The car ride back from the restaurant was quiet, but not the comfortable kind. The silence felt measured, deliberate, as if even sound understood it was not welcome. Michael sat in the rear seat with his posture straight, gaze fixed forward, though his eyes weren't focused on the road. Beside him, his assistant kept her hands folded on her lap, staring ahead with professional stillness. She had worked with him long enough to notice changes that others missed, and tonight there had been something she had never witnessed before. It was subtle a fraction of a second but she had seen it. When Dayo said it. When he said "the four."
Michael had not flinched. He had not reacted. But there had been a pause. And Michael did not pause.
