Page 188 of Terms of Exposure
"Six months. One data center."
A delay tactic. Transparent.
Emma opened her mouth—
I saw it.
A tiny shift in her shoulders.
Time to end this.
"If I may," I said.
The room turned to face me.
"I agree a pilot isn't unreasonable in principle," I said. "But the timeline Mr. Bell suggests would cost Falkirk roughly eight million dollars in delayed savings—assuming Ms. Sinclair's conservative projections."
I glanced at her.
I've got you.
Her expression softened for half a heartbeat.
"And delaying integration undermines the merger's strategic rationale."
"I'm suggesting caution," Nathan said.
"We've already exercised caution," Linda cut in. "The audit debacle delayed us for weeks. Ms. Sinclair's numbers are sound."
She turned to Emma.
"I move that we approve the proposal as presented."
"Seconded," Alicia said.
"All in favor?" I asked.
Hands rose.
Farnsworth. Alicia. Linda.
Then mine—counting double.
Five.
Nathan blanched, stilling.
The room's attention shifted to Emma.
She didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Letting the silence coil around Nathan's throat. Her expression curdled him in stages—smugness cracking, uncertainty bleeding through, then the slow dawn of panic.
You forgot about her, I thought.
I never do.
