The library doors were heavy oak, slightly ajar. I didn't burst in. I slid into the gap, the [Shadow Tuxedo] making me feel like a ghost in the periphery.
I could hear them before I saw them.
"It's simple arithmetic, Elena," Thorne's voice was low, dripping with condescension. "Vanguard Holdings manages the university's endowment. We have a fiduciary duty to protect it from... reckless speculation."
"The Sterling Grant is not speculation," Elena's voice was tight, vibrating with suppressed rage. "It is a fully funded initiative. It has nothing to do with your endowment."
"It has everything to do with liquidity," Thorne snapped. "And right now, the university needs cash. I am simply suggesting a reallocation. You resign as the grant administrator, appoint a Vanguard representative, and we... restructure."
I peered around the edge of a bookshelf.
