She smiled at everyone she passed in the corridor.
Not the professional smile — the warmer one. The one she deployed deliberately when she wanted her team to feel seen rather than managed. She asked Marcus from the product team about his daughter's recital. She remembered Vanessa's coffee order and had it sent up without being asked. She held the elevator for two junior developers still finding their footing and thanked them by name for the work they'd submitted last week.
By the time she reached her office, three people had exchanged glances behind her back.
