Things were very bad, that much was plain. The tight lips and cold expressions of every suit on the other side of the table told Darryl that he was in serious trouble. He briefly wondered if this might have been avoided if he had been more careful, and quickly decided that it probably could have.

“I’m sorry Mr. Royce, but the facts are very clear. Your failure to secure a mutually beneficial arrangement with our prospective clients in South Korea was entirely avoidable. You have cost this company billions.”

Darryl Royce fidgeted in his chair, hoping for another way to get out of this situation, as he had so many times before.

“The board finds no other recourse. You are to be held financially responsible for these losses. Your debt to the Smith-Rosefield corporation is presently estimated at 6.78 billion US dollars, and our inquiries to your bank reflect an inability on your part to repay this.”

Darryl tried to get a word in, anything, as long as it delayed the inevitable sentence, but the unshakable COO of the Smith-Rosefield corporation would not be interrupted.

“As of now, all of your worldly assets are subject to seizure as collateral for our damages. However. I understand you have been in your current position for some time, and as a gesture of goodwill, I will let you speak. Is there anything you have to say in your own defense?”

Darryl Royce said nothing. Instead, he drew a cigarette from his suit pocket, and lit it in front of the board, heedless of the corporation’s strict no smoking policy. As he took his first few puffs, he also drew out his wallet, a battered and scuffed leather bifold. Finally locking eyes with his former employers, Darryl Royce drew out from his wallet a single shimmering playing card, and placed it on the table.