Marco laughed. “That was one time.”

Lena exhaled. She pulled out her binder. Tab 7: Emotional Guest Protocol . After the show, Lena didn’t go home. She went to a bar called The Hidden Well, three blocks from the studio, where the lighting was low and no one recognized faces from television. She ordered a whiskey neat and sat at the end of the bar, her usual spot, where she could see the door and the exits.

Sage laughed, then drifted down the bar to help another customer. Lena sat alone, which was fine. She wasn’t lonely. She was just… precise. Her apartment was small and orderly. Her closet was organized by color and season. She had a spreadsheet for her groceries and a five-year plan that accounted for inflation.