I didn’t bother listening.
The call ended with a quiet click.
I turned off my phone.
For two days, Cole Group’s shares stagnated. The online storm raged on, each headline sharper than the last. Within the company, tension rippled through every corridor; the board whispered of collapse.
Yet I remained composed. Meetings continued. Documents were reviewed. Plans were executed.
On the morning of the third day, when our losses topped one hundred billion dollar, I lifted my encrypted phone and sent a single message:
“You can begin now.”
