I left Wellington Crescent with Lucien's panic still echoing in my head. The whole drive back felt… thick. Heavy. Like every red light was dragging the weight of what he told me a little deeper into my chest.
Before pulling out of the lot, I tapped my phone and called Ava.
She picked on the second ring. "Manager Tanaka?"
"Hey, Ava." My voice sounded tired even to me. "Listen, I won't be coming back to the office today. If anything comes up that needs my review, just send it to my email. I'll handle it from home."
"Of course." I could practically see her already sorting things in her head. "Should I also forward the revised projections for the Meridian Initiative? And the requested breakdown from the Urban Logistics sub-team?"
"Yeah. Send both."
"Alright. I'll take care of the rest here." A brief pause, then, "Drive safe, sir."
I exhaled. "Thanks, Ava."
Call ended.
I didn't even realize how tense my shoulders were until I finally pulled into our driveway. And then—
I froze.
