Dragging myself out of the office felt like peeling away the layers of a day that clung too tight. The mention of Preston Caldwell had set my thoughts spinning like a top, and they wove a disorienting tapestry against the backdrop of my already tumultuous day.
I shook my head as I entered the sterile calm of the doctor's office, a welcome break from the buzzing chaos of Mayer Financials. The receptionist, a woman with a perpetually painted-on smile, greeted me by name. "Good afternoon, Ellie. Dr. Pearson will see you shortly."
I nodded my thanks, finding a seat in the corner. The magazines on the table beside me offered a distraction, but I brushed them aside. Instead, I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to expel the image of Preston's piercing gaze from my mind.
Alex's explanat
