CHAPTER 4: OUTSIDE THE BOARDROOM

CHAPTER 4

The long days have turned into long nights for Katherine and Mr. Greene as they work lifelessly together on a major new product launch that has needed numerous late gloamings in the quiet, empty office. By 10 or 11 pm most nights, they're frequently the only two people left on the entire administrative bottom.

Katherine notices that Mr. Greene seems to relax a bit more in these late-night hours away from the public eye. His usual stern address softens kindly, his voice losing its harsh edge and his posture getting less rigid. His precious suit gets less and less wrinkled as the night wears on, and his perfectly trolled hair starts to loosen and fall across his forepart. The sick circles under Mr. Greene's eyes make him feel older and more vulnerable. Katherine knows on these marathon work nights not to rush her master out the door. He needs this winding down time as he transitions from his tightly wound CEO persona during the day back to his lonely particular life at night.

On a similar exhausting night, as they finalize folder duplication line by line, Mr. Greene suddenly begins opening up to Katherine about his nonage. In a reflective tone, he describes growing up impoverished in a confined, run-down apartment on the rougher side of the megacity. His mama worked endlessly just to put food on the table for him and his three young siblings. From age 10, Mr. Greene took on odd jobs like washing dishes or sweeping storefronts to help make ends meet.

Katherine's heart pangs as Mr. Greene recalls feeling embarrassed when kids from the academy came over and saw their dingy home and tattered clothes. The shame he felt for having so little while his classmates had new toys, boxes, and bikes. Mr. Greene's restless, growling stomach made it impossible to concentrate in class, fueling his determination to escape poverty and never be empty again. The candlelit nights spent studying because they could not pay the electric bills hung him most. Katherine now understands, in a deeper position, what drives his inexhaustible work heritage and perfectionism.

Greene goes on to explain to Katherine how those impoverished, unstable times taught him harsh assignments about hiding vulnerability and projecting strength, no matter what. Any signs of weakness or emotion brought scolding and sometimes physical discipline from his mama’s string of unstable fellows. Crying only made the beatings worse. So youthful, Mr. Greene learned to bottle up his passions and slip the armor he had worn ever since. Katherine nods with a newfound appreciation for why her master is so guarded and mistrustful.

Gently probing with questions, Katherine tries to understand the layers of hurt, fear, and shame Mr. Greene still carries from those constructive gestures. He describes feeling helpless hail bill collectors pounding on their apartment door and his mama blubbing in her room. The maximum terror of being awakened by her fellows' crapulous enthusiasms. How those nights shaped his untiring drive for wealth, success, and control so no one could ever make him feel that weak and trapped again. Understanding the roots of his emotional walls gives Katherine new empathy and admiration for the man beside her.

As Mr. Greene opens up more in the closeness of their late-night bubble, he admits he's still visited by the assignments from nonage that loiter in his mind. How hiding any vulnerability came to be the only way to avoid further pain. Why did he push people down out of hard-wired distrust? He works himself to utter prostration, in part to override the recollections and tone of mistrustfulness. But remnants of the alarmed, helpless boy remain despite all he has achieved.

Katherine shares a bit about her flashy, uncertain nonage—moving from apartment to apartment as her mama tried to make ends meet, infrequently fitting in at the string of new seminaries. With quiet empathy, Katherine tells Mr. Greene that, while painful, our histories make us who we are. They shape us, but they do not define us completely. The hard times he endured handed him the provocations and adaptability to make commodities great, but they're only part of his complete story. He has fulfilled so much good and has measureless eventuality ahead. Mr. Greene's eyes take on a thoughtful, nearly vulnerable expression at her encouraging words.

In the comfortable silence that follows his raw exposures, a new understanding seems to pass between them. Katherine feels recognized that the redoubtable Mr. Greene has chosen to lower his fences for her and offer this profound regard for what made him the man he is. Rather than judging his vulnerabilities, Katherine accepts them with compassion. She hopes he realizes she cares about the person within, not just the slick superintendent persona he presents to the world.

And Mr. Greene does feel changed following that night's discussion. In their private relations, he starts asking Katherine's opinion on business matters and taking her advice seriously, showing his growing respect. He no longer rushes to hide his prostration when they work long hours, allowing himself to be genuinely mortal in front of her. Now and also, he indeed makes jokes that have them both laughing loudly in the empty hallways, the sound breaking the dimmed spell of ghosts from his history. He seems lighter, less haunted.

Katherine realizes the immense gift Mr. Greene has given by allowing her inside some of his long-fortified walls. She understands now, in a deeper position, the complexity of this driven, wounded man. Her desire to nurture the fragile, arising corridor of himself he has kept locked down for so long grows fiercer. She wants to know all of him—every old scar, every nearly-held dream, his ingrained virtuousness.

Their meter at work remains unchanged; during the bustling days, Mr. Greene is still curt and impersonal with Katherine, as always. But in their quiet gloamings together, he gradually reveals more of his humanity and emotionality. With her, he can take off the CEO mask and be vulnerable, ask questions, show weakness, and meditate on the history that fashioned him. He seems to be slipping through times of hardened heedfulness incrementally.

Katherine makes sure to hear without judgment or perspective during their unfolding conversations. She understands Mr. Greene is still learning to trust again after so many backstabbings and losses. This is new terrain for him too. She focuses on creating a safe space for the arising, wounded soul behind the bulletproof facade.

And so a new understanding blossoms between them in the small hours of the morning before eventually surrendering to prostration. Their late-night addresses weave all the scattered vestments of Mr. Greene's history into a coherent shade, making sense of the uneven silhouettes of his current tone—both the smooth and the rasped edges. He unearths dreams remitted but not forgotten. Reexamines old injuries and questions. Allows his humanity to breathe. With Katherine's patient empathy, Mr. Greene gains tone-knowledge and authorization to move forward unburdened by the painful history.

Katherine comes to cherish these casts of the real man, who exists only intimately, behind unrestricted doors. But she remains defensive, understanding not everyone wishes for Mr. Greene to grow and change like this. There are still those who prefer the ruthless CEO, whose rough edges drove his grim rise to power. And they may try to undermine what she and Mr. Greene have erected in trust and closeness. But Katherine refuses to lose him now. What began between them before tired night eyes feels like a new morning for both of them.

So when they ultimately walk together out into the sharp night air, Katherine looks up at Mr. Greene's face—further lined now but burned with a softer inner light—and sees not an intimidating superintendent but a fellow rubberneck. Eventually, unencumbered by history's smothering grip, they're ready to venture forward, whatever comes. And Katherine knows this is only the start of their story.