While Levi issued instructions to Veronica on speakerphone, I studied him covertly as I fiddled with the heater vent in my car. She was seriously displeased about him rescheduling his meeting with Accounting about next year's budget, especially since his only explanation was that something came up, but Levi insisted with a calm authority, and not a single snarky comment my way about how valuable his time was.

My life was pretty damn valuable, yet I kept trusting him to have my back. ...