Chapter two: the decision
794 Words
DOMINIC’S POV:
“Reject it.”
The folder didn’t move again after that. Neither did anyone in the room. A pen clicked once somewhere behind me, then stopped mid air.
No one asked anything, because they already knew not to. My assistant reached forward, took the folder, and stepped back. “Send formal rejection to Bloom Tech,” I said. “Yes, sir.” She replied and left the room immediately.
No hesitation in her walk. No second glance at the table. Darius tilted his chair back slightly. “You didn’t even open the financials past page two.” I didn’t look at him. “If it needed page three, it would’ve survived page one.” He let out a short exhale.
Not disagreement. Recognition. Then the rest of the meeting continued. Slides changed on the screen. Graphs replaced names, numbers replaced intent.
Then Roman Sinclair’s name came up. That name changed the room’s tone without anyone saying anything. A pause in hand movement. A fraction slower in page transition.
Darius tapped his tablet once. “He’s shifting again.” I glanced at the screen. Three acquisition targets highlighted, he slid it closer. “He’s going after mid stage tech firms now.” I nodded once. “He’s running out of structure.” Darius watches me for a second. “That’s not what it looks like from here.”
“It always looks faster when you’re not inside it.” The conversation stopped there. It didn’t need continuation.The meeting ended the same way it started.
Clean break. No loose edges. People left in sequence, not chaos. My assistant waited by the door. “Rejection has been sent,” she said. “Confirmed,” I replied. And she left..
Darius followed me into the corridor. “You never even asked what she was building.” He said. “If it was relevant, it would’ve answered before the pitch ended.” He didn’t respond.
We walked past glass walls where the city stretched below. Cars moved in timed intervals. Lights shifted in coordinated patterns. Everything behaving as expected.
Later that night.
The office was quieter.
Only the city outside filled the space with movement, then my assistant stepped in. “Sir, Roman has adjusted his target list.” I didn’t turn. “Where.” She placed the tablet on the desk.
Highlighted: Bloom Tech.
Darius glanced at it. “That’s not his usual bracket.” He said. “I guess it is now,” I said. He looked at me. “You rejected them this morning.”
“I reject a lot of things.” He didn’t reply. The room stayed still for a moment, then my assistant spoke again. “There’s an additional file attached to Bloom Tech’s profile history.” I looked up once. “It wasn’t part of the submission.”
“Open it.” The screen lit up. Lecture all. University setting. Then Zara Bloom. Standing at the front, then panelist leaned forward. “You’re assuming grid efficiency can be stabilized under unpredictable demand.” Her response came without hesitation. “It’s not unpredictable. It’s unmanaged.”
Another voice cut in. “That’s an assumption.” Her head turned slightly. “No. That’s observation.” She didn’t raise her voice. Didn’t slow down.
When interrupted again, she didn’t stop. She adjusted mid sentence, but finished the thought anyway. Darius leaned slightly forward. “She didn’t react to pressure.” I didn’t answer.
Because she did. She just didn’t show it. The screen continued. A third interruption. “This isn’t scalable under current infrastructure.” The answer landed immediately. “Then your infrastructure is the limitation, not the model.”
Silence followed in the video. Not awkward, it was measured. The panel didn’t respond immediately. They recalculated.
The clip ended, and the room went quiet again. Darius exhaled once again. “That’s not your typical student delivery.” I didn’t respond.
The file closed automatically. I leaned back slightly in my chair. My assistant spoke again. “Should I discard the file?” She asked. “No.” She looked at me. “I should keep it?” she asked again. “Leave it.” I replied.
She left the room. Darius stood a second longer. “You’re not going to reconsider it?” I didn’t look at him. “No.” He nodded once. Then left.
The office stayed still. The screen reflected the city lights behind me. No movements inside the room. Only outside. I didn’t reopen the file. Didn’t replay anything. Didn’t search anything. The decision was already made.
But when I stood up to leave, my hand paused near the folder still on the desk.
Bloom Tech.
I didn’t open it. I just looked at it. And walked out.
- Writer
