No.
Now that Joanne really looked back, Jeffrey hadn't been protecting Heather the past year.
He had handed Heather power she was never meant to wield. Not because he believed in her, but because he knew she'd implode. She was reckless, impulsive, incapable of heeding the counsel of anyone but herself.
And in less than a year, she had turned a powerful company into a disaster.
Joanne could almost see it now: Heather had walked right into a trap of her own making, and Jeffrey had simply… let her. The wolves were already circling. Her fall was inevitable.
Jeffrey hadn't shielded Heather. Because if he had, Heather's name wouldn't be on the papers associated with failures.
That only meant that Jeffrey had used her.
Strategically.
Ruthlessly.
And all along, he had stood by Joanne.
Not perfectly, no. But consistently. Steadily. Fiercely.
He had changed. He had grown.
