The calendar notification was still on her screen. Accelerate signing — Friday. She read it once more, then opened a new email, attached a screenshot, typed James's address, and hit send before she'd finished deciding to. The small sound of the message going out was the most decisive thing she'd done in weeks, which told her something about where she'd gotten to.
James's response arrived in under a minute.
Come to my office.
He was already on his feet when she walked in, the accelerated timeline clearly having done something to the morning's rhythm. He read the calendar entry she'd sent one more time on his screen, and then he said something she hadn't expected.
"Philip's conversation with you," he said, carefully. "Walk me back through it."
She did — not the full account again, just
