I Let Them Credit Me for Work I Didn’t Do

Her name was mentioned in the meeting,

and she didn’t correct it.

Amelia was sitting through a routine update.

Project summaries.

Progress reports.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Near the end, someone referenced a report that had been circulated the previous week.

It had been well received.

Detailed.

Carefully put together.

They said Amelia had led it.

There was a brief pause.

She had contributed.

Reviewed sections.

Offered input.

But she hadn’t led the work.

The credit belonged to someone else.

There was space to correct it.

A simple sentence would have been enough.

Instead, she nodded slightly.

The meeting moved on.

Afterwards, a colleague congratulated her.

Said the report had been strong.

She thanked them.

Did not clarify.

The person who had led the work had been in the room.

They said nothing.

Over time, the association held.

Her name became linked to the report.

Mentioned in other conversations.

In passing.

Each time, correcting it felt less natural.

Less necessary.

Amelia tells herself it didn’t matter.

That the work was shared.

But sometimes she still notices the pause.

The small moment where the story could have been different.

New stories released daily.

Explore all shows:

https://www.simplestoriesproject.com

Support the project and access expanded stories:

https://www.patreon.com/SimpleStoriesProject

Confessions podcast | short human stories | reflective storytelling | Simple Stories Project