Well, I think I got the essence of the scene that I (mis?)remember into the topic. I'd been thinking it was one of the Damsels in Distress stories, but the ones I've read since I started trying to run this down weren't any of them it, and the others don't sound like they could be from the blurbs.
The scene I sort of recall might have been set in a corporate boardroom. Or not.
Thanks.