Episode 5

Tuesday – 7:15 AM

Jasmine sat at her desk with the skyline behind her, an untouched protein shake beside her laptop. The office was still half-asleep, but her mind was already sprinting.

She refreshed the stock dashboard again.

-2.4%.

It has been red for three days now.

Small dips, nothing dramatic. Not yet. But Jasmine wasn’t the type to ignore patterns—especially ones that whispered trouble.

She clicked into the analytics. Social sentiment was shifting. One of the newer influencer campaigns had tanked. Too forced, too curated, too obvious. Someone on Twitter called it “the AI-generated version of empowerment.” The post had gone viral.

She leaned back in her chair. Closed her eyes. Counted to four.

Then her assistant knocked. “Early board report from finance.”

Jasmine opened it, scanning fast.

A retail partner in Chicago had pulled out.

Quarterly growth revised down.

Forecasted dip in Q3.

The language was professional, measured. But Jasmine read the truth under it: Hart & Co. wasn’t bleeding, not yet—but it was bruising. Quietly. Internally. Like the slow ache of a hairline fracture.

She tossed the report on her desk. “Get the exec team in by 9.”

“All of them?” her assistant asked.

She nodded. “If one more person uses the word ‘headwinds,’ I swear I’ll fire them through the glass.”

—

9:12 AM – Executive Conference Room

The room was too bright. Jasmine sat at the head of the table, arms crossed as each department head spoke in buzzwords and diluted blame.

“Digital ad spend is under review—”

“We're exploring short-term pivots—”

“Some users are fatigued with the brand voice—”

She cut them off.

“I don’t want pivot-speak,” she said coldly. “Tell me where we failed.”

Silence.

Then, from Marketing: “People don’t believe us anymore.”

That landed hard.

Hart & Co. had built its empire on aspirations—clean lines, bold women, branding that felt like it belonged on a Vogue cover. But something was slipping. The customers didn’t feel inspired—they felt sold too. The dream was cracking.

Jasmine gritted her teeth. “I’ll write the campaign myself.”

“No offense,” said someone from PR gently, “but maybe that’s part of the problem. The brand sounds like you. It always has. But people are changing. Are we?”

Her nails dug into the leather armrest.

This brand was her. The rise, the gloss, the power. It was the suit of armor she’d built after every condescending meeting, every investor who said she should “smile more.” She wasn’t going to water it down now.

“Fix the numbers,” she said flatly. “Or I’ll fix the team.”

—

Later That Night – 10:04 PM

The office was dark. Just her and the glow of the city.

She stared at the screen:

Hart & Co. (HRTC) – Down 3.9%.

Her reflection stared back—flawless, poised, but brittle.

The brand wasn’t the only thing losing control.

Something was coming undone. And if she didn’t act fast, she wouldn’t just lose stock points. She’d lose everything.

Her phone buzzed.

Ezra:

You okay? Saw the market dip.