“Try threatening it,” someone says behind me.
I turn to see Alex, leaning against the counter, tie loosened, expression amused.
“I’m considering violence,” I tell him.
“That’s the correct response,” he says. “First day back?”
“Apparently.”
He studies me for half a second longer than necessary, then nods. “Good to see you.”
Before I can respond, my phone vibrates in my hand.
Derek:
Can we talk?
I don’t answer right away.
Not because I’m playing games—but because the timing is strange. I’m nowhere near his office. I haven’t passed it in at least an hour.
I glance up.
The camera in the corner of the ceiling is angled toward the hallway. It always is. I’ve walked past it a hundred times without thinking twice.
Now, I do.
Alex follows my gaze. “Creepy when you remember those exist, right?”
“Something like that,” I say.
I type back.
Me:
Sure. When?
The reply comes almost immediately.
Derek:
Now, if you’re free.
I don’t love that my first thought is he knows where I am.
Still, I finish my coffee, straighten my jacket, and head down the hall. Alex walks with me briefly then breaks off and heads right when I go left.
Jamie looks up as I stop near her desk.
“He texted,” I say.
She nods once. “I figured.”
“Did he say anything to you?”
“Not about you,” she says carefully. “Just… don’t let him push you around.”
I meet her eyes. “I never do.”
