“Did anyone call the main admin desk asking for me this morning?” I asked.

“Daniel called twice,” Brenda said quietly.

“He told the receptionist it was an urgent family matter about your health.”

“What did she say to him?”

“She told him company policy doesn’t allow staff to put unscheduled personal calls through to executive meetings,” Brenda said.

“She offered to take a message, and he hung up.”

I smoothed the lapels of my dark gray suit jacket, took a slow breath, and pushed open the double oak doors to the boardroom.

Fourteen senior managers and executives sat around the long conference table, ringed by floor-to-ceiling glass looking out over downtown Chicago.