"After what we've seen, it's obvious that Alisha is more than capable of walking beside Katherine," Maxine began the moment they stepped back into the meeting room. Her voice carried a certain smug confidence, every word deliberately enunciated so Stella couldn't mistake her meaning. Then, with a sharp tilt of her head, she added, "Or would you prefer another kind of test, Stella?" Her attention shifted fully to the other woman, her gaze almost daring her to say yes.
Stella's lips pressed into a thin, bloodless line. For once, the woman who always had something to say was completely silent.
She didn't need to respond—everyone in the room had witnessed it. Nix had seen it. Helen and Allison had seen it. Even Katherine, though she wouldn't admit it, had felt it. Alisha wasn't just holding her own beside Katherine. She was better. Her posing, her expressions, her natural ease in front of the camera—they all spoke for themselves.
