The storm outside had been building all afternoon.
By the time Jason’s board meeting began, the sky over Manhattan had turned to steel, thunder rolling low and constant like a warning he refused to hear.
Inside the glass tower of Jae Global, the boardroom was silent except for the flicker of the wall-mounted screens. Rows of restless faces stared back at him — board members, advisors, lawyers — all of them waiting for him to answer the question no one wanted to ask out loud.
“Jason,” said the chief financial officer finally, her tone clipped, “are you aware of how much we’ve lost in forty-eight hours?”
Jason didn’t look away from the spreadsheet glowing before him. “Loss is temporary. The market rebounds.”
“This isn’t the market,” another voice cut in sharply. “It’s you.”
Heads turne
