MICHAEL

I was signing documents when Levi walked into my office without knocking. Which immediately told me two things:

One: what he brought was important.

Two: what it brought would irritate me before it satisfied me.

He didn't sit down. He simply dropped a brown envelope on my desk as if it were a verdict.

—Here you go —he said.

I looked at him. I didn't touch him. Then I leaned back in my chair and exhaled slowly, like a man who already knows the outcome but still needs to hear the sentence