It was exactly 12:00 PM.
The fluorescent lighting of the rented hotel conference room beat down on Zoe as she directed two confused hotel staffers on where to place the folding chairs for the press pool. She was wearing a tailored black power suit, her purple hair slicked back that meant absolute business.
On the outside, she looked like a ruthless PR shark ready to handle a crisis.
Internally, she wanted to throw up in a trash can, scream into a pillow, and run straight into oncoming traffic.
"No, no, move the podium two inches to the left!" Zoe barked, waving a hand at the AV guy adjusting the microphones. "I need the center lighting to hit the backdrop perfectly!"
She turned away, digging her phone out of her pocket with a trembling hand.
She opened her iMessage thread with Aria.
[Zoe: Aria. Where are you. Pick up.][Zoe: ARIA. THIS IS A CODE RED EMERGENCY. WAKE UP.][Zoe: Call me right now. I am not joking. I am going to have a heart attack.]
