Olivia waited.
Finally, the chief operating officer said, "Two."
"Out of how many executives?"
"Thirty-eight."
Olivia nodded.
Leonard shifted in his chair.
"This isn't relevant to the investment."
"It is extremely relevant."
She opened another folder.
"I reviewed your employee surveys."
Leonard's expression hardened.
"You had access to internal surveys?"
"They were included in the due diligence package your company provided."
She turned a page.
"Twenty-seven percent of female employees reported that they believed promotions depended on relationships with senior executives."
She turned another.
"Thirty-one percent of minority employees said they had experienced dismissive or exclusionary behavior."
Another page.
"Senior leadership disagreed with those findings."
Leonard leaned forward.
"Employee surveys are subjective."
"Financial forecasts are subjective too."
He stopped.
Olivia continued.
"Yet you use them to justify billion-dollar valuations."
One executive cleared his throat.
"Ms. Johnson, Terteranova has always been a merit-based organization."
"Then merit should be visible."
She looked directly at Leonard.
"Can you explain why the leadership team is so homogeneous?"
Leonard's jaw tightened.
"We hire the best people."
"I didn't ask whether you hire talented people."
She paused.
"I asked why your definition of the best seems to produce the same demographic result year after year."
Silence.
The room felt smaller.
Olivia closed the folder.
"Here's what you don't understand."
Everyone looked at her.
"I didn't come here because I need Terteranova."
She pointed toward the investment document.
"Terteranova needs investors like me."
Leonard stared at her.
"And if you invest?"
"Then your company gets two billion dollars."
"What happens if you don't?"
"I walk away."
The chief financial officer spoke quickly.
"With respect, Ms. Johnson, there aren't many investors who can write a check of that size."
"Correct."
He swallowed.
"Then surely we can find a way to move forward."
Olivia looked at him.
"There is always a way forward."
She stood.
"But it requires something more valuable than money."
Leonard frowned.
"What?"
"Accountability."
She gathered her documents.
"I'll give you twenty-four hours."
"For what?"
"To decide whether you want an investor."
She looked toward the executives.
"Or merely another source of capital."
Then she walked out.
For the first time in years, Leonard Harrison had no idea what to say.
:::
The Elevator
Olivia entered the elevator alone.
The doors closed.
Only then did she allow herself to exhale.
Her phone rang.
"Yes, Daniel?"
Her chief investment officer spoke from the other end.
"Should I freeze the deal?"
"Yes."
"All of it?"
"Every dollar."
Daniel was silent.
"That bad?"
Olivia looked at her reflection in the elevator doors.
"Potentially worse."
"What did they do?"
She smiled faintly.
"Something very simple."
"What?"
"They showed me who they are."
When Olivia reached the lobby, she noticed the receptionist standing behind the desk.
The woman's face was pale.
"Ms. Johnson?"
Olivia stopped.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I didn't know."
Olivia smiled.
"You weren't supposed to know."
"I should have treated you differently."
Olivia shook her head.
"No."
The receptionist looked confused.
"You should have treated everyone the same."
The woman lowered her eyes.
Olivia walked outside.
Her driver was not waiting.
She had deliberately told him not to.
She preferred driving herself.
Before getting into her sedan, she looked back at the towering headquarters.
She remembered something her father had once told her.
He had been a factory worker.
He used to say, "The easiest way to understand a company is to watch how it treats the people who cannot help it."
Olivia had never forgotten that.
She drove back to her office.
Meanwhile, inside Terteranova, panic was spreading.
Leonard had called an emergency meeting.
The chief financial officer was furious.
"You humiliated her."
Leonard snapped back.
"I didn't know who she was."
"That's exactly why she was evaluating us."
The room fell silent.
Someone asked, "Can she really pull the entire investment?"
The CFO stared at him.
"She doesn't just control the investment."
He paused.
"Johnson Capital has relationships with three of our largest potential lenders."
Nobody spoke.
"And if she tells the market that she walked away because of our leadership culture?"
Another silence.
"Then we're finished."
Leonard sank into his chair.
He finally understood.
The meeting had never been about whether Olivia wanted Terteranova.
It had been about whether Terteranova was worthy of her trust.