Margaret had appointed herself unofficial presentation coach somewhere around the second run-through, mostly because Zarina's actual coach — one Professor Joshua McIntyre, whose name Margaret had started saying in her head with an invisible asterisk — was apparently only available for content review, not delivery practice, which struck Margaret as either an extremely convenient professional boundary or an extremely obvious piece of avoidance, depending on how charitable she was feeling about the man on a given day.
"Again," Margaret said, from her spot cross-legged on Zarina's bed, laptop balanced on her knees, playing the role of skeptical development-finance delegate with more enthusiasm than the role strictly required. "And this time, don't apologize for the number.
You said 'we're h
