Nero's administrative meeting had reached its third hour when Arion called.
He had never been more pleased to see his second cousin's name.
The conference room overlooked Saha's eastern gardens, although the view did very little to improve the collection of budget reports spread across the table. Winter sunlight reflected off the pale stone terraces outside, while inside, six ministry representatives debated restructuring permits for coastal development as if national survival depended upon the exact definition of temporary commercial use.
Nero sat at the head of the table in a black suit, one elbow resting against the chair arm while he listened to a deputy minister explain a paragraph Nero had already read twice.
Chris had put the meeting into his schedule personally.
That was the only reason Nero had remained.
His phone vibrated beside his hand.
ARION.
Nero picked it up immediately.
"I have to take this."
The deputy minister stopped.
