On Wednesday, Claire arrived at the 28th floor ten minutes early. A warm coffee was already placed on her workstation, with a note tucked under the coaster. The handwriting was crisp and neat: Marvisa Group's supplementary due diligence data has been updated to the shared drive. The project team meets at 9 to align the speaking outline.
It was Charles's handwriting.
She brushed the side of the cup with her fingertips. The temperature was perfect, not too hot or too cold. Her heart inexplicably skipped a beat. She quickly pulled her mind back, opened the shared drive, and started sorting through the data.
At 9:00 sharp, the project team meeting started promptly.
Charles kept his expression as calm as ever, but his gaze lingered a few seconds longer when it swept over Claire.
"Claire, s
