Because she went and mimicked his position and spoke in that tone, he sighed and straightened away from the desk. Seems it was straight down to business after all. Didn't surprise him.

"Irvine came to me earlier. He suggested I check up on you. I..." And here he closed his mouth, cutting himself off. His lips thinned while he thought about something, pressing together into a line. No, he wouldn't bring up the gossip column just yet.

"We're doing everything we can about the backlash."