His pen lay abandoned beside the opened file, ink drying on the tip, forgotten. His eyes stayed locked on that empty patch of floor like he was replaying something in his mind — something he refused to acknowledge out loud.
Kia.
His voice.
His whisper.
His small, hopeful "I'll come back."
A muscle ticked in Ryan's jaw again.
He hated that he remembered it.
He hated that it stuck.
He hated that his body reacted before he even understood why.
Ryan dragged a slow, steady breath through his nose and forced his attention back to the documents.
He lasted all of three seconds.
Then his eyes drifted back to the door.
It was almost pathetic.
Almost.
Max watched from the corner, nervous but fascinated. He'd worked under Ryan for years — he had seen ruthlessness, coldness, precision, unshakeable calm.
He had never seen Ryan lose focus like this.
Max cleared his throat quietly.
"Boss… should I close the curtains? The sunlight is directly—"
"The curtains are fine," Ryan snapped before Max even finished.
Max straightened quickly. "Yes, boss."
Ryan wasn't actually angry.
He was rattled.
Completely, utterly rattled.
---
Liam — Alone in the Hallway
Liam leaned back against the wall, exhaling sharply.
The humiliation burned in his chest.
Ryan's dismissal was totally new— Ryan dismissed everyone but not his friends but he did this time, it was shocking and new. And what make it annoying is that this time, there was something — someone — behind it.
Kia.
The gentle, distracted one with soft eyes and polite smiles.
The one he noticed Ryan reacted to without meaning to.
The one Ryan never rejected physically.
Not once.
Liam shut his eyes, jaw tight.
He had known Ryan for years.
He had stood close to him, followed him, understood him better than anyone.
Or so he thought.
Now?
Now he felt like he was watching a door close slowly in his face and it hurts so bad.
He pushed off the wall and stalked toward his room.
If Ryan wanted to pretend Kia didn't affect him… fine.
But Liam would be watching tonight.
He wanted to see exactly what Ryan looked like when Kia walked back through that door.
And he wanted to know if Ryan even realized how transparent he had become. And the thing that hurt the most is that he had been trying to win him over for years and he didn't even noticed. Or is it that he is not doing it the proper way. But what is the proper way, or is it bad to want someone so bad, all of the person
---
Back in the Living Room — Ryan
The minutes dragged.
The house was quiet. Too quiet.
Ryan picked up the pen, tapped it once, then twice, then stopped. His hand had begun tapping without permission again — another betrayal.
A part of him wanted to call Kia, to check if he was actually coming back.
He would never do it.
But the thought surfaced anyway.
Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes briefly.
Composure. Control. Order.
He needed to restore it.
And yet—
His eyes opened and immediately flicked to the clock.
3:12 PM.
Kia wouldn't be back for hours.
Ryan told himself he didn't care.
The tightness in his chest said otherwise.
---
Max — Watching the Pieces Fall
Max quietly carried a tray of coffee toward the kitchen, but his eyes kept drifting back to Ryan.
He looked… restless.
Max had never seen that expression on him.
It was subtle — so subtle most people would miss it — but it was there.
The way Ryan's fingers twitched.
The way he kept glancing at the door.
The way he shifted in his seat, like something under his skin was crawling.
Max whispered under his breath:
"God help us when Kia actually shows up…"
Because if Ryan was this unstable now?
Tonight would break something open.
but he was somehow happy for his boss, because he has been watching him for so long, from the time he started this job and h has always felt like his boss needs someone to take care of him