He stopped, like he was getting ready to say something important.
“Anna, I need to say sorry,” he said quietly. “For those words, for everything that happened between us.”
Her face didn’t show any emotion. There was a time, two years ago, when she had dreamed about this moment, imagined every detail of this scene: how she would react, what she would say, whether she would forgive him or not.
But now she just felt completely indifferent, like she was meeting an old acquaintance from a long time ago.
“Unfortunately,” she said, closing the folder with his resume, “we can’t offer you the job. It’s better to keep personal stuff and work separate.”
Igor flinched, like he had been hit. A twitch went across his face, and his eyes got darker.
“So, you’re trying to get back at me?” he said, grabbing the armrests of the chair. “Are you still mad about the old stuff?”
“Not at all,” she replied coldly. “This is just a business decision.”
“Business?” His voice shook. “You just want to get revenge! You’re probably enjoying this! And I thought…”
“You thought I was still nothing without you?” she interrupted, raising an eyebrow. “As you can see, it’s the other way around. Thanks, the interview’s over.”
He suddenly stood up, knocking over a glass of water. A dark stain spread across the papers on the table.
“You’ll be sorry about this,” he hissed, grabbing his briefcase. “The business world’s a small place.”
“I’m sure,” she said, with a little smile you could barely see. “Svetlana will show you out.”
He left, slamming the door so hard the glass shook. You could hear his muffled mumbling from the hallway.
Anna looked at the ruined papers. To her surprise, she didn’t feel happy or triumphant. She just felt light, like she had finally gotten rid of something that had been weighing her down for a long time.
