" Okay, so where were we?” I asked.
“I was telling you I’m busy and you were excusing me from this meeting.”
“No, that’s not where we were.”  I left the space behind my desk and came around to join her, taking the chair on her left.  She turned away from me, facing the wall of bookshelves that ran next to my desk.
“Ruby, if you’re worried that being honest with me will cause you to lose your job, I want you to know that it won’t happen.  I’d never let you go for being honest.  Besides … the senior partners love you.  You have total job protection here.”
She swiveled her head slowly in my direction.  “Can I get that in writing?”
“Shit, Ruby, you know the law as well as I do.  Your job is safe.  Come on, talk to me.”
She sighed.  “I don’t want to upset you.”  Her tone wasn’t quite as harsh.   It was the kindest thing she’d said to me in six months, and it gave me hope.
“Please, if it will help get us to the bottom of this mess, I don’t care.  Upset me.”
She stared at me long and hard before exhaling in a really long, really sad-sounding sigh.
Just that alone made me want to cry.  I almost didn’t want to hear what she had to say now, knowing she was preparing herself to deliver some very bad news.
“Okay, I’m just going to come right out and say it, because this is something you need to hear.  And since you don’t talk to your friends anymore, it’s on my shoulders to do it.”  She pressed her lips together and sat straighter.  Then she looked at the ceiling before muttering, “Lord Jesus, please forgive me for being so bold and honest, but you know I’m doing it for the right reasons and my heart is true.”
My own heart skipped a few beats.  I threw up a prayer of my own.  Dear Tiny Baby Jesus, please give me the strength to not bite Ruby’s head off, because I have a feeling I’m going to want to before she’s done. "

― Elle Casey , Shine Not Burn (Shine Not Burn, #1)