Emily froze. She had never mentioned her secret weekend volunteer work—designing materials for a small domestic violence shelter.

She admitted it was.

Jenna laughed it off. But the question lodged in her like a splinter. That evening, when her manager asked her to redo a full presentation by 6 AM, Jenna took a breath. “I can’t do it by then,” she said. “I can give you a detailed outline by tomorrow noon, or the full deck by Wednesday.” Her manager blinked, then nodded. “Wednesday works.”

None of these people knew Emily Willis existed.

Then she opened a new file and started designing a poster for a community garden that didn’t know it needed her yet.