"You're back early."
Vessara's voice pulled Vael out of his thoughts as the suite door clicked shut behind him. She sat curled on the couch with one leg tucked beneath her, her phone loose in her hand as she watched him walk deeper into the suite.
Vael only nodded. His fingers moved to his tie first, looking at it with more force than necessary before shrugging out of his suit jacket. He dropped it in the dining chair. The tension from the meeting with Dele Lancelot still sat heavily beneath his skin. His thoughts kept circling, not just at the meeting but also the memory of seeing Dele in the pool with Vessara. He had laughed too easily, too close, and looked too interested. Then the vicious persistence of how Dele drilled him at the meeting.
Vael hated that it bothered him more than it should have.
Vessara shifted on the couch. She noticed his expression was grim and hard.
"Did something happen at work?" She asked.
"It's nothing." His response came out too fast.
