I arrived 18 minutes late to my interview at a billion-dollar company with my blouse stained with mud, broken heel, and scraped hands. “Is she homeless? The
The doors of the private elevator slid shut, sealing away the stunned murmurs of the lobby. I stood dripping muddy water onto Grayson Pierce’s pristine mahogany floor, clutching my ruined folder like a shield. He didn’t press the button for Human Resources. He pressed the glowing button for the forty-third floor—the executive suites. “You’re bleeding,…