After face-planting into the door and leaving a smudge of maroon lipstick on the frame, Noelle stepped into The Kraken's office. "You wanted to see me, sir?" 

The Kraken Cullen Perez, CEO of Perez Investigations, shuffled a deck of index cards against his desk. He placed a manila file in front of the seat across from him. "Have a seat, Larson, I have some exciting news for you." Noelle sat and skimmed over the contents of the file. 

"A homicide case? You're putting me on a homicide case? Have you read the file yet? What's the situation?" Cullen's jaw clicked in disapproval, and the feeling of uneasiness returned to the pit of Noelle's stomach. "Too eager, Larson, don't make me regret this. To answer your question, I haven't read the entire file yet. I'm allowing you to take this case, along with a partner." "Partner?" Noelle repeated in bewilderment. A knock sounded at the door, followed by an abrupt entrance of another detective.

Maeve Miller was known as the agency's golden detective. Fellow employees believed the praise she received for mediocre cases was overly exaggerated, resulting in Maeve earning a few dirty glances every now and again. Okay, more than a few.

If "Rookie of the Year" was a person, it would be Detective Miller. 

"Miller, pull up a chair," Cullen ordered, "I've already informed Larson of your partnership." 

Noelle was visibly chagrined, though she tried to mask it behind a gracious smile. "I want the two of you to go over the file during your lunch break. We begin our investigation Thursday morning." Maeve grinned. "We're on it, Boss!" 

That was another thing about Maeve. So perky. She was one of those people, the kind that bothers you at 6:15 in the morning when the coffee machine is down. Bothering someone before their morning coffee? A not well-known felony, in Noelle's opinion.

**********

Dismissed, the two detectives strolled out of Cullen's office, Maeve waltzing down the left corridor and Noelle speed-walking to Kira's desk. Kira held out her palm knowingly.

"Cough it up, Ellie, I want jambalaya for lunch." Noelle slapped a crinkled twenty-dollar bill in Kira's hand and slumped onto the corner of the desk. "What's harshing your mellow, lady?" 

"He gave me a homicide case with an ultimatum. I have to work the case with a partner." Kira shrugged indifferently. "What's wrong with that?"

"You didn't let me finish, Kira. Maeve is my partner."

Kira suppressed a laugh, hit submit on an email, and turned in her chair. "I see this as a good thing."

"How is this a good thing?"

Kira fiddled with a pen. "It's a symbiotic relationship." Noelle narrowed her mahogany eyes at her roommate and folded her arms across her chest. 

"I thought we agreed you'd stop using those sciencey terms around me." "You know, it's funny, I always knew you were in the wrong science class." she teased.

"I feel your judgment, Kit. Go on." Kira rolled her eyes.

"Maeve benefits by getting pointers from a seasoned detective that has seen the process and aftermath of real cases. She does a robbery case every few weeks and that's it. This is the chance for The Kraken to see her thrive under serious pressure." Noelle considered the thought for a moment and shrugged in agreement.

"As for you," Kira continued, "If you play your cards right and leave Dramatic Noelle in the elevator, I see a promotion in your future. You could move up a rank around here." Noelle admittedly liked her potential outcome a lot better than Maeve's and swiped half of Kira's sugar cookie.

"Leave it to you to look on the bright side of things, Kira." "One of us has to."

The digital clock on Kira's desk gleamed vermilion numbers, revealing that it was noon on the dot.

"I'll see you later," Noelle announced, "I have to go over the file with Maeve during lunch." Kira stifled another laugh and replied, "Don't bite her head off." 

A few blocks away, the detectives sat on wooden stools inside Little Bean Cafe, inhaling the aroma of flaky croissants and balsamic vinegar salads. "I'm excited to be working on this case with you, Nadia!" 

It wasn't the first time she'd gotten Noelle's name wrong, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

Through gritted teeth, Noelle said, "It's Noelle. Let's just get right into it." Conveniently enough, Maeve's phone clattered against the marble bar and she hopped off her stool in a haste. While she was gone, Noelle looked through the file.

The victim's name was scrawled in ocean blue ink. It didn't take a genius to connect the dots.

"Detective Perez speaking," Cullen grumbled through the phone. "Boss, are you kidding me?" "What's your issue, Larson?" Noelle re-read the victim's name, mostly because the last thing she needed was the embarrassment of being wrong.

"Victim Name: Elliott Miller." The other end of the phone was silent for a minute. "Your point, Larson?" "Does she even know about it?" Noelle challenged, glancing towards the bathroom to make sure Maeve was out of earshot. "Do you expect me to tell her?"

She could feel her boss roll his eyes through the phone. "I presume she'll find out one way or another. Figure it out, detective." He hung up the phone, leaving Noelle to prepare for what would most likely be the most awkward conversation of her life.

**********

The click of Maeve's pumps got louder as she jogged back to the stools. "Nadia!" Noelle heaved at Maeve calling her by the wrong name yet again. "I've told you, it's-"

She halted when she caught sight of Maeve, who had thick mascara oozing down her cheekbones and staining her white blouse. "That was my stepmother on the phone. My father's passed away." 

Noelle winced at Maeve. "Why are you making that face, Nina?"

"By any chance, Maeve, is your father's name Elliott?"

Please say no, please say no, Noelle thought to herself.

Maeve audibly gasped, clamping her hand to her mouth in surprise.

"This case is about him?"

The next day, in Cullen's office, Noelle and Cullen sat in silence. They were awaiting Maeve's arrival, though both were unsure if she would show up. "Larson, you may have to take this case on by yourself."

Noelle was conflicted, part of her giddy at the idea of not sharing any glory, but another part of her was attempting to remain humble and sensitive to Maeve's situation.

As if on cue, Maeve entered the office, surprising her co-worker and boss. She collapsed into the other chair across from Cullen and ogled the roll of tape on the desk. Behind her best efforts to maintain a professional exterior, it was painfully obvious that she wasn't okay.

"Don't worry, Nicole, you still have a partner for this case."

"Miller," Cullen began, "I respect your work ethic, but you need to go home." "Let's talk about the case." Maeve said adamantly. Cullen sighed.

"We have two main suspects in the Elliott Miller homicide case," Noelle read from the file, "Amelia Miller and Gabriel Gardner." She and Cullen peeked at Maeve knowingly, asking the question without asking it.

"My stepmother and her brother." Maeve answered.

Cullen stood and paced the room. "We have reason to believe both Amelia and Gabriel had a motive to murder Elliott Miller. Amelia just found out that he'd been cheating on her during the past eight years of their marriage."

Noelle snuck a look at Maeve, who was fiddling with the sleeve of her saffron cardigan. "Gabriel, on the other hand, went into some form of business with Elliott and the deal didn't well."

The phone rang loudly, and the layer of tension broke for a few seconds. "Detective Perez speaking. Right now? We'll be there soon." Cullen said sternly into the phone. "The forensic scientists are ready for us to continue the investigation at the crime scene." "Let's get going." Maeve agreed too quickly. She rushed out the door and Noelle shook her head.

"I don't like this, Boss. Give her another case and let her heal." Cullen retrieved his briefcase from his desk drawer and rose from his chair. "I agree, but we'll see how she does at the crime scene. If she can't handle it, she'll go home like I said." Noelle frowned. "Why didn't you just send her home immediately?"

Cullen shut his office dor behind him as the two quickened their steps to catch up with Maeve. "Mind the business that minds you, Larson. We'll see how she handles it."

After a twenty-minute drive to Newark, the three detectives stood in front of a large Spanish-style house, admiring the graceful pillars and front garden. "Beautiful house." Noelle's compliment drifted through the brisk air, answered only with a grimace from Maeve.

When they entered the house, Amelia and Gabriel were sitting on the cream loveseat. A pair of forensic scientists were keeping a close eye on them while four others were circled around the wooden floors like a clique of pigeons.

"Do you have the file, Larson?" "Right here, Boss." "Miller, are you sure you can handle this?"

Besides Amelia's exasperated huffs and the shuffling of the forensic scientists' feet against the floor, the parlor was silent. Noelle blinked at The Kraken accusingly. "Miller?"

"Which Miller are we talking about?" A young man sauntered into the parlor, exuding sarcasm and arrogance all in one sentence. "Who are you?" The young man shook hands with Noelle and Cullen. "Levi Miller, Elliott Miller's eldest kid." Noelle eyed him suspiciously. "Maeve's older brother? She's never mentioned you before." Then again, Noelle didn't always listen to Maeve when she spoke, but she overlooked that little fact.

Levi chuckled, "I never said my sister and I had the best relationship." "Where is your sister," Cullen interrupted, "She's one of the main detectives handling this case."

Levi took a seat on the periwinkle armchair in the corner, a judgmental glint in his eyes. "What a way to treat your employees, Detective. I'm sure my little sister is thrilled to be investigating how our father was murdered."

Noelle ran to the nearest window in the parlor, shoving a few plastic houseplants out of her way. "Boss, her car is gone."

Cullen stood with his arms crossed in front of Maeve's brother, numerous conclusions hurtling through his mind. "Levi, I'm going to need to ask you a few questions." He nodded at the pair of forensic scientists, and they led Amelia and Gabriel to a separate area of the first floor.

"Your father passed away almost four days ago and you're just now arriving here?"

"I had some business to take care of in Boise." Levi replied indifferently. "What sort of business do you have in Idaho?" "I work as a security guard at the airport." Cullen paced the room.

"Were you and your father close?" Levi tugged at the fabric on the armchair. "Oh, the closest. Yearly fishing trips at Farrington Lake, father-son bowling nights, all that jazz." Cullen and Noelle exchanged a meaningful look. "We'll talk more with you later. Send your stepmother in here, please."

Amelia sashayed into the room, gliding into the chair like a prima ballerina. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she scoured her living room, most likely reminiscing on the times her and her family had in there.

"Mrs. Miller, how long were you and your husband married?" "Seventeen years," Amelia replied bitterly, "Though now I'm quite certain the last eight meant absolutely nothing to that skunk bag."

"Did he ever-"

"I mean, eight whole years." Amelia grumbled. "I have so many questions, and now they'll never be answered! Was she a younger woman? Was she a family friend?" She gasped in horror and reached for her light brown bun. "Did she have better hair than me?"

"Mrs. Miller-"

"Was I not enough? I grilled his steak medium-well every weekend, I polished his bowling ball every Wednesday, what else did he need?"

"Mrs. Miller! Where were you the night your husband was shot?" Cullen shouted over her. Amelia fixed her silk shawl, letting it fall around her pasty shoulders.

"My book club. Flowers for Algernon was quite the tear-jerker." "Is there anyone that can attest to your alibi?" Noelle asked. Amelia shrugged.

"Those ladies are incredibly petty, so I'm sure they wouldn't stand up for me. The one woman I can think of is Sue-Anne Martin from across the street. She was the one who recommended that funeral of a story. Book club met at her house that night, which was unfortunate considering that dastardly kitchen of hers. Anyway, before I came home, I helped her clean up that evening. She needed the help a lot more than she would ever admit."

Cullen sighed, fed up with Mrs. Miller's droning. "Is there anything else you can tell us?"

Amelia was evidently at odds with herself, her lips pursued into a frown of apprehension. There was something she obviously wanted to say, but she stubbornly stayed quiet.

"No."

After two days, Elliott Miller's homicide investigation was still unsolved. Amelia's brother, Gabriel, had an alibi similar to his sister's, the event of book club replaced by assistant coaching his son's baseball game. When asked the final question of any other important information he could contribute, Gabriel pursued his lips in the same manner as his sister and stayed silent.

Sue-Anne Martin confirmed Amelia's alibi. On a related note, her kitchen was indeed very filthy. Coach Walsh attested to Gabriel's alibi, leaving Noelle and Cullen back at Square 1 of the investigation. 

"Just try one more time, Boss. She might've been away from the phone." Cullen sucked in a breath of frustration at Noelle's suggestion. "We used that excuse for the last five missed calls. It's been seventy-two hours, Larson, and Miller has gone completely AWOL. Wendell tried to pay her a home visit and she wasn't in her own house. She hasn't answered any of our emails or phone calls after fleeing her father's homicide investigation. We have to classify her as a suspect at this point."

"Murder her own father?" Noelle rose from her chair and stalked the room in disbelief. "Boss, you should've seen her at the cafe. When Maeve got that call, she could barely speak through her sobs. It makes no sense." 

Cullen tapped at his computer keyboard absentmindedly. "Some people are better actors than you think, Larson. Take your lunch break and meet me back in here by 1."

"How's the case, detective?" Kira pushed a caramel cappuccino on Noelle's desk and handed her a plastic stirrer. "You look befuddled." 

Noelle yanked the cappuccino from her desk and chugged half of the cup without even stirring it. "Befuddled is an understatement. Maeve's gone completely AWOL, The Kraken is about to go berserk, and I'm eighty milliseconds away from losing my mind."

Kira scratched the back of her neck in thought. "I don't know what to tell you, Ellie. Maybe the whole case will work itself out sooner than you think." Noelle didn't answer and fiddled with the stirrer. Maybe Kira was right.

Cullen sprinted to Noelle's desk. "We need to go, Larson! Mrs. Miller just called. Her and Gabriel were outside of the BCB Bank and the phone cut out!" 

By the time Noelle and Cullen reached the bank, they were too late. Both Amelia and Gabriel were slumped in front of the BCB Bank, and crimson was seeping into the grout of the sidewalk.

"Look for something, anything, the smallest clue as to who this lunatic might be." "Boss, there's only two Millers left."

Cullen bent to eye something on the sidewalk, inspecting the object closely. It was an item of Maeve's, a monogrammed necklace she was known to wear. He showcased the necklace to Noelle with a gloved hand. Her eyes waned to squint and pretend the necklace was a figment of his imagination, but the slight glimmer of the jewelry hauled her back into reality.

"Do you still want to rule Miller out as a suspect?" "All due respect, Boss, but you're jumping to conclusions here." Cullen motioned to a forensic scientist to retrieve the necklace and maneuvered around the blanketed Amelia and Gabriel.

"Noelle, I'm reconsidering your entire position at the agency at this point. We haven't heard from Maeve in seventy-two hours, she disappears at the crime scene of the main investigation, her stepmother and uncle are found dead outside of the local bank, and we've discovered her necklace at the scene. What other clues are you looking for?"

Noelle was visibly stumped, uncertain of how to answer the question and mentally inquiring if there even was a logical response. "I still believe we should look into Levi. My gut feeling is telling me there's more to this story." 

Cullen chuckled sarcastically, which only made Noelle feel worse. "Well, then tell your gut to quit being paranoid and get a grip. If I based everything in my career off a gut feeling, I'd be out of a job." He said that last phrase with dry emphasis as he walked away.

Out of a job.

Noelle knew that was a coded alert that her job was floating aimlessly through space. Another thing she knew?

It would take the clutch of a miracle to bring it back down to Earth.

Back at the office, Noelle dragged Kira into the break room, moping with a pint of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia. "I'm fired, Kit, I know it. Thunder is going to have to take up a job babysitting the other puppies at daycare to help with rent." 

"You're being dramatic, Ellie." Noelle jabbed a spoon further into the pint, splitting a frosted cherry. "Twenty bucks says I have to pack up my desk by Friday. Actually, scratch that, I won't have twenty bucks once I get fired." 

Kira rolled her eyes. "You're not getting fired, Noelle. You can still salvage this case." "How, Kit?" "With some cases, the problem is usually further back." Noelle glared at her roommate in annoyance. She usually didn't mind Kira's cryptic words, but at that point, the last thing she felt like doing was deciphering her friend's messages. "Meaning?"

Kira sprayed some whipped cream in Noelle's pint of ice cream. "Meaning that you take a few more spoonfuls and put the pint back in the freezer, especially since it was my ice cream. Then, you collect yourself and go back to the Miller's place and search it again with a fine-toothed comb."

Noelle groaned, "Do I have to?"

She finished her last three spoonfuls and begrudgingly allowed Kira to cap the container and place it back in the freezer. "There are these things called bills that we have to pay, Ellie, so you have to."

Noelle groaned again, like a kid throwing a tantrum in a candy store. "Being an adult is so overrated."

Kira laughed and replied, "Tell me about it. Now, get up and go save your job, woman."

At the Miller villa, Noelle stepped into the parlor silently, trailing behind Spencer. 

"Where exactly was the victim shot?" Spencer gestured towards an empty space near the edge of the table. "Exactly one foot from the Victorian coffee table. We believe he began standing with the intention to cross over to the kitchen when he was shot." 

Noelle's phone screamed her ringtone louder than usual and startled her, making her release a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Hello?" 

A distorted voice mumbled, "It was my fault. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Noelle instantly perked up. "Hello? Who is this? What are you apologizing for?" The call cut out as mysteriously as it arrived.

Noelle ushered Spencer back into her car and convinced herself not to floor the gas, weaving between SUVs and sports cars to get back to Perez Investigations. She parallel parked, quite horribly in fact, and clambered up the steps two by two.

"You know, there's an elevator, Noelle!" "No time, Spencer!"

"Run, Forest, run!" "I don't like you, Kira!"

She stumbled into Cullen's office clumsily and breathlessly said, "I need a phone number tracked." Cullen dropped his phone in shock at Noelle's outburst and sprang to his feet. "Explain, Larson, what happened?"

Noelle unlocked her phone and scrolled to her recent call log, relieved that the strange number was still there. With the way her luck had been going, she thought she might've fabricated the call in her own mind. 

"I went back to the Miller's villa with one of the forensic scientists after we left the bank. Bridges was explaining to me the precise location where Elliott Miller was shot when my phone rang. This number called me and, while I couldn't place the voice, they kept apologizing." 

Cullen's eyes widened and his eyebrows bounded up in excitement. "Apologizing for what? Did they call again? Did you call them back? What did their voice sound like?" 

Noelle sulked, torn between contrasting feelings yet again. A sense of delight for finally getting somewhere with the case coupled with a touch of defeat that her boss had been correct. It made for a troublesome feeling in her stomach.

"There's only one person that would call me to apologize like that."

The determined pair rushed downstairs to a separate corridor of the building and hurriedly demanded a few colleagues to gather as much information as they could on the strange phone number. Their associates filled their various theories with disappointment, revealing that the phone call was made from a burner phone that couldn't be tracked any further. Cullen grumbled, "There goes our only lead." 

Noelle snapped her fingers, coming to a realization. "Maybe not." She tore off down another hallway and turned a sharp corner, speeding towards the cubicles of the voice recognition team. The VR detectives worked hastily with Noelle and Cullen breathing down their necks like squawking birds. "Do we have something or not?" Cullen inquired impatiently.

One of the voice recognition detectives made a few more swift clicks on their computer, then played a recording of the infamous phone call. The recording recited the muttered apology, only this time it was spoken by a robotic voice that sounded exactly like Maeve Miller.

Noelle could feel the "I told you so" energy radiating from her boss, and she wasn't prepared for the phrase to be spoken aloud.

Spencer hustled into the field of cubicles, a shiny disc clenched in his hand. "Sir, you need to see this. It's about the Miller case." The trio walked back to Cullen's office. "I was dusting the table and found a hidden security camera in the bookshelf. The team scoured the house for the tapes and found the one from the night of August 14th."

Noelle averted her eyes from Cullen's gaze. Or glare, to be more specific. She knew that he was wondering why she didn't find this evidence herself, especially since she went back to the scene for a second time. 

The only things on her mind were another involuntary game of fetch with Thunder, the other half of Cherry Garcia beckoning her from the freezer, and a melodramatic Hallmark movie she could use as an excuse to sob into a throw pillow.

"Play the tape." Cullen ordered. Spencer inserted the disc into Cullen's computer and maximized the view of the recording on the screen.

Though there was no sound, the detectives recognized the pale and stout Elliott Miller seated at a chair behind the table. His two children were standing in front of him. 

The three Millers were obviously arguing. Hands were being thrown around angrily and the children were pacing back and forth in front of their father. Elliott Miller said something that enraged his son, making him slam his hand on the table menacingly. The detectives witnessed Maeve pleading with him to calm down and back up from the table. 

While Maeve was talking with her father, Levi swiped the gun from Maeve's holster. He aimed it smack-dab in the middle of Elliott's chest and Elliott popped up from his chair in fear. Maeve and Levi wrestled over the gun, Levi still conjuring up the gumption to shoot and Maeve thrashing to capture the weapon from his grasp.

Levi eventually let go, leaving the gun in Maeve's hands and she accidentally pulled the trigger. 

The bullet swirled through the parlor, almost in slow-motion, and hit Elliott above his left chest plate, in very close proximity to his heart. He collapsed in the spot Spencer specifically indicated that he would. 

Levi seized the gun away from his sister, yelling at her while pointing the gun at their unconscious father. Maeve's face was obscured by a mess of platinum blonde tresses, though it was discernible to even the naked eye that she was wailing uncontrollably. 

Amelia and Gabriel entered the living room from the kitchen and saw Elliott sprawled onto the floor in a pool of his blood and the gun wrapped into Levi's left hand. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

Cullen sprang from his office chair and into the hallway. "I need eyes on Maeve and Levi Miller immediately! Take this disc to the police station and find the Miller siblings right now!"

The police managed to find Maeve in a shabby motel in Danbury, Connecticut, an entire hour and a half away from her house in Hoboken. 

Officers found Levi in a bakery in Trenton, tearing him away from his egg white and spinach omelet and white chocolate mocha. 

Levi pulled the gun on his father when Elliott made the decision of leaving the family restaurant to Maeve instead of him.

Maeve was charged with involuntary manslaughter for the murder of her father, ordered to serve a year of incarceration, probation, and a fine of $20,000. 

Levi, on the other hand, was charged with two accounts of first-degree murder of his stepmother and uncle, frightened that they would rat him out for the evening of August 14th. He was ordered to serve thirty-five years in prison.

It was also revealed that Levi planted Maeve's necklace at the bank crime scene with the confidence of her taking the fall for the entire ordeal. 

Maeve fled from the first day of the investigation when she saw the forensic scientists' cars parked outside of her father's villa.

With the case over and done with, Noelle resorted to camping out in the break room again, shunning her problems this time with a soft pretzel from Little Bean Cafe. Kira and Spencer meandered into the break room, mugs and sugar packets in hand. "Noelle, are you hiding again?" 

She crunched in response, flicking grains of salt from her dress. "You could have been done with the meeting by now." Spencer murmured as he snatched the French vanilla creamer from the refrigerator. "Do I have to?" Kira waved her wallet under Noelle's nose. "If you still like the smell of money, then yes." Noelle wrapped the rest of her pretzel in tinfoil and slowly walked to Cullen's office. 

She stepped into the room, half-expecting to be fired on the spot. Noelle had mentally prepared herself for it, her and Thunder. She'd left the neon tennis ball near his cage as a warning and the dog practically rolled over in a huff when he saw it.

"Have a seat, Larson. I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?" "Let's get the bad news over with, please." 

Cullen slid a few manila folders to the side of his desk and clasped his hands together. "Your enthusiasm and ambition for this case haven't gone unnoticed and it's truly appreciated. That being said, I cannot have you working homicide cases for a while. You're not at that level yet." Noelle bit her lip. She knew he was right.

Cullen continued. "I expected that disc to come from the detective assigned and fully focused on the case, not the forensic scientist that lucked upon it while cleaning. The good news is that I should have a new case for you in a day or two. I'll keep you posted."

In the back of her mind, Noelle wondered if she would become the next Maeve. Insignificant cases and the reputation of the detective that couldn't handle things on her own. It was the exact opposite of what she wanted. She had to ask the question, even though she realized Cullen would be peeved.

"Do you know the situation of the case?" Cullen's face didn't flinch. "Missing person." he said.

That was when the bad news soared over Noelle's head like a private jet. The cardboard box on her desk, patiently waiting to be filled with old sticky notes and stolen office pens, could be tossed in the trash. She was receiving a real case again, one that was she praying she wouldn't mess up.

"So, I'm not fired?" Cullen chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I don't like repeating myself, Larson. You worked diligently, that's all that matters. Next time, though, let's remember that imperative evidence should come straight from you." He waved a hand. "Not Bridges, not another forensic scientist, not any assistants, solely from you. You can see yourself out." 

Noelle swallowed an "I told you so" as she rose from her chair and heaved a much-needed sigh of relief. Though the phrase was itching to leap out her mouth, she figured she'd be the subject of another homicide investigation if she dared to utter it.

Just kidding.

"Larson?"

"Yes, Boss?"

Cullen nudged his tortoiseshell glasses up on his nose and fixated most of his attention on his computer screen. "You were right about Levi Miller in a way I never expected. Good job."

The positive remark was generally never spoken by Cullen Perez, especially if he was the one in the wrong. To hear it from him felt like an invisible golden medal, one only Noelle could see draped across her neck. 

Directly outside of his office, Noelle danced in triumph, only adjourning the solo dance party when a random assistant peered at her oddly. She was floating on Cloud 9 as she entered the break room. 

Kira winced. "Oh, Ellie, I'm sorry. Do you want my pint of Chunky Monkey? Spencer, get the can of whipped cream." "I'm not fired! He'll have another case for me soon!" 

Spencer hugged her while Kira scoffed, the sympathy towards Noelle's situation evaporating almost immediately. "I told you that you were being dramatic. My pint of Cherry Garcia is gone for no reason." Noelle and Spencer laughed, though all three of them were relieved that Noelle's heels weren't clicking into the elevator in sorrow.

"What a supportive friend you are, Kit." 

Kira smiled smugly and savored a gulp of coffee. "It's what I do."