The day after the chaos at the birthday banquet, Ethan began a series of desperate moves.
He stopped going to the office. Every day, he showed up where I usually went. Every morning at 9 a.m., I had a habit of going to a café downtown for an Americano and two hours of reading sheet music.
That morning, as I walked to the café, I saw a "Closed" sign hanging on the door.
When I pushed it open, the place was empty. Ethan sat alone by the window. Two cups of coffee sat on the table.
"I rented out the whole place today. Sit down. Let's talk."
Spencer took my hand and turned to leave. Ethan followed us out and blocked our path. He was no longer carrying himself like an authority figure.
"Is this still about that letter of recommendation? I've already sent someone to contact the Vienna orc
