Chapter 124. Stealing an Opportunity

The afternoon sun streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Waston Food Group & Properties conference room on the thirty-fifth floor, painting the Manhattan skyline golden. Harry Waston, CEO of the diversified company, sits in front of a gleaming mahogany desk, his presence drawing the attention of the dozen executives gathered for the quarterly shareholder meeting.

To his right sits Alice, who is officially his executive assistant here, though their relationship has developed far beyond professional boundaries over the past few months. As she distributed the meeting materials with practiced efficiency, her fingers briefly brushed Harry’s hand, providing a familiar spark between the two of them.

“Gentlemen, let’s begin,” Harry’s deep voice echoed throughout the room. “Our second quarter numbers show promising growth in both divisions.”

As CFO Dennis Miller began his presentation on profit margins and market expansion, Alice found her gaze fixed on