If you are conscientious, moral, and ethically sound but still afraid of your reputation being damaged…
Remember this:
A diamond is a diamond.
You can’t break a diamond.
You are a diamond.
They may throw a diamond in the mud but, come the rain, the rain will wash the mud away and the diamond will shine again.
Avoiding this is not always in your power.
And you can forgive yourself for appearing powerless here.
And you can forgive the other person for feeling intimidated by your lustre.
In the long term, a diamond will always get the setting it deserves.
Loving you, Angelos