Elena's POV

I said good morning to security at the front desk before he even looked up, and he grinned the way he always did when he wasn't expecting it.

"Morning, Ms. Sterling.”

"How's the knee?" I asked.

He looked genuinely surprised I remembered.

“Better actually, physio's helping."

"Good," I said, and kept walking.

The Sterling lobby at eight in the morning had its own rhythm, the low hum of the building systems coming fully awake, people moving through with that focused Monday ...