The email arrived mid-morning, glowing faintly on my laptop screen. Subject line: Exclusive Opportunity: Global Expansion Leadership.
I read it twice. Then a third time.
A rival company, one I had briefly studied during my early days in the city, was offering me a position far more public, far more lucrative, and far more independent than anything I was currently leading with Adrian. The words were polished. Flattering. Carefully constructed to appeal to ambition and ego.
I felt a flicker of surprise. Then a measure of irritation.
This was not an offer. This was a test.
I leaned back in my chair, studying the skyline outside the glass wall. The city below seemed to pulse in rhythm with the blood in my veins. Every lesson I had learned from media distortion, from Thomas, from Clara, fr
