Charlotte leaned back in the leather seat, legs crossed, arms folded like she was settling in for a poker game she already planned to win. The tinted glass behind her sealed them in, cutting off her security detail like they were children told to wait in the car.
Her gaze locked on Peter—sharp, evaluative, a little amused. "Alright," she said smoothly, like someone giving an intern just enough rope. "Since you clearly have all the answers about my company's little meltdown, let me walk you through the AI project."
She spoke with practiced control, voice clipped and executive-clean. 40% cognitive capacity target. Evolutionary neural mapping. The infamous 10% plateau that had stalled progress for eight months and devoured millions in R&D. It was a good summary. Efficient.
But to Peter, it was like watching someone recite the Wikipedia page for a language they didn't speak.
