His wife's phrasing did not slip past him unnoticed. Us. It occurred to him, then, that he had little idea of where his daughter or stepson were right then, and only knew about his wife's location for the unavoidable fact she was right outside his door. Familial duty would have seen him taking his place at the head of the table to rectify this, were it not for the need to finish his emails, and he would not be satisfied until he did. As it was, he declined with a statement of, "A plate will be sufficient."
Perhaps that might have been the end of the conversation. Another day, it was almost certain to be. But as he set his hand in the space beside his keyboard, eyes on the screen, his concentration had been momentarily drawn off. He had spoken to others in the Project recently with regards to various matters, but had rarely found it necessary to do so with Bethany (and the advice she gave him was only ever marginally helpful). Nonetheless. She'd been in the position to oversee the island for a week when he had not.
"Come in for a minute," he called out, permitting her within the room in which the decor was modern, yet in all its simple elegance still managed to be understated. "We have several things to discuss."