Friday, twelve o'clock. The board conference room held fifteen people. Seven board members appearing via video conference, their faces arranged on the large screen like a jury. Eight people physically present: Cazien at the head of the table, Jordan to his right, Rebecca to his left, three senior executives including Carlson, the company's general counsel, and me in the back row against the wall where interns were supposed to be invisible. I wasn't invisible. Rebecca noticed me the moment she walked in. Her expression didn't change but something flickered behind her eyes — recalibration, strategy adjustment, the quick mental work of someone whose plan had just encountered an unexpected variable. She sat. Arranged her materials with practiced efficiency. Looked at the screen where the board members were settling into their respective cameras. "Thank you all for making time on short notice," she began. Her voice carried the warmth I'd heard at dinner, the professional competence I'd
Read More