The Ashford Technologies conference room was the same one she'd presented in three weeks ago.
Same long table. Same view. Same quality of quiet that belonged to a company that had been here long enough not to need to prove itself through noise.
Different dynamic.
Aurora sat to the left of center — not at the head, not at the foot, the deliberate positioning of someone who had decided that this meeting required presence rather than dominance. Ricky was beside her. Her legal counsel Vanessa was two seats down. Three members of her product team filled the remaining chairs on her side.
Liam stood at the presentation end of the table.
He'd set up his own materials — no assistant arranging slides, no Martinez running the deck. Just Liam, his tablet, and the clean efficiency of someone who had prepared for this and didn't need the infrastructure of preparation to be visible.
