had skimmed yesterday, financial irregularities, internal communications, drafts of statements, and that damn video that had made the

stacked neatly, but with the tension of hands that had shaken just before leaving them there. I had learned early that

as the only thing keeping him tethered to reality. He didn't glance up when I walked in. That's fine. I

Professional. Everything else was

s fixing me in place. "Good morning.

ug. "Enough. Not h

couldn't tell. That was the thing with Elias Voss: he never gave any

and anything that could derail a plan. The problem wasn't just the leak itself. It was that someone, maybe more than one person, had chosen precisely what to

new this would get worse

was quiet, but there was no lying in it. Elias

ublic statement. Clear, concise, no admission beyond wh

in his chair.

y, and by extension, you. Words are weapons. Timing is everyt

g a hand through his hair.

ed," I

asked questions. He answered. Some answers were hesitant, some clipped. He was aware of the stakes, painfu

, the man who had guided Elias to power, the one who controlled the company behind the scenes. Up close, J

sed it a hundred times. "I trust you understand the delicate nature of t

My goal is containment an

pretending to. I wasn't sure. I n

their favor. Elias wanted honesty as much as he could manage without wrecking the company. And I wanted clarity. It was exhausting

s never easy, but this was different. This was high-profile, public, and personal. Elias was part of it. That made

retending it didn't register, but I felt it. The first sparks of mutual respect, or maybe wari

, just enough to make the story trend again. My first instinct was to act im

concise, neutral. No admissions. We control

moments. Then he nodded. "G

ecessary, but it wasn't eno

n what to release, and timed it perfectly to cause maximum damage. That made my job easier in some ways; I could predict the next move, but it als

n necessary. And as I worked, I realized something I hadn't expected: I was beginning to understand him. Not just his public persona, but the man under it. The one w

plan. Draft statements, timing, press strategy. Containment. Control. But I als

statement rather than a compliment. "Most people

dn't need to. One ackn

u understand. This isn't just a job for me. T

s steadily. "

ling words. It was about stepping into someone else's life, navigating their chaos, a

was

inning. And I had no int