“Ha ha.” This wasn’t the first time he’d teased her about her obsessive use of sticky notes. “I told you, using the different color Post-its helps to organize my thoughts when I brainstorm. I’ve been trying to make the transition from one user to another smoother, but it’s just not happening. I can’t figure out why it keeps timing out.”

He glided his hand higher up her leg and looped it around to cup her calf. Giving the muscle a gentle squeeze, he said, “You do realize that no investor will expect this to be perfect straight out of the gate, don’t you? It’s a prototype. You’re allowed to have glitches.”

“No, I’m not.” She shook her head. “I can’t half-ass this. It has to be perfect.”

“No it—”

“Yes, it does!” The words came out sharper than she’d intended. “Shit.”

She took a moment to regain her composure, then reached over and cupped his jaw, bearing the familiar burden of having to offer comfort when she was the one who wanted to be comforted right now.

“Look, I know it’s hard for you to understand, but you haven’t been in my shoes, Daniel. Do you have any idea how steep the hill I have to climb is just to get people in this industry to take me seriously? So many write me off the minute I walk into a room, or when they learn that the S in SBrooks at Trendsetters dot-com stands for Samiah and not Samantha or Sarah or some other ‘nonethnic’ name. I’m not a perfectionist because I want to be one, it’s because I have to be one.”

He studied her face for several long moments before softly whispering, “I get it.”

It suddenly occurred to her how insensitive it was to think that he, as a biracial man, couldn’t understand where she was coming from.

“I’m sorry,” Samiah said. “Of course you get it. I’m sure you’ve had your share of similar experiences.”

“No, don’t apologize. I have had my own experiences, but I won’t even try to compare them to what you’ve endured.” He shook his head. “They’re not the same. People don’t doubt my abilities. If anything, they expect me to be better than I really am—as if the half-Asian dude must be a genius when it comes to computers—which I guess is the flip side of the same coin.” He took her hand and placed a gentle kiss in the center of her palm. “It’s different for you. You have to be twice as good to get half as far.”

Her eyes fell shut, her throat thickening with a swift wave of emotion. Relief overwhelmed her; having her feelings validated brought unexpected solace to her battered soul.