"Questions, at least, I can answer," he replies calmly, before smiling slightly.

"You could try. I'd suggest waiting until I've finished closing this. It'd be a waste if you didn't. Ideally for your recovery, I'd say put off any beatings a day or two, but it's hardly necessary." He is nothing if not professional--or at the very least, good at pretending to be so for the sake of a weird sense of humor.