Ivy met Kennedy at the firm within the hour, the excited pregnancy plans temporarily set aside for the particular, familiar tension of a business situation shifting unexpectedly, and studied the revised documents Kennedy spread across the conference table with a growing, uneasy focus.

"The original terms gave both companies equal operational control over the shared regional infrastructure," Kennedy said, tracing a finger down the new language. "This version quietly shifts majority decision making authority to Ashworth Logistics, buried in language dense enough that most people wouldn't catch it without reading closely."

"That's not what we agreed to in the first meeting," Ivy said, something cold settling low in her stomach...