Nia’s Pov
I tried to laugh it off, though my chest tightened. “Well, forgive me for overstepping my paperwork boundaries.”
But Rowan didn’t smile this time. His gaze was steady, almost assessing. “I’m serious. You’ve got instincts for the field, the kind you can’t learn by writing reports.” He leaned back again, taking another sip from his mug, his tone softer now. “You ever think that maybe the reason you got restless after the meeting was because you’re meant to be out there? Seeing the impact of what you plan, not just drawing it up?”
My throat went dry. He wasn’t wrong. I had gotten restless. The emergency meeting, the boring discussion about logistics and policy left me feeling... hollow. Like they had been talking about solving the problem without actually being there.
Still, I l
