Chapter 1

The world shifted with a single vibration.

Ethan’s phone buzzed against the scarred wooden table of his tiny apartment, the sound slicing through the quiet morning like a fault line opening beneath his feet. He didn’t rush to look, he never did. Emails, messages, notifications, they usually brought invoices, client edits, polite rejections from design firms that said promising portfolio, but not a fit at this time.

But today, something in the air felt different. Sharp. As if the universe was holding its breath.

He took a sip of his lukewarm coffee, stretched the stiffness from his spine, and finally swiped the screen.

The sender froze his pulse.

Dante Hart Studio Recruitment

For a moment, Ethan forgot how to breathe.

Dante Hart!? Architectural visionary. Design prodigy. A man whose work Ethan had studied with the kind of reverent obsession usually reserved for religion or romance. Dante’s buildings were symphonies clean arcs, unexpected shadows, a fusion of elegance and rebellion. He had redefined entire skylines with structures that felt alive.

Ethan’s fingers trembled as he tapped the email open.

Subject: Position Offer, Assistant to Dante Hart

Dear Ethan Matthews,

Thank you for your portfolio submission. After review, we are pleased to extend to you an offer for the position of Architectural Assistant to Dante Hart.

He didn’t read further, not at first. His mind detonated into white noise.

Assistant to Dante Hart.

Not an intern. Not a general assistant shuffled between departments.

Directly assisting the man himself.

He nearly knocked over his coffee as he stood, heart pounding and limbs buzzing like he’d been plugged into an electrical outlet. He paced the small apartment living room, kitchenette, bedroom all sharing the same air trying to force his thoughts into order.

This was impossible.

No, this was dangerous. Because if this was real, if he stepped into Dante Hart’s orbit, nothing about his life would remain the same. Not his career. Not his ambitions. Maybe not even the guarded parts of himself he had kept locked away.

He inhaled slowly, pressing a hand to his chest as if to steady the frantic thud beneath.

He reopened the email and read every word carefully this time. The offer was real. The salary wasn’t glamorous, but the opportunity God, the opportunity was beyond priceless. A note at the bottom even said: “Dante personally reviewed your submission and requested the interview.”

Ethan’s knees nearly gave out.

Dante himself.

He imagined the man sharp cheekbones, dark hair always slightly mussed as if he’d run his hands through it while lost in a design trance; sleeves rolled up to reveal the sinewy strength of someone who built things with his mind and his body; that cool, cutting focus he was famous for.

He’d seen photos. He’d watched interviews. He’d listened to Dante speak about innovation with a quiet intensity that made the air seem to vibrate around him.

And now Ethan was being called into that gravitational field.

A thrill seized him, fierce and dizzying followed quickly by fear.

Can I handle this? Working under a genius no, a titan meant expectation. Pressure. Hours so long the nights would blur into mornings. Sharp scrutiny. Zero margin for error. And if Dante was half as intimidating in person as he looked on screen…

Ethan’s stomach flipped.

He sat on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees, fingers locked together as if in prayer. 

He had dreamed of breaking out of small scale residential projects, of escaping the cycle of tiny budgets and modern farmhouse requests from clients who barely understood design. 

He had wanted to ache for a chance like this. A door into a world he’d only watched from a distance.

But desire brought vulnerability. And vulnerability, in the world of architectural giants, could destroy you.

He looked again at the email on his screen.

This could alter everything.

The thought pulsed in him, heavy and undeniable.

He tried to ground himself.

He stood by the window, staring out at the dusty street below. San Francisco always moved cars brushing past each other like impatient fish in a crowded river, street vendors calling out their goods, sunlight cutting across the rooftops in sharp gold lines. It was chaotic. Loud. Real. His life, up until this moment, had been rooted in this familiar hum.

Dante Hart’s world was something else entirely: clean glass towers, minimalist perfection, stark conference rooms where brilliant minds clashed and created. A world where Ethan didn’t know if he would fit or if he would shatter.

He rubbed the back of his neck.

Then a whisper, soft but steady, slid through him: But what if you rise instead?

His throat tightened. He had spent years swallowing back dreams because they felt too big for him. Too bright. Too risky. And now the chance lay right in front of him, glowing like a beacon.

He opened the drafting table beside his bed, lifting the cover like someone touching a sacred thing. His sketches lay there, his own small rebellions of ink and hope. Lines curved like whispered stories. Angles carved as if sculpting emotion. He had poured parts of himself onto these pages that he didn’t speak aloud.

Somewhere far away, Dante Hart had seen this and chosen him.

Emotion swelled in his chest.

He could do this. He had to.

He sat down again, spine straightening with new resolve. His fingers hovered over the keyboard as he drafted a reply.

Subject: Re: Position Offer Assistant to Dante Hart

Dear Ms. Reyes,

Thank you so much for this incredible opportunity. I am honored and excited to accept…

He stopped. His breath froze.

Because suddenly, a new message notification slid across the top of his phone screen.

New Email – From: Dante Hart

Blood drained from his face.

No. No way. Dante Hart did not email assistants. He did not reach out personally. He existed on a marble pedestal of brilliance, far above such casual contact. Ethan’s heart slammed against his ribs hard enough to hurt.

Hand shaking, he tapped it open.

Julian Hart – Personal Email

Ethan,

If you’re going to accept the offer, I want your answer directly. I don’t take on assistants lightly, and I don’t work with anyone who isn’t absolutely certain they can handle the intensity of my process.

If you want the position, meet me today at 4:00 p.m. at the Hart Studio downtown. We’ll discuss expectations. And I’ll see for myself if you’re the right fit.

D. Hart

The room spun.

Direct. Demanding. Unapologetically confident.

Exactly as Ethan had imagined and somehow even more.

He stared at the time. 11:42 a.m.

Barely five hours to prepare. To cross an invisible threshold. To step into the gravity of someone whose brilliance could burn him or forge him.

He felt it then.

A pull.

Magnetic, terrifying, exhilarating.

He couldn’t tell if it was ambition or something deeper. Something dangerously close to fascination.

Ethan swallowed hard.

This wasn’t just a job. This felt like the beginning of a story threaded with tension. With risk. With something unnamed humming beneath the surface.

He quickly typed back, each letter feeling like a heartbeat:

I’ll be there.

He hit send before fear could stop him.

The moment the message left his phone, adrenaline flooded him. He grabbed his best shirt, a crisp white button up he’d saved for hypothetical interviews with people who weren’t nearly as intimidating as Dante Hart. He ironed it with shaking hands, nearly burning the sleeve once. His reflection in the mirror looked pale, breathless, his dark hair refusing to stay neat.

He checked the time again.

11:47 a.m.

Five hours suddenly felt like seconds.

He packed his portfolio into a leather bag, freshened up, and tried but failed to calm the storm inside him.

Because beneath the nerves, something else was stirring. A strange heat. A curiosity burning too bright. The idea of standing in the same room as Dante Hart hearing that low, quiet voice in person sent a ripple of something electric down his spine.

He didn’t want to name it.

Not yet.

He stepped outside, locked the door behind him, and inhaled the heavy city air. His heart pounded with each step toward the future he wasn’t sure he was ready for.

But ready or not, it was coming.

Then his phone buzzed again.

A text. Unknown number.

He froze.

Then read it.

You have exactly one shot at this, Ethan.

Don’t be late.

He stared at the message, breath caught in his throat as a cold thrill swept through him.

Dante Hart had his number and he was watching.

Ethan’s pulse thundered.

He didn’t know it yet but his world had just tilted off its axis.

And by 4 p.m., it would never tilt back.