The boardroom carried the quiet weight of expectation as Samantha Bradley took her seat at the head of the table. Sunlight cut through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting sharp lines across the polished marble floor. Her tailored white suit was immaculate, as if the previous tension with Shelly had never happened.
Lynn placed a leather folder in front of Samantha and stepped back.
Samantha opened it without a word, eyes scanning the papers inside before she looked up.
"Thank you all for coming," she began, her voice even but with unmistakable authority. "Today, we finalize our strategy for the Elevate Strategic Expansion Project. Our official launch is in seventy-two hours. I expect clarity and results, not vague ideas."
A quiet murmur ran around the table before Marcus Chen, head of Innovation, leaned forward.
