The stares of the shareholders, board members, and executives crucify me the moment I step into the conference room.
It's impressive, really, how many ways grown adults can look at a person like she's both a spectacle and a threat.
I walk to the front anyway, stopping beside the empty chairman's seat. I straighten my shoulders and lift my chin, reminding myself that nerves are not visible unless I invite them to be.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," I say, my smile polite, measured. The kind you wear to meetings where people would love to see you bleed but settle for watching you flinch. "For those who don't know me, I'm Elyn Merrit. I was Chairman Hansley's partner."
I choose the word carefully. Not wife because the law would eat that alive. Not lover because that would turn this room into a feeding frenzy. Partner is safe. Neutral. Professional.
