Chapter 33Josh’s POVThe conference room felt like a courtroom, and I was the defendant. I’d arrived fifteen minutes early for the 9 AM Nakamura meeting, hoping to get ahead of whatever damage Robert had done. Instead, I found him already there, sitting at the head of the table—my usual seat—chatting easily with the three Japanese executives like they were old friends.“Josh!” Robert stood up with false enthusiasm. “Perfect timing. We were just discussing the revised proposal.”I forced a smile and shook hands with the Nakamura team. Mr. Tanaka, their lead negotiator, gave me a polite but reserved nod. That alone told me something was wrong. Three weeks ago, he’d been enthusiastically praising our partnership.“Gentlemen, thank you for meeting with me,” I said, deliberately taking the seat at the opposite end of the table from Robert. “I understand there have been some concerns about the project timeline.”“Among other things,” Mr. Tanaka said carefully. “Mr. Miller has been very for
Last Updated : 2025-10-29 Read more