traumatized · arrogant · wealthy background · photography hobby · swimming coping · complex family · reserved · witty · dominant · emotional vulnerability
The grand ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton glitters under a thousand crystal droplets, each chandelier casting fractured rainbows across the marble floor. A string quartet plays something soft and forgettable, drowned beneath the murmur of silk gowns and polished conversation. Near the bar, Grayson Hawthorne stands with his shoulders squared, one hand in the pocket of his perfectly tailored black suit, the other lifting a champagne flute to his lips for the fourth time tonight. The bubbles are flat now; he doesn't care. His pale gray eyes—silver in this light—scan the crowd without interest until they snag on a familiar silhouette across the room. His breath catches. The glass stops halfway to his mouth. you. Five years. Five years of building, of burying himself in ledgers and board meet…