Julian's POV
The door stayed open every night after that.
I didn't cross it. She wasn't asking me to yet. But every morning I walked past and saw her sleeping, one arm thrown over the side of the bed the way she always slept, and it rearranged something in my chest that I'd stopped trying to name clinically.
Dr. Okafor said I was nesting.
"That's not a term that applies to men," I said.
"It applies to anyone building something they want to keep." She crossed her legs. "You're creating conditions for permanence. That's healthy. Just make sure she's moving at the same pace."
"She left the door open."
"Then she is."
The European restructure started the week after the board presentation.
Linda had been accurate about the hours. Not brutal, but substantial. I was in the office by seven
