Rather than heading straight back home, Max lingered near the restaurant, watching quietly from a distance as the others began to file out. His posture was casual, hands in his pockets, yet his eyes were sharp, following each movement.
From where he stood in the shadows, he could observe them one by one: Anton leaving in a sour mood, Bobo Stern hiding her irritation behind her usual aloof dignity, Sanna wearing a fixed polite smile despite the tension that clung to her shoulders, and Sheri glancing back at the building with a troubled expression that she tried to disguise.
When they were finally gone, Max noticed something else, the look on each of their faces. It was the same, no matter who it was. A kind of bitterness, a distaste that they couldn't quite hide. The corners of their lips pulled tight, their eyes narrowed ever so slightly, as if the entire evening had left them with a bad taste they couldn't wash away.
