They informed Juniper and Daniel they would be back in a few and asked if they wanted anything as well before they shot back up the elevator, leaving the two alone in the cavernous basement.

Once they were gone, another fault line opened in Juniper’s concentration as she subconsciously pretended to work, her pen hovering over the page, unmoving.

“The silent treatment?” she thought to herself, her jaw clenching. “I won’t be having any of that, no sir.”

She normally would have said something if it was anyone else, but she felt frozen, as if she was locked in by the depths of her own emotions, -45 degrees, her bottom lip being sealed shut by the vacuum in her chest.

Daniel broke the thick silence between them, walking over to her desk. “I’ve been thinking about our approach,” he said, his voice low and intense.