Page 16 of Glitched Play

Then I move it back to Urgent.

Then I move it into the folder again.

The organization system is important. People laugh when I say that, but those same people lose things constantly.

A knock sounds at my office door.

I don't look up. "Come in."

The door opens.

"Reorganizing emails for fun again?"

Greyson, he thinks he’s funny.

He fills the doorway in a faded Armadillos hoodie, athletic shorts, and slides that probably cost more than most people’s dress shoes. His hair is still damp like he came straight from a workout, but there’s no usual grin, no loose-shouldered swagger, no instant commentary about my office being a billionaire cave. Only Greyson would say that like it's an insult and still look like he came here needing something.

Only Greyson, one of my brothers, would say that like it's an insult.

"Efficiency isn’t controversial."

"It is when you're rich enough to buy an island."

"Efficiency is why I could buy an island… I don't need an island,” I say, rolling my eyes.

"That's not the point."

"Then why bring it up?"

Greyson drops into the chair across from my desk, but he doesn’t sprawl the way he usually does. He sits forward, elbows on his knees, one hand rubbing over his jaw like he’s trying to sand the emotion off his face.

I turn back to my monitor.

Three seconds pass. Five. Ten.

Interesting.

Normally, Greyson would already be talking about football, recruiting, Sutton, their kids, or a commercial he saw six months ago.

He’s a talker. I am not.

Today, his knee bounces once, stops, then starts again. His thumb drags over the edge of his phone without waking the screen. That is data. Unusual data.

Today, he’s quiet. I glance up and find him staring through the glass at downtown Austin, shoulders rounded in a way I have almost never seen on him. Greyson is usually motion and noise and confidence held together by athletic tape. Right now, he looks too still.

Something's wrong.

"What broke?"

His attention shifts to me. "What?"

"Something broke."

"Nothing broke."

"You've been silent for twelve seconds."

"That's not weird."