Garrett arrived at nine with a folder he had not sent ahead.
That was the first thing Roman noticed. Garrett sent documents in advance. Eleven years of working together, and the rule had never changed: a client should never be surprised in a meeting. The fact that he was carrying something Roman had not already read meant he had made a deliberate decision not to send it first.
Roman closed the contract on his desk. "Sit down."
Garrett sat. He placed the folder between them but did not open it immediately. He had the look of a man who had been deciding how to begin a conversation for several days and had landed on an approach he was not entirely comfortable with.
"I need to walk you through this in order," Garrett said. "The sequence matters."
Roman nodded. "Then start."
Garrett opene
