The cold version of him
2450 Words
My heartbeat still hadn’t recovered.
It was him.
The voice.
The man from 12:47 AM.
Except now he wasn’t hidden behind silence and darkness anymore.
Now he stood at the end of the hallway in a black suit that probably cost more than my entire apartment rent for a year.
Tall.
Sharp shoulders.
Dark hair slightly messy like he’d been running his hands through it all day.
And those eyes—
God.
Cold.
Not cruel.
Just…
controlled.
Like someone who locked every emotion somewhere deep and swallowed the key.
Nathan Vale barely looked at anyone as he walked past them.
People moved around him carefully.
Like they were used to measuring their breathing near him.
The office suddenly felt quieter.
Smaller somehow.
Vincent leaned slightly toward me.
“That look on your face,” he murmured. “Should I be concerned?”
I didn’t answer.
Because Nathan had finally looked at me.
And nothing happened.
No reaction.
No recognition.
Nothing.
Just calm unreadable eyes sliding over my face briefly before he spoke again.
“You’re late.”
Same voice.
Exactly the same.
But colder.
How was that possible?
How could the same voice sound so different in daylight?
“I—”
My throat betrayed me immediately.
Nathan’s expression didn’t change.
Not even slightly.
Elena stepped beside him smoothly.
“She arrived seven minutes ago,” she said calmly.
Nathan glanced at his watch once.
“Still late.”
Vincent looked offended on my behalf.
“You terrify people for fun.”
Nathan ignored him completely.
Which somehow felt worse.
My fingers tightened around my bag.
Maybe I imagined everything.
Two different people with similar voices
Or Maybe lonely nighttime voices just sounded softer in darkness.
Nathan finally looked directly at me again.
“Isla Bennett?”
I swallowed quickly.
“Yes.”
“Follow me.”
That was it.
No pause.
No hidden reaction.
Nothing.
Just cold professionalism.
I followed him anyway because my legs apparently enjoyed suffering.
The conference room was enormous.
Glass walls.
Long dark table.
City view stretching behind him like something out of a movie about rich people with emotional problems.
Nathan sat at the head of the table without looking at me.
Elena stood quietly beside the wall with her tablet.
Vincent walked in behind us carrying coffee like he had no serious responsibilities whatsoever.
“This meeting desperately needs personality,” he announced.
Nathan finally looked up slowly.
“Leave.”
Vincent looked personally wounded.
“You say that every time like it hurts less.”
Vincent sighed dramatically before sitting anyway.
“I’m staying "
Nathan ignored him again before finally looking at me.
God.
Those eyes were dangerous.
Not because they were warm.
Because they weren’t.
“You worked at Lark Café for two years,” he said while reading my file.
“Yes.”
“You studied communications.”
“Yes.”
“You have no corporate experience.”
Straight to humiliation.
Nice.
I lifted my chin slightly.
“Everyone starts somewhere.”
Nathan’s gaze stayed on me for a second too long.
Like he was studying something.
Then—
“You get nervous when challenged.”
My stomach tightened.
“I’m not nervous.”
Vincent snorted into his coffee immediately.
Nathan’s expression remained perfectly calm.
“You’re twisting your ring.”
I looked down instinctively.
Damn it.
My fingers froze immediately.
Nathan leaned back slightly in his chair.
Still unreadable.
Still cold.
But something flickered briefly in his eyes.
Tiny.
Almost invisible.
Like amusement.
And somehow that felt worse.
Elena suddenly spoke.
“Tell us why you applied here.”
I forced my brain to function again.
“Because I need a better job.”
Vincent blinked.
Then laughed softly.
“Well. That’s refreshingly honest.”
Heat crawled into my face immediately.
I cleared my throat.
“I mean— obviously the company is amazing and—”
“You almost sounded human,” Vincent interrupted sadly.
Nathan’s eyes moved toward him briefly.
“Quiet.”
Vincent raised both hands dramatically.
“I support women speaking freely.”
“You flirt with women speaking freely.”
“Also true.”
Despite myself, I smiled slightly.
And Nathan noticed.
The shift was tiny.
Almost nonexistent.
But his eyes lingered on my face for half a second longer.
Then he looked away first.
Weirdly…
that affected me more than it should have.
Elena continued asking questions while Nathan stayed mostly silent.
But every time I answered something, I could feel him watching me.
Not constantly.
Not obviously.
Just enough to make me aware of him every second.
It felt unfair how calm he looked.
Meanwhile my heartbeat was performing gymnastics.
At some point Vincent slid another coffee toward me.
“You look emotionally stressed.”
I stared at him.
“That’s not a real condition.”
“It should be.”
Nathan spoke suddenly without looking up from the file.
“She doesn’t drink coffee.”
The room went quiet for one awkward second.
My chest tightened immediately.
Because—
What?
Vincent blinked slowly.
“Elena,” he said carefully. “Are we witnessing character development?”
Nathan finally looked up.
Cold again.
“She mentioned migraines in her application.”
Oh.
Right.
Of course.
Not personal.
Professional.
My brain needed to relax.
Vincent looked deeply disappointed.
“I preferred my version.”
Elena hid a smile behind her tablet.
Nathan closed the file calmly.
“Your references are average.”
Ouch.
I straightened slightly.
“I know.”
“Then why should I hire you?”
The question landed hard.
Sharp.
Direct.
And suddenly I understood why everyone here looked terrified all the time.
I looked at him carefully.
At the expensive suit.
The tired eyes.
Then quietly—
“Because I’ll work harder than people who already think they belong here.”
Silence.
Nathan stared at me.
Not cold this time.
Not warm either.
Just…
focused.
Like he was trying to figure something out.
Vincent slowly lowered his coffee.
“Oh she ate that answer.”
Elena sighed tiredly.
“Please stop talking"
Nathan finally spoke again.
“You get emotionally reactive.”
“I get honest.”
“That becomes dangerous in corporate environments.”
The way he said it almost sounded personal.
Like experience.
I frowned slightly before answering.
“I’d rather be honest than fake.”
Something changed in his expression again.
Very small.
Very fast.
Gone almost immediately.
But I saw it.
Nathan looked away first.
Again.
Why did that feel important?
Elena checked something on her tablet.
“We still have three candidates waiting.”
Vincent leaned back lazily.
“Boring candidates?”
“Most likely.”
Nathan stood suddenly.
The entire room shifted with him.
Even silence felt more serious around this man.
He looked at Elena.
“Cancel the others.”
I blinked.
Wait.
What?
Vincent grinned immediately.
“Oh, she survived.”
Elena looked unsurprised somehow.
“Understood.”
Nathan finally looked at me one last time.
“You start Monday.”
That was it.
No congratulations.
No smile.
No warmth.
Just cold efficiency.
And somehow…
that disappointed me more than it should have.
Because last night this similar voice asked if I smiled that day.
Only if he was the one from last night .
Vincent stood quickly.
“Congratulations. You’re employed and emotionally traumatized.”
“Thank you… I think?”
“It gets worse,” he assured me kindly.
Nathan walked toward the door without another word.
I watched him leave.
Watched the distance return to his face with every step.
Like nighttime never existed.
No. The man from the calls sounded softer.
Those calls belonged to someone else entirely.
Elena noticed me staring.
Her expression softened just slightly.
“Don’t take his behavior personally.”
Too late.
Vincent suddenly leaned closer to me.
“Between us,” he whispered dramatically, “that’s actually the nicest interview he’s done all year.”
I stared at him.
“That was nice?”
“One woman cried last month.”
“Oh.”
“Hm.”
Elena pinched the bridge of her nose.
“You encourage him.”
“You tolerate me. Different thing.”
I laughed quietly before I could stop myself.
Vincent pointed immediately.
“There. That. You should keep doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Laughing like life hasn’t completely defeated you yet.”
Elena looked toward the hallway where Nathan disappeared earlier.
Then back at me.
And for one strange second…
she looked concerned.
Not jealous.
Not annoyed.
Concerned.
It sat weirdly in my chest the entire ride home.
---
Even later that night while Jay screamed at video games beside me.
“THIS GAME HATES ME PERSONALLY.”
“You say that every day.”
“Because oppression is consistent.”
I smiled tiredly while changing clothes.
Jay suddenly spun around in the chair dramatically.
“So?”
“So what?”
“You texted , You mean midnight Batman is the CEO.”
“ No , This man looks like he’s never apologized for anything in his life. He’s emotionally unavailable "
"Hmm"
“It sounds like him… but it can’t actually be him. Right ?"
Jay narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“You like him.”
"Who"
" Batman"
“I absolutely do not.”
“You smiled while saying that.”
“I smile naturally.”
“You smile like someone with secrets.”
I threw a sock at his head.
He caught it proudly.
“And your demonic CEO, Did he flirt with you?”
“No.”
“Did he stare at you mysteriously?”
“…No.”
Jay gasped dramatically.
“Mhm.”
The room slowly quieted afterward.
Rain tapped softly against the windows.
Jay returned to yelling at strangers through his headset.
And annoyingly…
my eyes kept drifting toward my phone.
11:58 PM.
12:13 AM.
12:31 AM.
Nothing.
Which was stupid.
Why was I expecting anything?
Nothing .
12:46 AM.
My chest tightened.
Jay noticed immediately.
“Oh my God. You’re waiting.”
“I’m not.”
“You just looked at your phone like it owes you child support.”
I ignored him quickly.
12:47 AM.
My phone rang.
Unknown Number.
Jay sat up so fast he nearly fell off the chair.
“HE LIVES.”
I grabbed the phone too quickly.
Which unfortunately exposed me completely.
Jay pointed dramatically.
“WOW. Desperate.”
“Shut up.”
I answered immediately before he could embarrass me further.
“…Hello?”
Silence.
Soft breathing.
Then—
“You were nervous today.”
My heartbeat stumbled instantly.
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