“David, I need three days.”

He quit tapping.

He looked up, his eyes sharp behind his silver-framed glasses.

“Three days to do what?” he asked.

“To get my personal affairs settled before I sign the Lisbon contract,” I said.

David glanced at his phone again, then swung one of the laptops around to face me.

A spreadsheet full of red and green timeline bars filled the screen.

“The State Department fast-track portal for foreign work visas closes in nine days,” David said.