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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 Meyer Marine's booth. She just hoped that plans hadn't changed and that Mark Parker was in attendance, as his LinkedIn profile had promised.

She needn't have been concerned, as when she approached the booth she spotted him immediately. Disappointingly, he was sitting down at the back, with the rest of the Meyer representatives standing at the front. It was impossible at that moment to make a casual approach.

She decided to circle around the exhibition hall and try again. This time she found him at the front, deep in conversation with a visitor to the booth, and she stopped and listened to what was being said, pretending to be interested in the technical points he was explaining. Eventually the visitor moved on and she had her chance.

"Could you explain that again? I missed the beginning." She smiled at him.

"The torque optimization?"

"Yes," Hannah said, stepping closer to the gleaming engine display. "Particularly how Meyer handles cavitation at high RPMs. We had persistent issues with that on our sixty-five footer." She had prepared for this moment, smoothly asking a valid technical question and inventing a yacht to go with it.

Mark brightened immediately, shoulders relaxing as he shifted into expert mode. "Oh, sure - that's one of the things we're most proud of," he said. "At high RPM, most midrange marine engines start to lose efficiency because the pressure differential around the prop blades drops too fast. That's where the cavitation kicks in."

Hannah nodded attentively, absorbing the cadence of his speech - the pride of an engineer relieved to discuss real mechanics.

He tapped the cutaway model in front of them, his voice warming. "We redesigned the impeller geometry last year - see the curvature here? - so the back-pressure stays stable even when you really open her up. It means you get the same thrust at thirty-eight knots that you'd normally lose after thirty-three."

He paused, giving her a moment to take it in. "If you were having cavitation on a sixty-five footer, that must've been a nightmare. What setup were you running?"

Hannah leaned over the cutaway display, tracing a finger lightly along the impeller blade, trying to remember her research. "Triple Volvo Penta IPS900s. Bow heavy when we pushed past thirty-five knots - water foaming like champagne." She met his eyes, letting frustration edge her tone. "The yard blamed the props, but I suspected the mounts weren't dampening resonance." She didn't have any real understanding of what she was talking about, but was hoping it sounded plausible.

Mark's gaze sharpened with professional interest. "Resonance? That's critical. Did they run spectral analysis?"

The conversation had gone beyond Hannah's ability to bluff and she had to find a way out. "We sold the boat before diagnostics. Too many headaches."

He nodded, but was still keen to pursue the topic and tapped the side of the engine mock-up. "This bit here is what really changed the cavitation profile. We've got a teardown video that shows it better, actually."

"Really? I'd love to see it - and hear more about how you solved the high RPM issues."

Mark pulled out his phone, scrolling. "Have you got a minute? We can

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