Six months had passed since Carter came to the gate.
His company was gone. Business schools used its collapse as a case study in leverage, hidden debt, and executive ego. Carter himself disappeared from public view.
From the top floor of Sterling Group Global, I watched traffic move below the office windows. The hostile takeover announced at the summit had closed as the largest Wall Street had seen in a decade. My name appeared on the filings without Carter's beside it.
The acquisition once existed only in summit projections. Six months later, it was complete, and Lucas carried the last transfer file into my office.
Lucas entered carrying a slim file and placed it on my desk.
"The final asset transfer is complete," he said. "It only needs your signature."
I opened to the marked page.
