over there to help after I knew she was flirting with me, and after my wife told me so. That was my mistake. I own it.”
For a few seconds, Vanessa looked almost triumphant.
“But being slow to set a boundary,” Irvin continued, “isn’t the same thing as returning someone’s interest.”
He connected his phone to the screen at the front of the room, the one normally used for budget slides, and pulled up the full conversations.
The room read the lines Vanessa had sent around. Wish I had a man like you. You’re the only man I can rely on.
Then they read what came immediately after.
You’ll find one. I’ve already got the woman I want.
