Matthew had been staring at the same page for longer than he cared to admit.
Numbers blurred into each other, columns stretching into meaninglessness, the faint hum of the air conditioner filling the spaces where his focus should have been. His pen rested between his fingers, unmoving, its tip hovering just above the margin of the document.
The knock didn’t come, but the door opened.
He looked up. Surprise registered before he could smooth it over.
“Isabella?”
She stepped in as though she owned the space—or perhaps as though she had never stopped owning parts of it. The door clicked shut behind her, soft, controlled. Her heels barely made a sound against the polished floor as she walked further in.
“You didn’t call,” he added, straightening slightly in his chair.
Isabella’s lips cur
