“I’m perfectly fit,” I said, stepping closer to him.

“The medical report from the downtown clinic says different,” Garrett said, in the soft corporate voice he saved for difficult client meetings.

“We have to protect the stability of the twelve-million-dollar contract.”

He reached out with his right hand, grabbed the black plastic keycard pinned to my jacket lapel, and yanked the lanyard clip off the cloth with a sharp tug.

“Your personal desk items will be boxed up and logged by four o’clock,” Garrett said.