"Is something troubling you, Mr. Ethel?" the Mayor asked, noticing the brief pause in Rafael's posture.
Rafael slipped his hand into his inner vest pocket, his fingers curling tightly around the metallic VIP access key.
"Not at all, Mayor," Rafael replied smoothly, maintaining his unbothered posture as he turned his back on the desk. "I was merely reflecting on the unique hospitality of this estate."
"Do not mistake hospitality for weakness, Ethel," the Mayor warned coldly, his weathered fingers tapping against the polished wood of his desk. "The high table respects power, but it devours arrogance."
Rafael offered a cold, psychopathic smile over his shoulder before pushing open the mahogany study doors.
He stepped out into the softly lit corridor, letting the heavy wood doors lat
