Inside, their footsteps became jagged and careful… against the slicked veins of the stoned that reflected the side swept lighting, each step carrying the weight of what lay ahead. Daniel’s stride held that edge of tension she tried not to analyze too deeply. The ghost of their elevator encounter still haunted her peripheral hemisphere, making even this professional distance feel charged with unspoken potential…

Juniper settled into her chair at counsel table, the polished oak familiar beneath her grasp. Daniel and Sophia flanked her sides, their materials arranged with practiced precision as they awaited Roma’s arrival. The courtroom’s morning hush broke as he entered, his team trailing behind like some kind of pole seeking flock of fowl.

Roma’s entrance commanded attention as always, but today something was different - a noticeable limp marked each stride, though it seemed to only enhance his presence rather than diminish it.