She tapped her tablet pen twice on her palm before passing me the sleek black presentation clicker.

“The senior board members came down from the Minneapolis office,” Brenda said, her voice warm and even.

“They’re sitting in the middle of the back row.”

“Did the revised shipping logistics numbers make it through the audit room?” I asked.

“Cleared completely,” Brenda said.

“Every account balances to the penny.”

I smoothed the lapels of my dark navy blazer, glanced at the neat trim of my short hair in the glass door panel, and walked into the auditorium.

Sixty sales managers and territory supervisors filled the leather seats, laptop screens glowing and pens at the ready.