*Bael's POV*
The quarterly development meeting has been running for thirty-two minutes.
Bael sits at the head of the conference table, laptop open, half his screen showing the presentation slides while the other half displays the financial projections he's supposed to be cross-referencing.
The development team is walking through their analysis of the eastern district expansion…market viability, zoning complications, projected timelines that hinge on approvals they don't have yet.
All of it relevant, all of it requiring his attention and eventual approval.
Wang Yue, the team lead, is explaining something about commercial zoning restrictions in the third phase.
His voice is steady, professional, exactly the kind of competent presentation Bael expects from senior staff.
Bael should be listening, and he is.
Except some part of his mind…an irritatingly persistent part, keeps circling back to whether Runze ate lunch today.
It's 1:47 PM.
