Page 56 of Mario
Her expression does not change, but I feel the shift in the room. The subtle release of tension.
“Do it,” I repeat. “All three phases. You will have full authority and unlimited resources.”
Her eyes widen slightly, just for a second.
She expected negotiation. Resistance. A request for a more detailed proposal.
She did not expect this.
“That’s…” She stops, searching for the word. “A significant delegation of authority.”
“It is.”
She is quiet for a long moment.
Then she nods once. A short, sharp gesture.
“Okay,” she says.
And in that one word, she has accepted more than a job. She has stepped into the heart of the machine.
And I have let her.
The thought is followed by another, one I should ignore.
I want to see her in here again. I want to see her behind my desk, not as an intruder, but as a partner.
The idea is so dangerous that I almost laugh.
Instead, I lean back in my chair. “Begin with the access audit. I want the names by the end of the day.”
She blinks. “Today?”
“Yes.”
Her chin lifts a fraction of an inch. That determination again. The refusal to be intimidated by the impossible.
Or by me.
“Done,” she says.
“Do you need anything from me?”
“A current organizational chart with formal and informal reporting structures,” she says. “Including the family.”
“You’ll have it within the hour.”
She nods and picks up her tablet.
I have dismissed her, but she does not stand. She sits there for a beat, looking at me, and I see the question she is deciding whether to ask.
“Something else, Ms. Murray?”
She sets the tablet down.
Her hesitation is brief, but noticeable.
“Diego said something to me this morning,” she says.
