The room went very still.
Lance looked at her. She was mid thirties, dark hair, the expression of someone who had asked the question before she had fully finished deciding whether to ask it and was now committed.
"Like what?" Lance said.
She held his gaze. "Intense."
Lance considered her for a moment.
"Yes. It's an habit." he said.
She nodded slowly. "Okay," she said. "Just wanted to know what we were working with."
Something shifted in the room.
Not laughter exactly but the release of tension that sometimes precedes it.
Lance looked at her. "Your name."
"Iris." she said. "Mid level analyst. Six years. And before you ask, current project is the compliance audit for the Henderson account which has been a nightmare since August."
"I'll want the file by tomorrow morning," Lance said.
Iris nodded. "Done."
Lance looked at the group one final time.
"That's all for now," he said. "Back to your desks."
They filed out with considerably more quiet than they had filed in.
