ANNY
“What happens if I want more than sleep?”
Oliver’s arm tightens around me, then relaxes.
“You tell me what you want,” he says. “And I listen.”
He does not turn the answer into a request.
We fall asleep holding each other.
Two days later, the board has accepted that the photograph cannot trigger the contract without an independent review. Roberta remains suspended, and her threatened email never arrives.
The silence does not feel like surrender.
It feels like preparation.
Oliver finds me examining the unused sunroom I have chosen for painting.
“Would you come to the lake with me?” he asks.
“Which lake?”
“My family owns a small house north of the city. Security checked it this morning. We can return tonight or stay there. Your choice.”
The details make me smile. “You’re get
