Throughout the evening, Gabrielle seems to just get along with everyone, and I can see that she’s changed a lot of the people’s perception, and that people actually like her.
This makes me happy, and I know it makes her happy, too.
Every now and then, I see her exchanging looks with me. The moment her eyes are on mine, my heart flutters, much like the very first time we kissed, held hands, all the memories flash through my mind, shuddering nonstop as if my own life is flashing before my eyes.
Then, like clockwork, the energy in the room shifts. It’s subtle at first people straightening their posture, voices dropping, clusters of coworkers nudging each other. And then I hear it: a wave of applause rolling through the venue.
Tobias Voss has arrived.
There are men who pretend to have alpha energy, and then there’s Tobias… the kind who doesn’t have to raise his voice or puff up his chest because the air changes the second he walks in.The kind where everyone automatically moves the hell out of the way without being told to.
He cuts straight through the room, that unnerving confidence in every step. His suit looks like it was tailored by some ancient cult of artisans who sacrificed a goat to get the lines perfect.
He has the posture of a military man. He wasn’t.
People clap harder as he approaches each cluster.
He’s doing his usual thing: fraternizing, making himself look approachable, encouraging everyone to lower their guard so they can slip up and expose themselves. It’s the game he plays, the same trap he set for me when I first joined Helion. I didn’t know it was a test at the time; I just refused to take the bait.
I remember him offering me a drink once during a team celebration, his hand on my shoulder like we were lifelong friends.
“Go on, loosen up,” he’d said.
But I didn’t. Something in my gut told me not to. I stayed respectful and sincere.
Turns out, I passed without realizing there was even a challenge. Voss weeds out the weak by letting them reveal themselves.
He always gets what he wants. Always.
Even now, as he moves through the room like he owns not just the building but everyone’s spine. Then his eyes land in our direction.
On Sarah first.
Then on Gabrielle.
Then on me.
He smiles.
That slow, sharklike smile that means nothing good.
He starts walking toward us.
My heart taps too fast. I hate that I’m nervous, but his presence does that to everyone… even the people who pretend they’re too important to feel it.
He greets Tom first, then Sarah, then me. Then his attention lands on Gabrielle and doesn’t move.
Dread starts climbing up my spine.
I clear my throat. “Tobias… this is Gabrielle.”
Voss takes a slow, calculating look at her, then smiles like he’s discovered a secret.
Gabrielle doesn’t even blink.
We drift toward the buffet as a loose group, Voss staying with us like he’s observing a small social experiment. Tom tries grabbing a plate, talking to Voss about the new prototype cycles.
Big mistake.
