“We didn’t realize…” Sophia began, but Juniper cut her off with a sharp turn of her body.

“Of course you didn’t realize. My intellectual property - my approach, my strategy - that’s what we needed here.” She paced behind her desk, her heels cracking against the floor like a metronome counting down to disaster.

“I’m the one this firm is relying on to angle this right.

“You two understand what that means?” Her eyes cut briefly toward Daniel.

“Juniper, you’re not making sense,” Daniel interjected, taking a step forward. “We were trying to help…”

“As your counsel, I advise you not to speak…,” Juniper snapped, still refusing to look at him directly. The words hung in the air like frost, sharp and biting.