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One

Daphne

I scrubup the stairs after another exhaustive session down in the lab Still no breakthroughs

I circle around to my desk Maybe if I just resequence the—

But then I freeze

A single red rose is waiting for me onaround

But there’s no one in this part of the building No secretary or gatekeeper to witness a rando but the normal hum of machines from the offices down the hall

Except for the rose

My desk looks the saet reports in green ones My storanola bar at soht What ti It’s easy to lose track of time down there

My hunger can wait I circledown to study the rose as if it’s soerous, like a bomb

But it’s just a rose There’s no note, no hint of who sent it

Just like last year, and the year before, and every year since hteenth birthday

I roll the steer, I bring the bright red bloom to my face and drink in the sweet perfume

Most store-bought roses have no scent They’ve been bred over the years for appearance instead of fragrance But this rose is different

This rose grew in a garden

“Rosa x hybrida,” I murmur the Latin naown and petticoats Definitely a hybrid bloom

“Daphne?” my assistant Rachel calls

“In here,” I call, without pulling the rose from my face

“How did I know I’d find you here or down in your herlued to her tablet In her white skirt suit with her blonde hair in an elegant chignon, she looks more like a CEO than I do The pen tucked behind her ear only makes her more official

“Okay, because I know you won’t let it rest till I update you, I sent the board the updated er packet, but I still need—” She finally looks up and stops talking when she seesthe rose to my face “Is that…?”

I nod