he only sounds were the scraping of silver again

his work clothes, minus the tie. He looked agitat

ng her steak into precise, geome

re at me all night?

e view, Victoria sai

e today. Xavier tells me th

aybe it will remind ev

teak was barely touched. I'm done.

Mrs. Jiang, but

t it, s

. You? You don't know h

ng, she said swe

itchen. Mrs. Jiang wa

ng, Victoria said. I

Ma

o

g nodded

resso machine. She ground the beans. The

f her cardigan. She pulled ou

John's Wort, and a specific blend of melatonin. Harmless, but in high doses, it induced dizziness, a r

e bottle. She lo

club," she whis

he lunchbox."

hecking your t

he black coffee. It disappeared in

gle sugar cube,

ing room. She placed the cup

said. Made

cup. He looked at her

oison it?

mask of polite confusion. Don't be dramatic, Julian. If I

orted

ed up t

tched the cup tilt. She watched

f it in one gul

tter, h

e said. It's supp

t. He set the cup d

n. She picked up her

twenty

on his tablet. Victoria was

n frowned. He r

ed in hi

ared on his forehead.

top of her magazine. Is

eth. I'm fine. Just..

collar. His ha

was hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. It felt exactly lik

idened. He drop

yed violently, grip

ed. What did you

gar. Maybe your stomach is sensitive to the roast? Or

. He couldn't. The w

d toward t

urched. He needed ai

d out, collapsing onto the bott

picked up her wine glass. She took

raveling, fighting demons

d. A genu

It wasn't a victory.

itchen, and rinsed the coffee

call 911, making sure her voice