Systems aren’t supposed to short-circuit like this, she thought, forcing her attention back to the brief in her hands. But her body betrayed her, unconsciously shifting to create space for him beside her - a small adjustment that felt like crossing an invisible line.

“Morning,” Daniel said, his voice carrying that quiet certainty that always seemed to validate her unspoken feelings. He moved into the space she’d created as if it had been waiting for him all along. “I reviewed the precedents you cited. They’re exactly what we needed.”

Sophia watched the exchange with sharp eyes, noting how Juniper’s usual professional armor seemed to soften at the edges whenever Daniel was near. It was subtle - the slight tilt of her head, the way her fingers curled around her coffee cup a fraction tighter - but to someone who knew her as well as Sophia did, it might as well have been a declaration.