JULIAN

The conference room was packed by two PM, all twelve board members were present, which was unusual, most meetings had people dialing in remotely or sending representatives, but this meeting had brought everyone in person.

They could feel the stakes. I sat at the head of the table, David beside me with his laptop and files.

Thomas Greene was already there, looking uncomfortable, he wouldn't meet my eyes. "Thank you all for coming on short notice," I began, my voice steady. "I'm sure you've all seen the articles that went public this morning."

"We have," Charles Ashford replied.

"And I want to address them directly," I continued. "These articles...