No, no, no… Juniper’s internal voice rose in frustration as she watched Roma masterfully pivot the entire case.

“I think the precise number is actually 333 years of age…” Delaney easily responded.

“And why is that?” Roma pressed.

Delaney glanced uncertainly at Juniper, then the judge, finding no rescue in either direction. “Well, actually I’m pretty sure that’s just an arbitrary number… some kind of pun based on floating point math… that it’s impossible to know as of now…”

“Yes, Mr. Delaney, yes indeed.” Roma gentled, almost fatherly. “You woke up one day and had your entire life ahead of you… somebody told me that when I was younger and I didn’t understand… as I’m a young man still…”

Juniper felt Daniel’s shoulder brush against hers as he shifted forward slightly, both of them recognizing how effectively Roma was humanizing himself to the jury. Her pulse quickened as she watched their carefully constructed case being subtly reshaped by Roma’s masterful performance.

“Mr. Delaney, it seems you didn’t go for the ‘full factory reset’ if I may add,” Roma continued, his usual fervent faculty transformed into something almost gentle. “You look amazing, which reflects what you’ve done internally, I assume, but nothing external. Why not? I sure know the women in my family would disagree with you…”