Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 531

The lights at Stellaris stayed on until eleven at night.

Seventeen pieces of paper were taped to the whiteboard.

At the top of each sheet, The Institutional Review Board's supplementary requirements were listed. Below them, Phoebe Price had broken them down into granular tasks: who was responsible, the deadline, the source of the material, and whether a third-party signature was needed.

Maya Merritt sat closest to the outlet, two cups of cold coffee sitting beside her laptop.

Joey Jenkins was in the adjacent small conference room making calls, his voice carrying over again and again.

"Ma'am, please don't worry. The non-collection support won't stop. What we're submitting now is for the new collection materials; it doesn't affect the rehab guidance you've already scheduled."

"Yes, if you don't want to continue any recording, you can apply to opt-out."

"It's no problem. Take your time to think about it; you don't have to decide right now."

Wren Whitaker stood before the whiteboard and drew another line under the "Model Source Traceability" column.

Her wrist ached slightly. The marker hovered on the board, leaving a small dot of black ink.

Phoebe handed her a takeout container from behind.

"Eat something."

Wren didn't look back.

"Let me finish this item first."

Phoebe placed the container directly beside Wren's hand.

"You said that a minute ago. After one item, there's always another. If you collapse, we can change the cover of The Special Review Package to 'Emergency Gastric Records for the Director'."

Wren paused at her words.

She put down the marker and opened the container.

The sandwich was already cold, the lettuce wilting at the edges. She took a bite, and just as she swallowed, the conference room door pushed open.

Julian York stood in the doorway, holding a brown paper bag.

He wasn't in his lab coat. He wore a dark jacket, a hint of the night's dampness clinging to his shoulders.

"Not finished yet?"

Phoebe saw him and raised an eyebrow.

"Dr. York, that's a bit naive. Seventeen items. It'll be a miracle if we finish half of them tonight."

Julian set the paper bag on the table.

"The hospital's supplementary clinical opinions."

Wren looked at him.

"That fast?"