Maddox chuckled.
“Oh yeah?” he said. “And who exactly told you that?”
She hesitated.
It was a tiny pause, but long enough for the room to fill the silence with quiet snickers.
“Orders,” she replied.
That word alone triggered laughter across half the room.
A few phones appeared.
People leaned back in their chairs, already anticipating the show.
Maddox rubbed his jaw thoughtfully as if he were considering the statement seriously.
“Orders,” he repeated.