After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 112

“About the morning meeting…”

“Dad, can I run it today?” Lawrence cut in, his tone steady but polite.

That was exactly what Nestor had been thinking. He nodded, a small smile on his lips. “Sure, it’s all yours. Let’s get started.”

***

The Blair Group’s senior management meeting was always a big deal. Thirteen department heads sat around the long conference table, each with their own turf and pride.

Everyone already knew who Lawrence was. To them, he was just a guy who landed his seat because of his wife, a nobody who used to be an engineer in the military. No one took him seriously.

Alice’s cousin Malloy was the worst of the bunch. He watched Lawrence with open disdain, a mocking smile tugging at his mouth as if daring him to mess up.

The others weren’t any better. Some tried to hide their skepticism, others just stared openly, waiting for Lawrence to embarrass himself. A newcomer with no credentials leading their meeting? They all figured he’d crash and burn.

Nestor cleared his throat. “Lawrence will be leading the morning meeting today.”

That set off a ripple of laughter around the table, quick and sharp.

Lawrence ignored it. He stood up, moved to the projector, and plugged in his laptop, calm as ever.

“Before we get started, I want to go over a few numbers and highlight some issues,” he said. His voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the murmurs and everyone went quiet.

The first slide flashed onto the screen. It showed The Blair Group’s revenue and profit for the last three years, all neatly laid out.

Malloy wasn’t having it. He jumped to his feet, pointing at Lawrence. “Nestor, are you really going to let him keep talking nonsense? Are we even running a business anymore? He’s just some broke ex-soldier. What does he know about any of this? Don’t get fooled by fancy speeches. We’ve chased Nexus Dynamics before and got nowhere. Why embarrass ourselves again?”

“Yeah, it’s all talk. If the deal falls through, we’re the ones left looking stupid.”

“He really thinks his connections make him someone special,” Malloy huffed, dropping back into his chair with a thud.

Nestor’s face hardened. He couldn’t help but question if putting Lawrence in charge of these changes was the right move.

He could always go back to Waldo, smooth things over, and probably get the orders back.

But what if Nexus Dynamics changed their mind?