The presentation room had been rearranged for the occasion — the usual seminar tables pushed to the walls, a long panel table facing a single podium and screen, name placards already set out with a precision that made the whole space feel less like a classroom and more like the inside of a decision. Zarina stood just outside the door at 9:47 for a 10:00 slot, running through her opening line one last time in her head, and felt Josh appear at her shoulder before she heard him arrive.
"You don't need the notes," he said, quietly, nodding at the folder in her hand. "You haven't needed them in two weeks. You're just holding them because holding something helps."
"Is it that obvious?"
"Only to someone who's watched you prep for a month." He said it plainly, no weight in it beyond simple obse
