Question

Directions: Analyze the dramatic excerpt below, representing a confrontation between two business associates, before answering the question.

(1) Reginald: You look at the desk, Albert, as if the mahogany itself owed you allegiance.
(2) Albert: It is the desk of the senior partner. It has been for forty years.
(3) Reginald: Yes, forty years of ink-stains and ledger entries, of small decisions made
(4) with great gravity. But the ink is dry now, and the ledgers have been re-bound.
(5) Albert: [Without looking up] You speak as though a change in bindings changes the content
(6) of the ledger, Reginald. We have a contract.
(7) Reginald: A contract signed when the firm was a local interest. The new syndicate, however,
(8) does not recognize the provincial agreements of the past. They look to the future, and,
(9) more specifically, they look to me.
(10) Albert: [Setting down his pen] They look to you because you have spent the last three months
(11) whispering in their ears, selling them a vision of expansion that this city cannot support.
(12) Reginald: I sold them reality. You have treated this office as a sanctuary, Albert—a place to
(13) shield yourself from the modern current. I merely opened the windows.
(14) Albert: And let the dust blow in. You think these new investors care for the reputation we
(15) have built? They care for the margins. And when those margins shrink, as they inevitably
(16) will under your ambitious scheme, they will discard you just as quickly.
(17) Reginald: Perhaps. But until then, the decisions are mine to make. You may keep your desk,
(18) of course. The mahogany is quite durable. But the signature on the correspondence will
(19) be mine.
(20) Albert: You have played your hand well, Reginald. I did not think you had the stomach for
(21) such duplicity. But do not mistake my quietness for defeat. The syndicate’s capital is
(22) large, but their patience is short. When you find yourself drowning in their expectations,
(23) do not look to me to throw you a line.
(24) Reginald: I would not dream of it, Albert. I have learned to swim in deep water, while you
(25) were content to wade in the shallows.
(26) Albert: Deep water is where the sharks feed, my friend. You believe you are their master,
(27) but you are merely their bait.
(28) Reginald: [Smiling slightly] Then I shall make a very expensive meal. But let us not part on
(29) terms of mutual hostility. The board has agreed to retain you as an advisor, should you
(30) wish to accept the post. Your expertise is still valued, even if your methods are obsolete.
(31) Albert: Advisor? A euphemism for a spectator. I am to sit in the corner and watch you steer
(32) this vessel onto the rocks, so that when it founders, you can claim you consulted me.
(33) Reginald: If that is how you choose to view it, I cannot compel your cooperation. But I
(34) advise you to consider the offer. The alternative is a very quiet retirement.
(35) Albert: I have always preferred a quiet room to a noisy disaster. Take your desk, Reginald.
(36) Let us see how long you can keep the chair from spinning.

Over the course of the passage, the dialogue between Reginald and Albert reveals a shift in their relationship that is best characterized by which of the following?