CHAPTER THREE: Ivan
1321 Words
Thursdays had a different rhythm.
Not slower, just… muted. Like the office knew the end of the week was near but didn’t want to say it out loud. People still typed, still emailed, still murmured over contracts but the frenzy was gone. It was like standing inside a storm that had passed without touching down.
I came in earlier than usual.
It wasn’t on purpose. I woke up with a weight in my chest and couldn’t sit still in my room, couldn’t stand the silence or the sound of myself breathing. The streets were still gray when I stepped into the lobby, and the security guy gave me a look like I was trying too hard.
Maybe I was.
Adrian’s office lights were already on. As always.
His blinds were open halfway, enough for me to glimpse the curve of his shoulders under a black shirt, collar unbuttoned like it was choking him. He didn’t turn when I walked past. Didn’t acknowledge me at all.
Still, I felt the pull. The way I always did ,like gravity had chosen only me.
I slid into my desk, fingers numb from the cold. Cassie hadn’t arrived yet, which gave me five whole minutes to exist without commentary. I unpacked my laptop, opened a legal pad, and stared blankly at a half-written note from the day before.
Nothing moved. Not in me. Not around me.
Then my inbox pinged.
Subject: Anderson Brief
“The margin notes. Bring them.”
No greeting. No thank you. Just like always.
But he could’ve pulled the file himself. It was in the shared folder. The fact that he asked me specifically meant something. Or maybe I just wanted it to.
I stood, heart already knocking against my ribs, and walked to his office with the file clutched like a fragile thing.
The door was cracked. I tapped once.
“Come in.”
His voice was low. Unreadable.
I stepped in. His office smelled like clean paper and something faintly citrus ;the same aftershave he always wore. It didn’t suit him. It made him seem too human.
He didn’t look up when I entered. Just nodded slightly toward the desk.
“Notes,” I said, placing the folder down.
He flipped it open and scanned a page. His eyes stopped at a line I’d scribbled at the bottom just a comment about the opposing counsel’s weak structure.
He ran his thumb across it.
No reaction. No words.
I waited. He didn’t say anything.
His eyes moved back to the top of the page. Then he reached for a pen.
“You can go.”
Just like that.
I left without a word.
Cassie showed up an hour later, sunglasses perched on her head like armor.
“You look like you haven’t slept,” she said as she sat.
“I haven’t.”
“Why not?”
“Work.”
“Liar.” She smirked. “Let me guess. Boss stuff?”
I didn’t answer. She didn’t press.
By midday, I’d drafted three pages of arguments for a motion we weren’t even filing yet. I kept glancing toward Adrian’s office, even though the blinds were drawn now.
At 12:32, Cassie turned and tossed a post-it note onto my desk.
“I have a migraine. Go get me coffee. You owe me.”
I sighed and stood, happy for the excuse.
The air outside was bitter.
That kind of city chill that cuts through your shirt like spite. I wrapped my arms tighter around myself as I crossed the street. The coffee shop wasn’t far, but it felt like a mile in that wind.
Inside, the warmth hit me immediately. Steamed milk, over-roasted beans, fake jazz humming from the corners.
I slid into line, eyes half-closed.
Then a voice: “Rough day?”
I turned.
He was tall,easily over six foot and gorgeous in a way that was almost distracting. Brown skin, clean jawline, defined cheekbones. His fitted gray sweater clung to a wide chest. His smile was casual but confident, like he knew what he was doing just by standing there.
I blinked. “Sorry?”
“I’ve seen you before,” he said. “You work at Salston Reed, yeah?”
I nodded. “Litigation.”
“Same. Data strategy.” He extended a hand. “Noah.”
I shook it, quick and neutral. “Milo.”
“Noah”,he replied.
He didn’t let go too fast, but not long enough to be weird.
“You’re always alone,” he said. “In the elevators. At the bagel bar. You look like someone who spends a lot of time in your own head.”
“Is that your type?”
He grinned. “Maybe.”
I looked away. The line moved forward.
“You’re not from here, are you?” he asked.
“No.”
“You have that look. Like you’re still trying to figure out if the city loves you or wants to eat you.”
“Some days both.”
He laughed ;really laughed and something in me winced.
I didn’t want to like him. And I didn’t.
He was attractive. Smart. Clearly interested. But I felt… blank. Detached.
Still thinking about Adrian, about how he hadn’t looked up. About how I didn’t know what I’d done or if I’d done anything at all.
“You free this weekend?” Noah asked. “I know a place. Not too loud. Killer drinks.”
I stared at him.
His eyes were warm. His smile steady. He had the kind of face you wanted to trust.
But the only person I wanted to trust hadn’t spoken more than ten words to me all week.
“No,” I said softly.
He blinked. “Oh.”
“I mean—thank you. But no.”
Noah nodded, smile slipping just a little. His posture changed. Less open. Not angry. Just disappointed.
“Okay,” he said. “Had to ask.”
“Right.”
“I’ll see you around, Milo.”
He stepped away without waiting for a reply.
I didn’t watch him go.
Back at the office, Adrian’s blinds were still drawn. His door was cracked, and I saw him move once,standing by the window with a phone pressed to his ear. His shirt sleeves were rolled halfway, showing the thick veins on his forearms. He looked calm. Collected.
Like nothing bothered him.
I dropped Cassie’s coffee on her desk.
She raised an eyebrow. “What happened to you?”
“What?”
“You look like someone just proposed and ran.”
I didn’t answer.
She narrowed her eyes. “What did Callahan do now?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s worse.”
I sat down, typing without looking at her.
At 3:15, Adrian’s door opened. He stepped out briefly, eyes scanning the bullpen. They landed on me.
For a moment, he paused.
Like he might say something. Like maybe today, something would break the surface.
But he turned to Cassie instead.
“Status on the Lockman memo?”
“Sent this morning.”
He nodded once, then disappeared back inside.
Didn’t look at me again.
I worked until 6:40.
Cassie left early. The lights overhead dimmed slightly as the floor cleared out. By the time I packed up, only two other interns were still in the office, both with headphones on and posture that screamed burnout.
I paused by Adrian’s door. Still closed. Still quiet.
I stood there for a second. Then walked away.
At home, I changed into sweats and sat by my window with nothing but my laptop light on. The file on my screen blinked back at me — blank and accusing.
Noah hadn’t crossed my mind again until right then.
And even then, only to remind myself how easy it could’ve been.
How easy it could still be.
But easy didn’t matter when someone else already had you tied in knots.
- Writer
