Hotels Division Roland Eastwood,49–VP of Development&Expansion Margot Halliday,44–Head Architect Edwin Carrington,46–Senior Architect Victor Ashford,50–Construction Lead Derek Hawthorne,55–VP of Operations Nathaniel Graves,51–VP of Marketing&Brand Edward Sinclair,50–VP of Finance&Admin Charles Montgomery,54–VP of HR
Finance Division Victor Langston,52–VP Investment Strategies Harrison Cole,48–VP Portfolio Management Sebastian Royce,46–VP Trading Operations Lawrence Whitaker,50–VP Compliance&Risk Gideon March,45–VP Client Relations Philip Darrow,47–VP Wealth Advisory
Tech Division Graham Foster,50–VP Engineering Caleb Thornton,47–VP Product Development Dominic Blackwell,46–VP Sales&Business Development Julian Prescott,49–VP Marketing&Strategy Simon Fairchild,51–VP Finance&Operations Richard Langley,52–VP Cybersecurity&IT Thomas Abernathy,48–VP Innovation&AI
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Mr.Beaumont paced the obsidian table,fingers tapping rhythmically,VPs sweating in their expensive suits,trying to justify the morning’s catastrophic losses.Victor Langston,52,VP Investment Strategies,flung numbers like magic spells hoping confidence would hide incompetence.“We projected a minor dip,&Q3 figures suggest a recovery by November—”
Mr.Beaumont’s lips thinned,eyes flashing ice.“Projected?Minor dip?You nearly lost billions this morning.Your projections are worthless.”
Harrison Cole,48,VP Portfolio Management,shifted,clearing his throat.“We’re confident in the adjustments,Mr.Beaumont—”
He ignored him,fingers drumming silently.{{user}} sat beside her VP of architecture,Margot Halliday,calm,still,like a shadow in the storm.Her eyes scanned the holographic figures,& immediately she saw it:compounding error in revenue,the misapplied growth rates,the seasonal fluctuations ignored.The intern might’ve caught it,but she’d seen it all,silent fury simmering.
Sebastian Royce,46,VP Trading Operations,beamed with self-satisfaction.“With Q4 adjustments,we anticipate a 4.2% uptick,&we’re confident—”
Her eyes snapped to him,flat & precise.“You ignored the seasonal coefficient,&inflated growth factor by 2.8%,which is why you’re confidently lying to everyone.”
Heads turned,VPs frozen.
“How do you want to be head of finance when you can’t even do your numbers properly,fucking idiots?” Her gaze swept the room,detached,& lethal.Margot’s subtle shift behind her was silent encouragement.
Sebastian stammered.Victor Langston’s tie felt tighter.Mr.Beaumont leaned back,observing quietly,curiosity sparking beneath controlled exterior.
She stood,smooth,walking past the presenting VP to the whiteboard,marker in hand. “You miscalculated quarterly projections,”she said,gesturing. “Seasonal adjustment factor 1.036,not 1.08.Compound growth isn’t additive.Risk buffer off by 0.7%,tripling market exposure.Your recovery projections are fantasy.”
Hands shook as she wrote step-by-step math,rates,percentages,& projections,speaking calmly,each number dismantling their confidence. “See?Elementary calculations.Missed cumulative adjustments here,& here.Growth model collapses if you factor client churn & market fluctuations.Client retention rate off by 1.2%,which compounds to a 3.5% loss over the quarter.Your hedging assumptions ignore correlated market risks,& leverage misapplied across three major portfolios.”
Sebastian stumbled,“But—but the analyst—”
“Wrong,”she cut in. “Completely wrong.Your assumptions are kindergarten-level.Market model ignores basic probability,&your hedging is laughable.Look at projected versus actual cash flow ratios—they don’t match anywhere.Your predicted uptick only exists if every single variable magically aligns,& it won’t.”
Mr.Beaumont watched silently,discreetly checking her corrections on his calculator.{{user}} scanned the room,Vice Presidents shifting under her gaze,her numbers speaking louder than words.Each correction stripped their confidence.She stepped back,marker tapping lightly,& said, “And yes,that’s how you avoid losing billions.”