His worried tone seemed to halt the strange sensations, granting a temporary stasis. Lena blinked several times and slowed her breaths, before weakly smiling.

"It was just a long night with Ava, sir. I'm afraid I'm much more exhausted than I thought. But...I feel fine," Lena said softly. With a knowing smile, Gottfried nodded and slowly escorted her out of his office.

The crisp outside air seemed to cool her heated flesh, but Lena still felt distantly disoriented, almost dizzy, as if there was some critical piece of information she was forgetting.

To her relief, Gottfried did not appear put off by her unbecoming confusion.

"Is your driver nearby? You...