By the time Marcus closed his notebook, the rain outside had turned into a steady, heavy downpour.

“This is plenty,” Marcus said, shaking my hand.

“I think we have everything we need for the weekend edition.”

“When does it run?” Derek asked, standing up to stretch his back.

“Saturday morning,” Marcus said.

“I’ll send you a draft of the technical sections to make sure I got the terminology right.”

“Appreciate that,” I said.

We walked them to the door and watched them carry their gear up the concrete stairs to the street.

The heavy garage door closed with a metallic rattle, leaving the basement quiet again.

Only the hum of our servers and the sound of the rain against the glass remained.

Derek sat back down at his desk, his shoulders dropping in relief.

“That went better than I expected,” he said.

“I thought she was going to force us into a matching blazer photoshoot.”

“I couldn’t do it anymore,” I said, leaning against the edge of his desk.

“Every time she talks about Solar Reach, she makes it sound like a social club.”