Damien’s point of view
It seemed like the office was smaller than usual today.
I sat behind the desk, fingers laced, jaw clenched, my eyes focused on paperwork I wasn’t really seeing. The papers were organized neatly, the way I wanted, but the numbers all ran together despite my best efforts to concentrate. This was where I was supposed to be grounded. It was where the decision-making was clean, rational, and absolute. And this was the day everything seemed like it was shifting in a place that was out of my grasp.
Darius, my best friend, stood against the wall across from me, arms crossed, loose in a gesture that always meant he was on the watch for weaknesses. He only stood like that when he was looking for fault points.
“So,” he finally said, his voice casual but deliberate, “how was
