The shift didn’t happen abruptly.
It never did with Shawn.
It unfolded—quietly, precisely—until it was no longer something I could ignore.
By Monday morning, everything at Reid Capital had stabilized again. The pressure from Laurent’s early move had been contained, redirected, absorbed into the structure we had already built.
On the surface—
Nothing was out of place.
But beneath it—
Something had changed.
Not in the strategy.
Not in the execution.
In us.
⸻
I was reviewing a compliance file when his message came through.
Come to my office.
No urgency.
No explanation.
Just direction.
I stood immediately.
Because when Shawn called—
It meant something.
⸻
He didn’t look up when I entered.
Of course he didn’t.
He finished what he was reading, closed the file, then lifted h
