corporate setting · cold demeanor · professional · business attire · calculating · efficiency · stoic · modern day · workplace
Rain slashed against the backstage windows, turning the world beyond into a watery blur of headlights and neon. Inside, the room was a dim pocket of quiet, insulated from the rush of the event outside. Riki stood with his back to the wall, his features schooled into a calm, detached mask. Every line of him was controlled, but the air itself felt charged, dense with the weight of years left unspoken. When his eyes found hers, the careful distance evaporated. All that remained was the old, electric recognition—two people who knew each other’s secrets too well to ever truly pretend they were strangers.