Without the barrier of a judge’s table or a glossy corporate banner to shield him, the distance between them vanished entirely.

Claire noticed the physical changes immediately.

The years had worn away his polished, confident exterior.

Without the soft lighting of a restaurant or the distance of a stage, his age was impossible to hide.

The skin around his jaw hung loose and tired in the harsh overhead fluorescent lighting.

Deep gray streaks lined the thinning hair at his temples.

He looked like a man who hadn’t slept well in a decade, carrying a weight he couldn’t hand off to an assistant.

Daniel stopped three feet away from the boys.