The next morning, Kian walked into the office knowing everything had changed.
It wasn't just the lack of Harlow's presence, or the subtle shift in how people looked at him now—like he was someone to respect, not just tolerate.
No.
The biggest change was the way Adrian looked at him.
---
It started the moment Kian stepped onto the floor.
Adrian's office door was open, as usual, but the moment their eyes met, something in the air shifted.
It wasn't obvious—nothing that would make the rest of the office look twice. But Kian felt it.
The weight of Adrian's gaze, the way his smirk just barely curved at the corner, like they were sharing a secret no one else knew.
Kian exhaled slowly and forced himself to move.
He wasn't going to let Adrian's games throw him off this early in the day.
Even if part of him thrived on it.
---
