(Andrew POV)
I stood in my office, staring at the clock, 7:45 a.m. Fifteen minutes until the board meeting. My tie felt like a noose, strangling me slowly. The breach logs sat on my desk, mocking me, no name, no fix. Stocks had dipped to 7% overnight, clients were calling, furious. I had barked at IT an hour ago, "Find it, now!", and I got nothing but stammers. Useless.
My phone buzzed, Richard's email: "Urgent. Vote today." My jaw tightened. Vote?. They had been circling, whispering, outsider CEO, my a*s. I had built this company, every deal, every dime. Now they would pull this? I grabbed my coffee, cold now, and I drained it. It tasted bitter like this morning.
Luke's guess, "Someone we might know", gnawed at me. Internal traitor? Maybe. I would rip them out when I finally found whoe
