The keyboard clacked beneath Ella's fingers, each keystroke more pointless than the last.
“Quarterly report summaries," the header read. She stared at the screen, then back at the stack of financial documents Lucas had left her.
He hadn't said a word when he handed them over. Just dropped them on the desk like a test she was expected to fail.
The study was quiet—too quiet. Outside, wind stirred the jacaranda trees. Inside, the silence pressed against her skin like static.
She glanced at the drawer.
“My phone," she whispered.
Brandon had it. Or more accurately, Lucas had ordered it taken the night she moved in.
Still, she tried.
She left her desk and found Brandon in the hallway, clipboard in hand.
“Brandon," she said softly.
He looked up. “Ella."
“Can I… just for a minute… call
