로그인Silas’ POV The café is small and warm. Soft lights hang over the tables. The smell of coffee and fresh bread fills the air. I sit across from Selene with a cup of black coffee in front of me. She ordered something sweet with too much foam. She looks relaxed tonight. Her hair is down. She is wearing a simple dark top. I like the way she looks when she is not at work.“You are quiet,” she says. She stirs her drink with the little wooden stick.“I am thinking,” I answer.“About work?” she asks.“A little,” I say. “Mostly about how long it has been since I sat somewhere without a laptop.”She smiles. “That is sad.”“I know,” I reply. “Do not judge me too hard.”She leans forward a little. “I am not judging. I am impressed you made it out of the office at all.”I take a sip of my coffee. It is strong and hot. “I can be fun,” I say.“Prove it,” she answers.I open my mouth to say something clever, but the door of the café opens with a small bell sound. I glance over out of habit. Then I f
Vorian's POV The restaurant is quiet for a weekday afternoon. Soft music plays in the background. Sunlight comes through the wide windows and lands on the wooden table. I sit with my back to the wall, the way I always do. Zephyr is across from me. Silas sits to my right. We ordered simple food. Grilled chicken and pasta, water.Silas is still making faces every time he looks at me. He has been doing it since yesterday.“You two are impossible,” Silas says. He stabs a piece of chicken with his fork. “I am traumatized. I may never recover.”Zephyr keeps his eyes on his plate. “Can we not talk about it,” he says.“I am still seeing it when I close my eyes,” Silas continues. “I need therapy. Expensive therapy. You two are paying.”I take a slow sip of water. “You walked in without knocking,” I say.“I always walk in without knocking,” Silas replies. “That is the problem. You changed the rules without telling me.”Zephyr finally looks up. His ears are a little red. “Can we change the sub
Zephyr's POVThe day ends later than I planned. Most of the floor is already empty. The lights in the hallway are dim, buzzing faintly overhead, and the usual noise of keyboards and printers is gone. It feels like the building is finally exhaling. I step into Vorian’s office and close the door behind me. The room smells like leather and the faint trace of his cologne that always lingers on the couch. He is still at his desk, jacket off, looking at nothing in particular. The skyline behind him is all lit up, but he isn’t watching it. I set my bag down. “You are still here,” I say. “So are you,” he answers. I walk closer and lean against the edge of his desk. The wood is cool under my palms. For a while neither of us speaks. The quiet feels different tonight. Softer. Less heavy than the last few days. No emails pinging. No urgent calls. Just the low hum of the building and the city far below. Vorian looks at me. “We should do something that is not this,” he says. I tilt my he
Silas’ POVI bounce to Vorian's office and open the door without thinking. I always do because Vorian’s office is half mine most days. The hallway outside is dead quiet for a Tuesday afternoon.I’m holding a tablet, and my head is full of server logs and Miles’s shady timestamps. I walk in talking already. “Vorian, the security team pulled the…” I stop, nah I froze. The words die in my throat. Vorian is behind Zephyr. Both of them are still mostly dressed, but there is no mistaking what is happening. Zephyr is bent over the desk. Vorian is right up against him. Their clothes are open. Papers are shoved to one side, a pen has rolled onto the floor, and the blinds are only half-closed like they started this in a hurry and forgot the rest of the world exists. The air smells like freaking fucking sex. The AC is probably off, or maybe it’s just me burning up from secondhand panic. My brain short circuits for a bit. I freeze in the doorway. My mouth opens but nothing comes out.
Vorian's POV The office is quiet after Silas leaves. The door stays closed. Zephyr stands beside my desk with his tablet, scrolling through the list of files Miles accessed. His face is calm. Focused. Professional.I am not.I keep looking at him. The line of his neck. The way his shirt sits against his shoulders. The memory of yesterday is still too close. The way he tied my wrists. The way he pushed me down on this same desk. My body remembers it too clearly.I reach out and touch his wrist.Zephyr glances at me. “We need to finish this,” he says.“I know,” I answer. My fingers stay on his skin.He looks down at my hand, then back at my face. “Vorian,” he says. “Focus.”I stand up. The chair rolls back. I step closer until there is almost no space between us. “I am focused,” I say.“On the wrong thing,” he replies.I lean in and kiss him. Soft at first. Just a test. His lips stay still for one second. Then he kisses me back. The tablet hits the desk with a quiet sound. My hands mov
Vorian's POV The office is quiet after Silas leaves. The door stays closed. Zephyr stands beside my desk with his tablet, scrolling through the list of files Miles accessed. His face is calm. Focused. Professional.I am not.I keep looking at him. The line of his neck. The way his shirt sits against his shoulders. The memory of yesterday is still too close. The way he tied my wrists. The way he pushed me down on this same desk. My body remembers it too clearly.I reach out and touch his wrist.Zephyr glances at me. “We need to finish this,” he says.“I know,” I answer. My fingers stay on his skin.He looks down at my hand, then back at my face. “Vorian,” he says. “Focus.”I stand up. The chair rolls back. I step closer until there is almost no space between us. “I am focused,” I say.“On the wrong thing,” he replies.I lean in and kiss him. Soft at first. Just a test. His lips stay still for one second. Then he kisses me back. The tablet hits the desk with a quiet sound. My hands mov
Zephyr’s POV “Man, this place is insane,” I mutter, sitting at my new desk, papers and screens everywhere. My head is still spinning from meeting Vorian Rex; those eyes, that voice, like he could burn me alive and I would thank him. I dismiss the feeling.Silas saunters by, coffee in grasp, smilin
Vorian’s POV I stepped out of my black Maserati, the morning sun hitting NexusVibe’s glass tower like a spotlight.Silas slams the car door, grinning. “Vorian. Look at ‘em; employees practically kissing the ground you walk on.” I glance at the lobby, where staff nod and scatter as we stride thro
Zephyr’s POV “Zephyr, you are gonna burn a hole in that plate if you continue gazing,” Dad utters.I snap out of my thoughts, grabbing the bowl. “Just thinking, Dad. Big day tomorrow. New job at NexusVibe.” Mom, slicing bread at the counter, turns with a proud smile. “My boy, working for the big
Vorian’s POV “Vorian, if you do not devour this roast, I am disowning you,” Mom utters, her voice piercing but soothing, gliding a plate of herb-crusted beef across the dining table. The chandelier shines off her gemstone necklace, making her look seem she is still commanding a gala, not our famil







