The shift didn’t wait for permission.
It moved the moment our backs were turned.
By mid-morning the floor had changed its rhythm.
Not visibly. Not in any way that would show up on a single report.
But the pattern was unmistakable.
Access points slowed.
Clearances delayed.
Meetings quietly revalidated.
Small fractures.
Insignificant alone.
Devastating together.
“They’ve started filtering movement.”
The voice from Legal Ops was low, almost apologetic. I didn’t look up from my screen.
“Scope?”
“Selective. Executive adjacency.”
Adjacency.
Not role. Not authority.
Proximity.
Of course.
I closed the file in front of me with deliberate calm. It no longer mattered.
“They’re isolating variables,” I said.
“Yes.” A pause. “And you’re one of them.”
I stood, smoothing my skirt, the motion
