“She is hot and scared, and she knows when you are close.”

“I need to stay on my feet,” he insisted, crossing his arms tight over his chest.

“I am completely useless to everyone if I let my energy drop.”

He checked his wrist watch, then glanced up at the digital wall clock mounted above the vending machines.

It read 1:18 AM.

Ethan reached into his leather messenger bag, pulled out a sheath of printed presentation slides, and flipped through them under the bright overhead lights.

He tapped his thumb against the stapled corner, his eyes scanning the corporate bullet points without reading them.