Complimentary Closes Novels & Stories

He was quiet for a long time. Then he said, almost to himself: “I built the second queue to be invisible to a source-code audit. I did not build it to be invisible to a compliance inquiry into outcomes. A compliance inquiry does not need the code. It needs only the pattern of closures. The pattern of closures is…” He stopped. He said: “The pattern of closures is visible to anyone who is allowed to ask why the cases closed. I made the engine invisible. I did not make the exhaust invisible.”

She couldn't blame them; her transformation was indeed eye-catching, and her colleagues weren't accustomed to seeing her this way. Unfazed by the stares, she gracefully approached Edward and placed the documents in front of him. On top of the pile was a sticky note with a simple "thank you" and a smiley face. Edward's expression softened into a smile as he picked up the note and tucked it into his coat pocket.