The following day, I went to work. I was so anxious and literally walking on my eggshells that morning. I resumed earlier than most of my colleagues, hoping my punctuality could somehow erase my mistakes. I had already planned out my apologies.

In about 30 minutes, everyone resumed. The receptionist said hi to me and continued with her day, then she gave me a list of tasks I needed to get done for the CEO:

• Sort and review the weekly financial reports

• Prepare the draft ...