An hour into their document review, the rhythm of work had settled in… or at least, it should have.

“Get a load of those two,” Emma whispered to Marcus. “How long do you think before they figure it out?”

Marcus chuckled softly. “If they don’t spontaneously combust first. Have you noticed how he can’t even look at her directly anymore?”

“And she practically jumps every time he speaks,” Emma added with a knowing smile. “Twenty bucks says something happens before the case is over.”

“I don’t take sucker bets,” Marcus replied, shaking his head. “But maybe we should give them some space…”

“You can always tell when someone’s mind is somewhere else… like they are just going through the motions,” Emma thought to herself, her keen eyes observing the subtle dynamics at play.

She noticed the way Daniel’s eyes would close just for a second as he turned his head away from Juniper, as if he couldn’t bear to look at her directly. How Juniper would look around before she stood up, as if she was existing inside and out of her mind at the same time, torn between the present moment and some distant, intangible thought.