She hadn't answered Imara's question.
Not because she didn't have an answer she had one, she just wasn't ready to say it out loud yet. So she looked at Darian's message for another thirty seconds and then put her phone face down on the desk and told Imara she needed to think.
Imara had accepted this with the specific patience of someone who knew when pushing would cost more than waiting.
That was at nine forty five.
At ten twelve her office door opened.
Not Jamie. Not Imara.
Darian.
He was carrying a folder and had the expression of a man who had made a decision and was executing it before he could talk himself out of it. He closed the door behind him and looked at her across the office and said
"I know you didn't answer. I'm here anyway."
She looked at him. "I said I needed to t
