The conference room’s holiday lights cast shadows across scattered papers and untouched greeting cards, their cheerful twinkle at odds with the tension filling the space. Outside, snow still falling, blanketing the city in a thick layer of white that softened its skyline and added an air of uncertainty. The forest beyond the glass stretched dark and vast, each tree limned in white like nature’s own cross-examination.

Daniel looked up from his own screen, its blue glow highlighting the exhaustion etched across his features. “The timing isn’t ideal,” he admitted, his chest unconsciously opening toward her as he spoke, “but you’ll find a way. You always do.”

“It’s not just the case,” Juniper sighed, gesturing vaguely at the wrapped presents tucked beneath her small office tree. “Everything feels different this year. The holidays used to mean something more, you know? Back home, we’d have everything decorated by now, the whole family pitching in…” She trailed off, surprised by her own vulnerability.