My wife and the boss's kiss

, I attempt to correct myself by quickly

nality that slices through the tension like a blade, « I don't think yo

re, stunned into silence. The air bet

been stored. Pressing my lips together, I muster what little courage I have left to snap at him, « The person you're looking for isn't human, that

ing in my ears as the words tumble out

about it. » My hands clench into fists on my desk. « I'd fe

snap something equally vicious back at me. But before he can even get the first

n give away twenty thousand dollars by th

f us moves. The charged si

ong enough that I catch the faintest flic

as he leaves my office, his lips twitch ever so slightly upward, adding a final dos

that smells faintly of something expensive and foreign, my limb

t is still pounding an uneven,

ite like him... and I do not want

ing with someone who can look at a child-at l

For several long minutes, I just sit there, staring blankly at

mechanical movements, my body drained fr

dipped below the city skyline, leaving the streets b

ers hooking his suit jacket over his shoulder in a way that makes him look ever

lf to speak just yet. I know exactly what he's about to ask-and I have absolu

s, then he would have been shamelessly listening thr

he clocks out after me. With an easy flick of his wrist, he scans h

on my shoulders. I offer him a weary glance, replying to his 'that bad' re

, raising an eyebrow as he ste

ms quietly, referring to the time a potential author had been cruelly snapped out of my reac

stings. But today

ken, » Mr King says after a beat of sil

ok

escribe a man who would call his chil

words slicing clean and unforgiving through the heavy atmosphere. « A child is a child. They

re only the night security guards remain, their sharp ey

ep outside. Mr King's car is parked neatly by a parkin

ed grace, unlocking the doors, and I sli

gne fills the enclosed space, a small comfort aga

river's seat, starting th

inst you. It's your belief, » he says after a moment of

the turn signal fills

d three months ago. If I were him, I'd also refer to Leo as an

man he

man he

oung to even understand the magnitude o

the blurred lights of the city sme

nderstands.

onger part of me

s supposed to live on-in memories, in legacies, and mos

. He's a little boy. A child who

broken Alexand