The RefusalThe conference room was on three sides, to anyone passing by, it looked like an ordinary meeting: two men seated at a table, their hands resting close to their files, their faces arranged in order. But inside, the tension was anything but ordinary. It was taut and weighted with things unsaid, and sharpened by everything both men carried into the room.Alex had imagined this moment for weeks—months, if he was honest with himself. He had thought he would stride in, self-assured, commanding, delivering the words that would bend Daniel’s attention, maybe even his loyalty. But now, face-to-face, Alex felt strangely hollow, like a man who had climbed to the peak of a mountain only to find the air too hut to breathe.Daniel sat opposite him, composed, his tablet sitting beside him, the whole of Summit Global clipped to his suit. His posture was impeccable, not rigid but efficient, the kind of stillness that came from someone who had trained himself never to waste a gesture. His e
Last Updated : 2025-10-03 Read more