When she looked up again, Daniel had already turned his attention back to the documents, his walls visibly rebuilding themselves. The intensity from moments before vanished as if it had never existed.

“Excellent,” James said. “Daniel, work closely with Juniper on integrating the legal standards into the brief.

“Of course,” Daniel agreed, his tone professional, distant… that brief fire in his eyes now completely extinguished.

What just happened? Juniper watched him retreat into himself, his gaze fixed firmly on the papers before him. One moment he’s defending my work, the next he’s…

They continued discussing the structure of the opposition brief, each contributing insights, but Juniper couldn’t shake the feeling that Daniel had deliberately shut down whatever had sparked between them moments before.

As the meeting concluded, James assigned specific tasks. “Juniper, continue refining the class certification arguments and coordinate with Sophia on the declarations. Daniel, focus on the legal standards and sufficiency of the complaint. Ensure you’re both aligned in your sections.”

“Understood,” they both replied. James gathered his materials and stood. “I have a call with opposing counsel in five minutes. Keep me updated on your progress.” He nodded to the group and exited, leaving the three of them in the conference room.

Juniper glanced at Daniel, searching for any trace of the man who’d looked at her with such strange intensity. But his expression had returned to that careful neutrality. The air had felt different a minute ago. Now it didn’t. Why do I even care?