The heavy, sterile silence of the study still clung to Jake long after the call with Dr. Chen ended. He needed to wash the taste of "Asherman's Syndrome" and "fifteen percent" out of his mouth. He picked up his phone and called Catharine.
"Hey," he said, his voice softening the moment she picked up. "The day's been... heavy. I want to take you out tonight. Somewhere nice. Somewhere we don't have to think about work or the city."
"I'd love that," Catharine replied, sounding like she'd just stepped out of a long meeting herself. "I'll head straight to the Zenith after I finish these last few filings. We can leave from there?"
"I'll be waiting."
---
The elevator chime echoed softly through the foyer of the Zenith, a sound that usually signaled the intrusion of the outside world. But for Jake, leaning against the kitchen island with a glass of water, it was the sound of the only person who made the penthouse feel like anything other than a glass-walled fortress.
