THE EMPTY CHAIR ON THE FIFTIETH FLOOR
Chapter I: The Glass Boardroom and the Mop Bucket
On the fiftieth floor of the Vance Tower, natural light flooded through massive floor-to-ceiling glass walls, illuminating the executive boardroom where senior board members in bespoke suits were seated around a long mahogany conference table. Outside in the wide corridor, the black polished marble reflected every footstep.
Pushing a heavy blue mop bucket with quiet, deliberate strokes was an elderly janitor.
He wore a faded green work jacket over a rumpled blue shirt, worn work trousers, and scuffed leather boots. His silver hair was disheveled, and his weathered face was etched with decades of silent patience as he wiped down the reflective tiles outside the executive suite.
Stepping aggressively out of the boardroom door in a tailored burgundy suit and slate-gray tie was David Croft, the company’s Senior Managing Director.
Croft glared down at the cleaning cart with utter disdain.
"You shouldn't be on this floor," Croft sneered, adjusting his cuffs.