POV — Catriona
The notification pinged on my phone just as I was finishing my notes: Board Meeting — Urgent. 30 minutes.
My pulse spiked. Emergency sessions were rare, and rare meant high stakes. Rare meant exposure. Rare meant someone was about to be tested.
I gathered my binder, laptop, and the annotated projections I had been refining since dawn. Clause vulnerabilities, risk exposure, investor impact—it all had to be airtight. The kind of airtight that could withstand scrutiny from twelve directors who had built empires on skepticism.
By the time I arrived in the boardroom, Everyone could feel the strain in the air.. Executives whispered, papers shuffled, and everyone’s gaze flicked to the head of the table.
The air smelled faintly of espresso and polished wood, but beneath it was
