Simon listened from the end of the table but did not dominate the conversation.
When the chair called for a vote, the board approved the revised lease subject to final legal review.
The decision was not unanimous.
Two directors requested additional financial safeguards, and those safeguards were added to the agreement.
Miriam was relieved by the disagreements.
She had come to distrust meetings where everyone agreed too quickly because one powerful man had already made the decision outside the room.
Afterward, Simon asked whether the result was strong enough to survive a change in leadership.
Miriam told him the documents were better than they had been six months earlier.
“Then that’s a good day’s work,” Simon said.
He took his coat and walked down the hall without asking anyone to celebrate him.
Chapter 39: The Dinner Nobody Filmed
Hannah celebrated her first passing grade in the nonprofit administration course by inviting Luis, Denise, Noah, and two friends to a neighborhood diner.
The place had worn red booths, a handwritten specials board, and a waitress who called everyone sweetheart regardless of age.
Hannah ordered stew because she wanted to reclaim the meal from the memory of her dismissal.
Luis joked that she should choose something less symbolic.
Hannah told him that symbolism was cheaper than dessert.
They laughed, then spent an hour talking about work, school, and the weather.
Nobody brought up Charles Voss until Denise asked whether Hannah still felt angry.
Hannah stirred her soup.
“Sometimes,” she admitted.
“Mostly, I’m relieved I don’t have to see him again.”
Luis said the Meridian had become quieter since Adrian left.
“Quieter in a good way?” Noah asked.
“People still complain about customers,” Luis replied.
“But they don’t whisper when they do it.”
Their waitress brought the check and reminded them to take their time.
Hannah paid her share and left a tip without trying to make a point.
Outside, the group separated at the corner and headed toward different trains.
Hannah walked home beneath ordinary streetlights with a feeling she had almost forgotten.
She was no longer being watched by a room full of strangers waiting to decide whether she deserved respect.
She was simply a young woman finishing dinner with friends.
Chapter 40: The Other Side of the Table
Julian Mercer waited until his brother left the office before asking Charles for a private meeting.
He had spent the night reviewing the letters that promised the same parcel to competing bidders.
The documents were troubling, but something else frightened him more.
