ADRIAN’s POV
Words moved faster inside Laurent Group. By the time I walked into the boardroom, every seat at the long table was already filled, and the quality of silence that greeted me told me the conversation waiting for me was not going to be comfortable.
I sat at the head of the table and let the silence stretch for a moment before anyone spoke.
Rowan Wren, the longest-serving board member and the closest person Laurent Group had to an institutional conscience, broke it first.
"Adrian." He folded his hands on the table in front of him. "We need to understand the Calloway intervention."
"I filed a competing interest claim," I said. "And that triggered an automatic suspension of Meridian Capital's acquisition."
"We're aware of the mechanics," Wren said. "We need to understand the
