The office was louder than usual.
Not in volume—but in weight.
Every conversation carried an edge. Every movement felt deliberate. The quiet hum of Reid Capital had shifted into something sharper, more aware. Like a system recalibrating under pressure.
I felt it the moment I stepped onto the executive floor.
Something was changing.
And everyone knew it.
I moved through the corridor with a stack of files in hand, my gaze sweeping across desks, monitors, and glass-walled offices. Analysts spoke in lower tones. Assistants moved faster. Even the senior executives—usually composed, insulated—seemed more alert.
Pressure had a way of exposing fault lines.
And right now, the entire firm felt like a structure under evaluation.
Charles Laurent stood near the far end of the floor, speaking w
