"I feel fine."
Jonas ate his lamb chops. It was morning, but lately, even being in the office had taken quite a physical toll on him, so he had stopped saying things like breakfast should be light.
"There's been no movement from the Federation. They've lost more than half their effective forces now. Even if they wanted to make a big move, they couldn't. Let them stall if they want. Every extra day means more interest for me."
After finishing the daily meeting, Jonas set his knife and fork on his plate, then carefully pushed the plate a little farther in from the edge of the dining table.
The memory of breaking his coffee cup yesterday was still fresh. He absolutely couldn't let that happen again.
Iris hadn't come today. He didn't know whether she felt embarrassed about visiting so often over the past few days or whether there was some other reason.
Eiffel was busy processing documents, too. It seemed he had done a good job soothing her yesterday. As long as he didn't get in her face for a while, she probably wouldn't get upset again anytime soon.
"All right, it's about time I saw her again. It's been ages. I wonder whether she's settled in here... She is Jonas's captive, after all, and she'll probably be working here in the future. I should go check on her."
Jonas snapped his fingers and slowly drifted off to sleep.
He pushed open the heavy wooden double doors, revealing a large, lavishly furnished room. A thick, soft carpet covered the entire floor, its handcrafted borders woven into intricate patterns.
An enormous four-poster bed stood in the center of the room, its frame carved from fine mahogany and adorned with exquisite, elaborate designs. The bed was covered with a dark velvet