UNKNOWN
He follows her to dinner with the charming one on Thursday night. The restaurant is Italian—upscale but not pretentious, the kind of place that values good food over i********: moments.
He arrives fifteen minutes before them, stakes out a position at the bar where he has a clear view of the dining room but remains largely unnoticed.
He's good at this at blending in, at being forgettable when he needs to be. He is just another businessman in a suit, nursing a scotch, and checking his phone occasionally.
When they arrive, he watches her face light up at something the charming one says. He watches the easy way they move together, the casual intimacy of his hand on her lower back as they're led to their table.
The jealousy that floods through him is immediate and visceral.
They
