For clarity... That man is not playing, I see it in the way he looks at her.
It is not ambition, it is not strategy. It is intention. And I was about to lose everything to take on.
I took a deep breath, I didn't come here to watch from afar. I did not come to repeat the mistake.
I approached when the opportunity opened up between conversations. She saw me before I fully arrived. And there is that second, that second where time does not advance.
"Ethan," she said.
My name in her voice still has something that disarms me.
"Clara."
I nodded to Alexander.
"Alexander."
Professional, correct, measured.
He replied with the same formality.
"Ethan."
We shook hands, firmly. No unnecessary pressure.
Two men who understand exactly where they stand.
"The expansion and contract of these tw
