But Mark shook his head when I mentioned it.
“No,” he said quickly. “It’s not that. It’s something else.”
Then he told me to sit down.
The Secret Behind His Late Nights
We moved into a small meeting room at the end of the corridor. Mark closed the door gently, as though he were afraid that someone might overhear us.
He sat opposite me, clasping his hands together.
“About six months ago,” he began, “Daniel learned that the company was going to make some major changes. Several positions were at risk, including his.”
I frowned.
“But he told me everything was fine at work.”
Mark nodded sadly.
“He didn’t want you to worry. He believed he could handle it before you ever needed to know.”
I remembered Daniel coming home late, taking calls outside, and spending long evenings at the kitchen table with his laptop open. I had assumed he was trying to impress his manager.
