The Negotiation Table
AMARA' S POV
I arrive twenty minutes early.
I choose the head of the table deliberately. Not Damien's usual seat. Mine. I set my files, uncap my pen, and arrange everything the way I want it before anyone else walks in.
When Harlan Cole enters the conference room, I am already there.
Already settled.
Already in control of the room.
He sees me and something flickers across his face. Reassessment. Quick, managed, but I catch it.
"Ms. Delacroix, he says. I wasn't expecting to see you here today."
"I know, I say. Sit down, Mr. Cole."
He sits.
Damien enters two minutes later, exactly on time, and takes the chair beside me. Not across from me. Not at the other end of the table.
Beside me.
It is a statement. Everyone in the room reads it.
Harlan reads it loudes
