INSIDE the sleek glass conference room of Wilberforce Corporation’s San Francisco headquarters, the tension could have been bottled and sold at a profit. Bianca sat at the head of the long obsidian table, one perfectly manicured hand tapping her pen in small, sharp beats. Around her, the board of directors which consisted of ten men and women in tailored suits, sat stiff-backed and restless.

Stacks of printed reports littered the table, alongside steaming mugs of half-drunk coffee. The giant screen on the wall behind Bianca still displayed the slide they had all been staring at for the past hour: an unexpected snag in one of their major international deals, a...