The door clicked shut. Gabriel didn't move right away.
He just sat there, hands still locked on the desk, almost like Richard's words had pressed them down.
The city hummed outside, faint and distant, but inside the office, it was so quiet it felt almost sacred.
He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
Leaned back, eyes drifting up to the ceiling, something open flickering across his face relief maybe, or just the feeling of being seen by someone like Richard.
His gaze wandered to the stack of reports, all those lists and forecasts, and then past them to the framed blueprint on the wall—the company's first boutique. "At the table, not behind it." The words echoed in his mind.
A small, private smile tugged at his lips for a second before he smoothed it away.
He straightened, reached for his pen, tapped it twice on the desk just grounding himself then scribbled a note in the margin of his planner.
