CHAPTER 22 Why Not Me?

　　Travis stared at the glowing screen of his phone, the message from Camila hanging in the digital space between them like an incomplete thought. "Always here to chat," she had responded to his last text and yet her words felt dismissive, lacking the usual spark that he'd come to expect from their exchanges. He set the phone down with a quiet click against the dark wood of his desk, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he tried to dissect his own dissatisfaction.

　　"Always here?" he muttered to himself, echoing her words. It wasn't like Camila to be so... noncommittal. She was assertive and decisive – it was one of the things he admired about her. Something didn't sit right with him, but the reason eluded his grasp, leaving him in a limbo of annoyance and confusion.

　　"Come on, Turner, get a grip," he chided himself, forcing his attention back to the spreadsheets glowing on his computer monitor. But numbers and figures blurred before his eyes, refusing to tether his restless thoughts.