I was standing in my kitchen at 6 AM, practicing words I didn’t want to say. “We need to discuss your employment status.” Too formal. “I have some difficult news.” Too vague. “I know I told you your job was safe, but…” That one made my stomach turn. I’d been rehearsing this conversation for three days, trying to find a way to deliver news that would shatter someone’s trust in me. Someone who had asked me directly, multiple times, if they were going to be fired. Someone I’d looked in the eye and said no to, because I meant it. But everything had changed, and I was the one who had to deliver the blow