The office felt different the moment Caro stepped in, not because anything had changed in the room, but because Peter had. He was already there, standing near the window instead of behind his desk, holding a thin file in one hand as if he had been waiting longer than necessary. He didn't turn immediately when she entered, and that alone made her chest tighten in a way she couldn't explain. "You're early," he said quietly without facing her.
Caro closed the door behind her more gently than usual, her voice careful when she answered. "You asked to see me." Peter finally turned, but his expression wasn't the same controlled unreadable mask from before. There was something sharper in it now, something measured. "Did I?" he asked. The question wasn't loud, but it landed in a way that made her stomach tighten instantly. "Yes," she replied slowly. "Your assistant said it was urgent."
