The office felt different the next morning, quieter, heavier. People spoke in hushed tones that stopped the moment Adam entered a room. The same colleagues who used to greet him with warmth now offered polite nods and quick smiles before turning away.
He tried to ignore it at first. He told himself it was just stress after the gala, that everyone was still recovering from the late night. But when he stepped into the break room and two assistants abruptly ended their conversation the moment they saw him, his stomach tightened.
He poured himself a cup of coffee and caught fragments of their whisper as they hurried out.
“Did you see the way she looked at him?”
“Right in front of her husband…”
Adam’s hand froze mid-pour. The coffee
