The morning air in the Ashford company ,office was thick with something that wasn't just the usual coffee aroma. It was the scent of uncertainty, of gossip brewing into something toxic, of a hierarchy that had been violently upended overnight. The fluorescent lights hummed over clusters of employees who had gathered in low huddles, their usual morning productivity completely abandoned. Whispers traveled like electricity across the open floor plan, creating an undercurrent of noise that buzzed beneath the surface of forced normalcy.
"He's an intern how is he a shareholder?" A senior developer named Ben muttered to his colleague, his voice low but urgent. "After that scandal with Asher??"
"Is this a joke or is the company finished?" Sarah from accounting adjusted her glasses, her fingers trembling slightly as she clutched her tablet. "I heard he walked into the shareholders' meeting yesterday like he belonged there."
