A wooden table stood between them.
Tea had been prepared.
Nothing about the setting resembled the extravagant spectacle of the previous year.
Walter stood when she entered.
“Ms. Carter.”
She nodded.
“Mr. Sterling.”
He gestured toward the chair.
“Thank you for coming.”
She sat.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Walter took a breath.
“I've been thinking about what happened that night.”
Imani remained quiet.
He continued.
“Not only the documents. Not only Julian.”
His expression tightened.
“The way I treated you.”
For several seconds, he looked toward his hands.
Then he met her eyes.
“I wanted everyone at that table to laugh at you.”
Imani felt something tighten in her chest.
But she didn't look away.
Walter continued.
“I saw your uniform and decided you couldn't possibly understand the conversation.”
He swallowed.
“Then I tried to use money to embarrass you.”
Imani nodded slightly.
“Yes.”
The old man closed his eyes.
For a moment, he seemed surprised by how much the simple answer hurt.
Then he continued.
“I've spent most of my life believing I could tell what someone was worth by what they'd accomplished.”
He paused.
“And I've spent too much of that life confusing accomplishment with wealth.”
Imani studied him.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then asked, “What changed your mind?”
Walter looked toward the window.
For a moment, he seemed uncertain.
Then he answered.
“Watching myself.”
Imani frowned slightly.
He continued.
“I saw the video. I saw you standing there, trying to do your job. And I saw myself enjoying the fact that I thought I could humiliate you without consequences.”
His voice grew rough.
“Then I remembered Eleanor.”
For several seconds, he was silent.
“She used to tell me I was cruel when I didn't need to be.”
Imani listened.
Walter took a breath.
“I always said she was exaggerating.”
He looked toward her.
“She wasn't.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then he placed the envelope on the table.
Imani looked toward it.
“What is that?”
Walter smiled faintly.
“A letter.”
She hesitated.
“Another offer?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
He pushed it toward her.
“It's a copy of a statement I made to our board and senior management. I wanted you to have it, but you're under no obligation to read it.”
Imani opened the envelope.
Inside was a short statement acknowledging his conduct at the dinner and describing changes Sterling Dynamics had adopted to improve document review, employee reporting, and executive accountability.
The statement did not praise Walter as a visionary leader.
It did not frame his humiliation of Imani as a valuable teaching technique.