Alejandro was already there when you arrived.
He stood immediately.
For once, he did not look like the untouchable CEO from magazine covers. He looked tired. Unshaven. Human in a way you had rarely seen.
“Sofia,” he said.
“Mr. Lujan.”
He flinched slightly.
Good.
An attorney sat at the far end of the table. So did an investigator from the outside firm. Everything was being recorded.
You liked that.
Documentation was the only language corporations respected when feelings became inconvenient.
Alejandro gestured to the chair.
You sat.
He did too.
For a moment, neither of you spoke.
Then he said, “I failed you.”
You had prepared for denial.
For excuses.
For corporate language.
You had not prepared for that.
So you stayed quiet.
Alejandro continued, “I trusted reports that confirmed what I wanted to believe. Julian told me your division was stable. Lucia told me compensation reviews were standard. You kept delivering results, so I assumed the system was working.”
