It was hot, scalding my tongue slightly, but I welcomed the sharp pain.

It kept me grounded.

Jared walked further into the room, his eyes scanning the desk.

I kept my hands folded over the leather blotter, hiding the printed travel spreadsheets underneath.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time on the audits lately,” he remarked.

He sat on the edge of my desk, a casual posture that felt entirely calculated.

“We have a lot of discrepancies this year,” I replied.

I forced a soft smile to my lips.

“I want to make sure everything is clean before the external auditors arrive next month.”

Jared nodded, taking a sip of his own coffee.

He looked tired, the faint purple shadows under his eyes betraying his stress.

“Good. That’s good. Harlan Media needs to look flawless.”

“How is Courtney doing?” I asked, the name tasting like ash in my mouth.

Jared didn’t flinch, but his grip on his coffee cup tightened.

“She’s fine. Resting. The doctor wants her to minimize travel.”

“Of course,” I said. “With the pregnancy, she shouldn’t be flying so much anyway.”