[...He really should’ve seen this coming.]

I, uh, think it would be better if I spoke with him about this myself. I don’t know how open he’ll be with you there too. [That sounds like a reasonable excuse, right?] I’ll get back to you with what he says.

[Now that she’s backed off some, Alan’s going to try and get by her. While still being very careful not to show the backs of his hands. So long as she doesn’t make any unexpected moves, he should be fine… right?]