Thursday I replied to his message.
Not Wednesday night when I'd read it the first three times. Thursday, after lunch, like I'd just seen it. Which was a lie I told myself with surprising ease.
I kept it brief. Professional.
Two weeks works. I'll send a calendar invite.
He replied in under a minute.
Done.
One word. Nothing attached to it. No warmth, no coolness. Just: done.
I set the phone down.
Good. Clean. Back to something manageable.
Except the distance I'd made hadn't landed anywhere. He'd just matched it, quietly, without a word about it, and moved on. I'd braced for friction and got none. That was supposed to feel like relief.
Fine, I told myself again.
Completely fine.
Friday the merger team had a half-day in the building. Cross-referencing the phase two documents, a pro
