They proved he had licensed the technology, not invented it.

He walked closer and reached out to touch the fabric of my sleeve.

“I’m sorry about the airplane, Alyssa.”

His voice dropped into the steady, reassuring timbre he used at press conferences.

“I lost my temper over a simple seating mistake.”

I looked down at the white petals resting against my wrist.

“Jasmine refused to move when I asked her to.”

“She’s just a secretary trying to prove her worth,” he said.