The smiling secretary led Catherine to Alan's office.

"Go on in, he's expecting you," the secretary said.

Catherine knocked quietly, and the door swung open. Alan sat behind a desk piled with paperwork. A small modernist metal sculpture like the ones in his apartment sat in the corner of the room next to a small potted palm.

"Welcome," he said, smiling at her over the top of his computer. "Let me finish this email, and then we'll get started."

She took a chair at the desk and looked around the room as he tapped away at his keyboard. The office was much smaller than she remembered. Back when she used...