She took a breath and leaned back in her chair, glancing at her hands for just a moment before looking back at me. I noticed the pause. I didn't know what to do with it, so I let it go.

“Three days ago,” she said, “Julian got a call from Boston. Something with the firm. A deal that had been in progress for months, and they needed him there in person or it was going to fall apart completely. He didn’t want to go.” She said that part clearly, making sure I heard her. “He really didn’t want to lea