“Simple. I can’t control what happens with the app,” Samiah answered. “With the job—not just the job at Trendsetters, but any job I ever take—I know that I can succeed as long as I do what’s expected of me. And, because I am me, I’m not going to stop at just what’s expected. I’m going to go above and beyond.”

“Of course,” Daniel said.

“That’s just how I roll,” she said with a laugh. “But it’s different with the app. I can create the most amazing thing ever, but what if I can’t find an investor? What if I put in all this work, am lucky enough to find an investor, and then the app tanks?”

“You wouldn’t be the first person to experience that,” Daniel said.

“I know, but it…it scares me,” she said.

She swallowed hard, a thick lump of emotion catching in her throat as one of the most profound memories from her childhood came crashing to the surface.

“Back when I was in the third grade, just before my eighth birthday, I woke up one night and went into the kitchen for a Capri Sun.” She smiled. “They were supposed to be school snacks only, but I would sneak one from the refrigerator and blame it on my sister.” She blew out a deep breath. “I remember walking in the kitchen and hearing this strange sound I’d never heard before coming from the breakfast table. I walked just beyond the kitchen island and noticed my dad bent over, his arms folded atop the table, his head resting on them.

“He was crying.”

Silence stole across the room, the only sounds those of the light traffic on the city streets below.

“I asked him what was wrong, even though I knew I’d get scolded for being up past my bedtime. But instead of telling me to go back to bed, he brought me onto his lap and apologized to me. He said we wouldn’t be able to go to the zoo for my birthday because they needed to save money. He’d lost his job earlier that week.” She nestled against Daniel’s chest, resting her cheek on his smooth skin. “This all happened before he became a teacher,” she continued. “My dad went back to school in his thirties, got his degree, and started teaching just as I entered high school. Thankfully, it wasn’t at my high school,” she said with another laugh.

“But that night, when I saw my daddy crying like his heart had broken in two, it did something to me. He was Superman in my eyes. He was the person who put a Band-Aid on my cuts and kissed them when I cried. Seeing him in that state is something I will never, ever forget.