“Your approach has been… aggressive,” Clara continued. “You retained legal counsel for Grantstone BioLabs without informing us.”
“I did not require approval to protect my own interests.”
“You require cooperation,” Lydia said gently.
“You wanted submission,” Isabella answered. “There is a difference.”
The reassignment was not announced during the meeting. It came later, through an email that was never meant for her eyes.
She was walking through the west corridor when her phone vibrated in her hand. She glanced at the screen, expecting another sterile reminder. Instead, she saw an internal directive that had mistakenly included her address.
Effective immediately, Ethan Cole will transition to Grantstone Internal Risk Liaison under the direct supervision of Lydia Grant. External alignment responsibilities are to be dissolved.
Isabella stopped walking.
She read it once, then again, letting the words settle with the dull inevitability of gravity. When she entered Lydia’s office minutes later, she found them already there.
Ethan stood by the window. Lydia was behind her desk.
“I assume you received the email,” Lydia said quietly.
“Yes.”