Sophia stepped out of the meeting room feeling like her emotions had been sent through a blender, ironed flat, then folded into a tiny origami crane of humiliation. Dominic walked beside her with the solemnity of a man escorting royalty who had temporarily lost her spark.
“You need nature,” he announced. “Preferably the kind that smells like ocean and grilled seafood.”
Sophia pressed a hand to her forehead. “I need silence. And carbs.”
“That too,” he agreed.
They both looked at the calendar. Saturday. Her day off. A sacred day that she refused to waste on overthinking or emotional hangovers.
She messaged Mae immediately.Field trip. Please guide. We need healing and snacks.
Mae replied within seconds.On it. Wear something comfortable.
Sophia gasped. “Comfortable? I do not know her.”
