Wednesday morning, I woke up and reached for my phone out of habit.
No message from Augustus.
I wasn't disappointed. We'd agreed not to initiate personal conversations, after all.
But I missed our little rituals: his overly formal good morning texts, reminders to eat breakfast, and occasional dry remarks I'd practically trained him to make.
I dressed for work in a cream blouse and emerald-green heels.
I wasn't dressing for Augustus.
I wasn't dressing against Augustus, either.
I simply owned an excellent pair of shoes, and neglecting them would have been criminal.
At Ever Tower, everything ran efficiently.
I prepared Augustus's schedule, handled Meridian correspondence, and coordinated the upcoming quarterly board briefing. Three executives requested agenda revisions. I accommodated all three without creating a single conflict.
Augustus had begun keeping even minor requests to email rather than approaching my desk.
