“That is absurd,” Matthew said, pushing a hand through his hair. “She is no longer even the team lead of corporate services.”

“I know,” I replied. “That is precisely why it stood out to me.”

He looked at me for a moment, then turned away and began pacing. The study was not large enough for the energy he suddenly carried, but he moved anyway, back and forth, shoes tapping softly against the floor.

“This is how things spiral,” he said. “Someone imagines something, then ...