As soon as we sat down, my father glanced around, scanning the room once more before his eyes returned to me.
“Where’s Nyah?” he asked casually. “I assumed she’d be joining us.”
The question caught me off guard. For a split second, my mindwent blank, and then instinct took over. “She had a call she needed to take,” I said, reaching for the water glass. “Something operational.”
It wasn’t entirely untrue, which made it easier to say, but the twist of unease planted itself low in my stomach anyway. I didn’t like lying about her, even in small, harmless ways.
My father nodded slowly, considering this. Then he leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Well,” he said, “I suppose that’s good in a way. It means I can tell you first—before I tell her.”
Something in his tone snapped my attention into place. I straightened slightly. “Tell me what?”
He folded his hands together and looked at me with that familiar mix of authority and approval. “I’ve been thinking about your next step,” he said. “You’ll be starting work alongside Simon and Sophia at headquarters by the end of the month.”
I blinked. “That soon?”
He nodded, completely at ease. “Yes. You’ve learned everything you needed to here. You’ve proven yourself.” His mouth curved into a proud smile. “And frankly, your siblings need you now. You’ve done good work at the hotel, Caleb—exceptional work—but it’s time to move forward.”
I leaned back in my chair, absorbing it. Barely two months. I had walked into this place convinced I’d face resistance, maybe even failure, and instead I was being told I was finished—graduated, almost.
“And the hotel?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“Nyah can run it again on her own,” he said easily. “She always has. You were never meant to stay there permanently.”
Nyah. The name surfaced before I could stop it. I pictured her in her office, efficient and composed. I hadn’t thought about how my leaving would land with her. I hadn’t thought about whether it would matter at all.
My father reached across the table and patted my hand. “You should be proud of yourself. This transition wouldn’t have been possible without the discipline you’ve shown—without the way you’ve changed.”
I nodded, smiling when I was supposed to, but somethinginside me twisted.
Because for the first time since I’d arrived at the hotel, the idea of leaving didn’t feel like progress.
It felt like loss.
I returnedto the hotel afterward. Nyah was busy when I passed her office, already buried in schedules and notes, and I told myself it was better that way. Cleaner. Easier. I had no claim on her—no right to curiosity, let alone jealousy. And yet, the idea that her life extended so fully beyond the walls of this hotel, that there were people who occupied spaces I never would… left me disconcerted.
I got into my car at the end of the day and shut the door harder than necessary. Of course, she had someone. Of course, there was another man in her life. What had I been thinking, imagining otherwise?
Pulling out of the parking lot, I spotted her standing on the sidewalk outside the hotel. Should I offer her a lift? I hesitated.
Lucas. The name pulsed in my mind, irrationally loud. Why was this bothering me so much? It wasn’t like we were dating. Still, the idea of her waiting for a bus felt wrong.
I honked.
She didn’t look up.
I leaned on the horn harder this time.
She startled, looked up, and then darted into the street, nearly getting clipped by a car.
My heart lurched. I jumped out and grabbed her shoulders. “What is the matter with you? Don’t you look before crossing the road?”
She blinked rapidly. “Why were you honking? I thought something was wrong.”
I closed my eyes briefly, collecting myself and letting her shoulders go. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m sorry I scared you. I just wanted to offer you a ride home since you didn’t have your car.”
“You made all that noise just to give me a ride?” she asked dryly, already opening the passenger door. “You could have just used the phone.”
She wasn’t wrong.
