Ivy stood frozen in the hallway for a long moment, the promotion euphoria from ten minutes earlier draining out of her entirely, replaced by the familiar, unwelcome cold of Weston Holt's name resurfacing exactly when she'd allowed herself to believe he was truly gone.

"Minority partner," she repeated slowly. "Not controlling interest."

"No, not controlling. He's one of several investors in the group, from what I can tell in the public filing." Kennedy's voice was careful, measured. "I don't think this is targeted at you specifically, Ivy. Private equity groups make dozens of acquisitions a year, and this firm's been a reasonable investment target for a while given our growth...