Page 68 of The Valentine Agenda

"Relationships don't satisfy shareholders," someone muttered.

"Actually," James pulled up another slide, "they do. Mitchell's customer retention rate is forty percent higher than industry standard. Their employee turnover is nearly zero. When I asked why, do you know what I found?"

He didn't wait for answers. "They remember how their employees take their coffee. They know which customers are caring for sick relatives. They understand that business isn't just about transactions – it's about people choosing to trust you, day after day."

"That's very touching," Richard said dryly, "but—"

"But nothing." James's voice had the quiet confidence he'd learned from watching Hannah teach. "We've been approaching this wrong. A hostile takeover would destroy exactly what makes Mitchell valuable. Their employees would leave. Their customers would feel betrayed. We'd be buying an empty shell."

He clicked to the next slide. "Instead, I'm proposing a gradual integration. We preserve their local offices. Maintain their community programs. Learn from their approach instead of dismantling it."

"That will take longer," someone pointed out. "Cost more."

"Yes." James smiled slightly. "And it will work better. Because I've spent the past three months learning something important: The best investments aren't the ones that show immediate returns. They're the ones that grow stronger over time because you took care of the details that matter."

Richard leaned forward. "You sound very certain."

"I am." James thought of Hannah, of how she'd taught him to see value in small kindnesses. "Because I've seen what happens when you take time to understand what really matters to people. When you show up consistently, not just when it's convenient."

He clicked to his final slide – a simple comparison showing Mitchell's long-term growth against flashier but less stable competitors. "We can do this the old way. Strip their assets, maximize short-term gains, create another soulless corporate merger. Or we can do something better. Something that lasts."

The room was quiet. James waited, remembering how Hannah stood in front of her class – patient, certain, knowing that understanding would come if she gave it time.

Finally, Richard spoke. "Walk us through the implementation timeline."

James hid his smile as he pulled up the details. He caught his reflection in the window – shirt slightly wrinkled from helping with the morning's deliveries, a smudge of paint on his cuff from steadying Tommy's art project. He looked nothing like the polished executive he'd been three months ago.

He looked better.

He looked real.

"First," he began, "we need to understand how Mitchell builds community trust. I've already started meeting with their local offices..."

The board leaned in, and James felt something settle in his chest. He could do this – be successful without sacrificingauthenticity. Build something meaningful without destroying what made it valuable.

Hannah had taught him that.

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James was adjusting the heating vent in the community room—the one that always rattled during evening events—when he heard her voice. He stilled completely, tools forgotten in his hands.

Hannah.

He hadn't meant to be here when she was around. Had carefully timed his maintenance projects for when she was teaching, had fixed things in the pre-dawn hours, had done everything possible to respect her unspoken wish for distance.

But now her laugh drifted through the hallway, and James felt it like sunlight after weeks of rain.

"I'll be moving in a few weeks."

The wrench slipped from his suddenly numb fingers, clattering against the floor. James barely noticed.

"So soon?" Sophie's voice carried clear concern.

"Yes." Hannah sounded certain. Calm. Like she wasn't casually shattering his world. "The sooner the better."

James pressed his back against the wall, closing his eyes. She was so close—just around the corner. If he took three steps, he could see her. Could watch how her hands moved when shetalked, how her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled at Sophie.

But he stayed perfectly still, like a man in freefall trying not to disturb the air around him.

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