At Cross Group, Cassandra stood in the executive suite.
Technically running her own studio now, she still showed up to Julian's office every day, same as always.
"Julian, what's special about these two bills?"
She draped a hand over his shoulder, curious, watching him turn two banknotes over and over in his fingers. He'd been fixated on them all morning.
Just two ordinary bills not crisp, not worn, no marks on them, nothing counterfeit-looking about them either.
Cassandra genuinely couldn't understand what had held his attention this long.
"Nothing."
Flat, same as ever.
But she caught the smile deepening at the corner of his mouth something quietly satisfied underneath it.
No matter how she pushed, he never explained where the bills came from, and never put them away either.
Elea
