Morning started with an empty space on Adrian’s calendar.The third interview on his shortlist had been blocked out for weeks—a deliberate gap in a schedule that was otherwise packed tight. He’d reviewed the candidate’s file twice the night before, not because there were red flags, but because there hadn’t been any. Solid work history. Quiet competence. The kind of person who didn’t seek attention and didn’t create friction.Ten minutes before the meeting, a message arrived.Apologetic. Professional. Carefully vague.Due to recent changes in responsibilities, the candidate wouldn’t be able to move forward with the interview at this time. Perhaps they could reconnect in the future.Adrian stared at the screen longer than he needed to. It wasn’t disappointment he felt—just a subtle sense that something had shifted without announcing itself. People didn’t cancel opportunities like this lightly. Not when the invitation came with visibility and momentum attached.He didn’t reply right away

They left the office building together as the late afternoon light softened the sharp edges of the city.Adrian held the door without thinking, and Elena paused just long enough to look back at him, her expression warm and knowing. She stepped closer instead of immediately walking through, her shoulder brushing his chest as she passed.“You seem lighter today,” she said once they were outside, the hum of traffic filling the space around them. “Less… guarded.”He considered that for a moment. “I made some decisions that needed making.”She smiled at that, satisfied, and they started toward home at an easy pace.The walk felt different tonight. Not rushed. Not purposeful in the way workdays often were. Their conversation drifted naturally, sometimes overlapping, sometimes fading into comfortable silence. Elena talked about a minor frustration from her department, something that would’ve once spiraled into stress, but now felt manageable. Adrian listened, occasionally offering a quiet co

They left the building together as the sun dipped lower, the day loosening its grip in that subtle way Adrian had come to recognize. Elena matched his pace without thinking, her shoulder brushing his arm as they stepped onto the sidewalk. It wasn’t deliberate, just familiar.“You’re quiet,” she said lightly, not accusatory. Curious.“Just thinking,” Adrian replied. He glanced at her and softened his tone. “Not in a bad way.”She smiled, accepting that for what it was. “Good. I was worried you were planning to disappear into your head again.”“Not tonight.”That earned him a small, satisfied nod, and they walked the rest of the way home talking about inconsequential things—an offhand comment someone had made at work, a show she’d half-watched while folding laundry, the way the weather couldn’t seem to decide what season it wanted to be. The normality of it all felt grounding, almost protective.Inside her apartment, the atmosphere shifted into something easy and lived-in. Adrian shrugg

Friday arrived with weight already attached to it.Adrian woke earlier than usual, not because of urgency but because his mind had already begun assembling the day before his body caught up. Saturday loomed ahead—time, space, breathing room—but today mattered more than most. Today was about foundations. The kind that decided whether something held under pressure or collapsed quietly when tested.He moved through his morning routine with intention. Coffee. Notes reviewed one last time. A mental checklist refined down to essentials. By the time he left the apartment, there was no doubt left about what needed to be done.At the office, Adrian arrived well before most of the floor filled. He reserved a conference room that rarely saw use—no glass walls, no casual foot traffic, no reason for anyone to wander past without purpose. He placed his notebook at the center of the table and sat alone for a moment, reviewing the names one last time.Three people. Three very different profiles. One

The evening stretched on with them both moving closer to each other without noticing, a natural drawing attaction that neither of them were consciously aware of. As they moved towards the living room they bumped into each other and laughed, as their eyes met with a burning desire in both of their eyes. Neither of them moved right away. The pause wasn’t awkward; it was expectant. Adrian loosened his jacket and draped it over the chair, his movements unhurried. Elana slipped out of her shoes and padded farther into the living room, turning on a lamp that cast everything in warm amber light.They ended up on the couch without deciding to sit there. One moment they were standing, the next they were close—close enough that Adrian could feel the warmth of her leg against his, close enough that the space between them felt deliberate.Elana turned toward him, studying his face as if she were committing it to memory. “You okay?” she asked, quietly.“Yeah,” he said. “More than okay.”That was