"Hannah, could you grab me another coffee?" Ms. Buchanan called out from her office without looking up from her computer screen. "Of course," Hannah replied, her voice carrying a hint of frustration that she swiftly masked with a practiced smile. She had started to find her work dull and longed for something more interesting. As she poured the coffee, she couldn't help but overhear the hushed conversations of her colleagu...

Hannah left her hotel and made her way to the convention center. Rossi had told her he would contact her again before she left Toronto, so that meant either today or tomorrow. While she waited, she would make the most of the trade fair and business summit she was attending. She found the trade fair in full swing, just as it had been the day before. But it felt different today, since she was now attending not as a general...

Monday morning dawned with the promise of a new chapter in Hannah’s life. It was a bright, sunny morning, which matched her mood entirely. As she arrived at work, she took her place at her usual secretary’s desk, but almost immediately Ms. Buchanan called her into her office. Hannah’s heart raced with anticipation, feeling this had to be good news, although Ms. Buchanan’s initial demeanour gave nothing away. “You surprise...

It was Saturday and Hannah was busy around her home, but as the afternoon wore on she decided to go out. She'd been working long hours recently and she felt she deserved a treat. She thought she'd buy herself a new outfit to celebrate her success. She found herself walking towards the exclusive boutiques she passed every day but never went in. She went into one and tried on a silk dress that cost around a week's pay. She...

Il Club Delle Maschere had resumed its normal rhythm, with the dance troupe having disappeared, the soft jazz music returning and the masked guests once again huddling into their conversations. The atmosphere seemed different though, more charged than before as the dance performance had left its indelible mark on the club and everyone in it. Hannah and Maria both felt the air crackle, thick with unspoken possibilities. Th...

Rossi opened the door to his hotel suite almost immediately. He was wearing a silk robe and held a glass of whisky. He didn't seem surprised to see Hannah. In fact he appeared to have been waiting for her arrival. "I knew you'd come," he said, stepping aside to let her in. The suite was opulent, with panoramic views of Milan's skyline. "You're smarter than Maria gives you credit for." Hannah hesitated, unsure how to respo...

Hannah got out of her hotel bed, knowing that this was truly a day of reckoning. She felt a little dazed from all the revelations the night before and tried to clear her mind, although one of Rossi's statements persistently echoed in her head. "Without Alex live, you'll be bluffing." A knock at the door caused her to finish dressing hurriedly. She opened the door to find Maria. "Is everything okay? You weren't answering y...

Hannah stepped into Il Club Delle Maschere, finding the dimly lit room humming with soft jazz, the murmur of hushed conversations, occasional outbreaks of laughter and the clink of crystal. She paused at the threshold, feeling a little uneasy at being there alone and wishing that Maria was with her. A server had seen her enter and approached, offering her a flute of champagne, which she accepted. She sipped it and moved d...

Hannah stepped into a room which was a stark contrast to the opulent club: minimalist, dominated by a polished ebony desk, a single leather chair and a small leather sofa. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city’s glittering skyline, the glass so clear it felt like standing on the edge of the void. For a moment, Steiner looked out over the city. Then he gestured to the sofa. "Sit down." But he remained standing, silh...

Hannah tried to relax over the weekend, feeling that she deserved it after her intense week in Milan. But she couldn’t help reviewing the Tanaka board document Steiner had given her, finding it a hive of useful information. Reddy’s faction was larger than she’d feared, but Chen’s influence ran deeper. The key, she noted, lay with two swing voters whose loyalty seemed tied to personal gain rather than any ideology. Informa...

It was Wednesday, the day after Hannah’s suspension from her position at Layton Moreby. She had decided that she couldn’t just sit around thinking about what had happened, or wondering what to do next, but had to use her time in some useful and productive way. To that end, she went online and began to study various investment matters, case studies, market analyses, hostile takeovers, sector volatility, emerging markets, a...

The Minister of Mining's office was spacious but not ostentatious. Maps of the Andean lithium triangle covered one wall, and a shelf behind the desk held mineral samples glinting under recessed light. Minister Rivera had greeted Hannah warmly, his English precise but accented, and now sat behind his desk, a printed copy of Hannah's email proposal in front of him. "The first thing we have to be clear on," he said, tapping...

Hannah arrived at Zurich airport for her flight home. Settling into a quiet corner near her gate, she pulled out her phone and typed a text to Rossi. "Any news?" She had spoken to him the previous night, and he'd been positive about securing the agreement of the consortium to the terms she'd secured, but had warned her that all members of the consortium had to be consulted, as well as its lawyers. In view of that conversa...

Hannah zipped her suitcase shut, the sound sharp in her quiet apartment. She was off on her travels again, something that was a feature of her life now, although this trip felt different, more speculative, more uncertain. She hadn't even told Steiner she was coming to see him, as it might have prompted him to start discussions or negotiations beforehand, and communicating by phone or email wasn't her plan. She intended to...

Hannah sat in front of her computer, conducting one of the many online searches she'd made that day. She was intent on finding out what was driving the merger between Maritech and AquaSonix, but wasn't making any progress. Whatever lay beneath the surface of the proposed deal didn't appear to have leaked online, but there had to be something somewhere. An article on Bloomberg caught her eye. It reported that some AquaSoni...

Hannah stepped into the Atlantic City Convention Center, a huge building of steel and glass that hummed with activity, with the annual boat show being in full swing. As she moved inside, she was suddenly surrounded by a host of bright banners, polished hulls, and men in navy blazers. She didn't hesitate for a moment, as she knew exactly where she was headed. She had studied the show map and knew exactly where to find Meye...