The morning had been moving slowly, the way mornings sometimes do when the city is still waking up. I had opened the boutique the same way I always did, lights one by one, curtains drawn back, windows open just enough to let in the air. The air carried that clean, unsettled smell that comes after a night of rain—fresh, but still holding onto the damp. I had the front door propped open to let it flow through the space, thinking about the stack of supplier updates I still needed to review ...