Julian Drake arrived at the office at his usual time — 7:45 a.m., three-quarters full coffee in hand, tablet tucked under his arm — and Elena, watching from the glass-walled conference room where the four of them had gathered before dawn, felt an unexpected pang at how utterly ordinary he looked. Six years of quiet competence, of knowing exactly which board members needed flattery and which needed facts, and none of it had ever once betrayed what he'd apparently been doing in the dark.
"Let me talk to him alone first," Alexander said, straightening his jacket.
"No," Elena said, and to her faint surprise, he didn't argue.
"Together, then," Alexander said, and something in the simple correction settled warmly in her chest even in the middle of everything else.
They caught Julian in the s
