The newsroom felt quieter in winter, not because there were fewer stories but because the light changed. The glass walls let in a soft gray light that blurred the edges of desks and screens. Even the noise from the financial terminals dulled in this light.
Audrey Sawyer liked mornings like this. The market hadn't settled yet. Analysts were still adjusting forecasts, arguing quietly over numbers that would change again by noon. Nothing had sped up. Not yet.
Her desk faced the east windows, where frost covered the lower corners of the glass in uneven lines that would vanish by noon. She arrived before most of her colleagues, with her coat neatly folded over the back of her chair and a ceramic cup cooling next to her keyboard.
On her screen, the Rochefort Group's quarterly recovery figures were compared to projections from eight months ago. The difference was small. Steady enough. No spikes on the curve. It held.
