Shannon frowned. He reached out with a spare hand and tapped it against Eli's nose — well, near it enough to matter. "Always believe me. You work for me, you believe what I've got to tell you." He paused, bobbed his head to the side. "Though I guess I'll make an exception for when I'm being a smartass sometimes."

A grin surfaced shortly afterward. It was a genuine expression, something Shannon was not very shy about when operating outside of business hours. "Why, I want you to reinvent me. Most people know that I'm the voice and face of Shannon Vaughn, everyone who watches me would know it's the name I use. But we've got to invent a different Shannon Vaughn to take the heat off of me."