“Told you he is intense,” Danny whispers like we are not supposed to be here.
The other man nods shakily and rushes away, his eyes remaining on the ground as he dashes past us. Ethan remains standing there, his gaze focused on the glass wall, like his mind has wandered offline.
He turns his head slightly, profile sharp against the glass walls, and for half a second I forget how to move. He is very handsome. And I’ve never said that about a guy. But this guy is something else. It’s like he’s not real. There’s something unnerving about how still he is. Like he’s not reacting to the world, only allowing it.
Danny lightly bumps my arm and I realize I’m staring like some creep. “Hey. Don’t let him catch you staring. New people make him… suspicious.”
I tear my eyes away and we retreat to the elevator, and only when the doors slide shut do I let out the breath I’ve been holding.
“He’s different,” I mutter.
Danny chuckles. “That’s one word for it. He knows everything that goes on here. Nobody knows much about him. He’s a mystery for sure.”
The elevator descends, but my thoughts stay upstairs.
Something about Ethan lingers — an uncomfortable curiosity, like the first note of a song you don’t recognize but already know it will get stuck in your head.
I tell myself it’s nothing.
Just another powerful man in a city full of them. It’s only because this is the first time I have seen one up close in their own territory.
Still… when the doors open, my pulse is faster than it should be.
And I can’t explain why.
CHAPTER 4 - LEO
Sitting at home on the couch with Sarah, the atmosphere is heavy as usual. Dinner goes cold between us, but not all at once. It starts with the rice, then the vegetables, then the space in Sarah’s eyes when she stops really looking at me and starts calculating instead.
Conversation feels forced in order to break the silence. I tell her about my first day in the mail room. I tell her about Danny and about learning the routes, the codes, the way the hotel has two lives — one polished and public, the other one hidden and functional.
She nods, chewing mechanically, holding back what she really wants to say. In the past few months since moving here, all the soft edges that she had when we met have slowly fallen away. She’s more impatient and judgmental. I would go so far as to say I think she hates me sometimes.
“And?” she says. “What about moving up?”
“I just started,” I reply. “It’s my firstday.”
“That’s how people get stuck,” she says immediately. “They get comfortable.”
The word lands like an accusation and I roll my eyes, dropping my fork onto the small coffee table in front of me.
“I’m not comfortable,” I say, trying to keep my voice level. “It’s my first fucking day, Sarah. Can you give it a rest for one night?”
She scoffs, shaking her head.
“I’m too tired to do this right now,” I say.
She pushes her plate away. “You’re always tired, Leo.”
There it is. Does she ever fucking stop? Not in the headspace for another argument, I change the subject.
“I met the owner, well kind of, I saw him at the office,” I say. “Ethan. He’s younger than I thought he’d be and he is really tough and not one to cross, from what the guys have told me.”
Her eyes sharpen and light up as she stares at me, suddenly interested in what I have to say. “Young?” she asks, her voice taking on a higher pitch.
“Yeah.”
“Good. That means he’s ambitious. You should make yourself useful to him.”
