The lobby noise clung to my skin even after the glass doors shut.

Upstairs the floor felt different. People made space without looking like they were making space. A coordinator started to speak, then thought better of it. I kept walking until the corridor outside my office gave me a wall to put my back against and a moment to let the camera-smile drop off my face.

Sam found me there.

He came in hard, the door clicking shut behind him with more force than the room needed. His eyes were bright in a way that had nothing to do with amusement.

"That little performance outside," he said. "Looking at...