She stepped off the escalator onto the executive floor.
Her floor.
The air here was different. Quieter. The kind of quiet that came from people who had learned that sound attracted attention, and attention from Aurelia Royce was something you survived, not something you sought.
"Sato." She said it without slowing. "Melody portfolio. Replace him."
The twitching assistant's stylus froze mid-tap. "He's… he's performed above benchmark for six consecutive—"
"Abovebenchmark." Aurelia repeated the words like they were a disease she'd just diagnosed. "Above benchmark is what average people celebrate. Above benchmark is the participation trophy of finance. Sato maintains. He doesn't grow. He doesn't innovate. He doesn't hunger. Move him to Leipzig. Small pond. Let him feel big there. Okonkwo takes Melody."
"Okonkwo has less experience—"
