The industry summit at the Langham had the kind of self-important energy Elena usually found exhausting — a ballroom full of executives performing confidence at each other over overpriced canapés — but this year, for the first time, she walked in as someone with real weight behind her name.
Dorian found her within the first twenty minutes, unsurprisingly.
"Round two," he said, handing her a glass of champagne she hadn't asked for but accepted anyway. "Thorne Capital's putting forward a proposal today that I suspect will interest your board considerably. I thought I'd give you fair warning, since I so thoroughly enjoyed losing to you last time."
"That's uncharacteristically generous of you."
"I contain multitudes," Dorian said. "Also, I'm hoping it earns me enough goodwill that you don'
