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Da to tell her that would quell her nerves, ses

He had nothing for her

Nor was he one to sugarcoat anything related to them

Returning to where she still stood, he passed the glass to her once more

Then he settled on the sofa in front of the fireplace, which had a low blaze in the hearth

He didn’t invite her to join hih, of course, it was his hope that she would

He sat forward, his forear his own cut-crystal tus

He said, “I’m a realist by nature I have to be, Nikki I have to look at things in an objective, black-and-white vein in order to separate and silo all the facts so that I can later analyze therey areas But I have to start somewhere”

She came around the end of the sofa, but ed for her to do

She sipped her drink, then gazed at hi, “How does that relate to me?”

“I had to sideline what could happen with your laptop for the sake of focusing on what needed to be done upfront The backend had to be…”

He shook his head Swore under his breath

“Inconsequential,” she whispered

He heard the pain in her voice and it fucking killed him

He shot a look her way, insisting, “But you know that’s not how I feel Right?”