Zara didn't say a word when she got home.
The door clicked shut behind her, and for a moment, she just stood there, still in her work clothes, staring at nothing in particular as if the apartment had changed while she was gone.
It hadn't.
But she had.
Chloe looked up from the couch, immediately sensing it.
"Okay," she said slowly. "That face means one of two things. You either got the job and you're pretending you didn't… or you got spiritually attacked in that building."
Zara dropped her bag.
"That bad?" Chloe asked, sitting up properly now.
Zara exhaled, finally moving toward the couch and collapsing beside her.
"I think I failed," she said quietly.
Chloe frowned. "That sounds like you failed with extra steps."
Zara rubbed her face. "It wasn't clear. Nothing was clear. The man I spoke to kept correcting me before I could finish sentences, and then... " she paused, shaking her head slightly. "And then the CEO, no the coffee guy…. just… looked at me like he already knew I shouldn't be there."
Chloe blinked. "Hold on. You saw him?"
Zara nodded once.
That was enough.
Chloe leaned forward immediately. "Okay, start from the top. Was he hot or intimidating hot? There's a difference."
Zara shot her a tired look. "Chloe."
"I'm serious," Chloe insisted. "Because if I'm going to emotionally invest in your suffering, I need full context."
Despite herself, Zara let out a small breath that almost counted as a laugh.
"He was…" she hesitated, searching for the right word. "Controlled. Like he doesn't raise his voice because he doesn't need to."
Chloe nodded slowly. "Dangerously hot. Got it."
Zara leaned back again. "I don't think I did well."
Chloe softened slightly at that. "Or maybe you just didn't do well for him. Those are two very different things."
Zara didn't respond.
Instead, silence settled between them for a moment.
Then Chloe stood up suddenly.
"Right," she said.
Zara frowned. "Where are you going?"
"We are not doing sadness in this house," Chloe replied firmly. "You are going to shower, I am going to fix your face emotionally, and we are going out."
Zara sat up slightly. "Chloe, I'm tired."
"And I am unemployed in spirit," Chloe said. "Get up."
---
Later that night, the music was too loud, the lights too sharp, and Zara was already halfway past the point of caring.
Chloe had been right.
It helped.
A little.
Zara leaned against the bar, swirling her drink slowly, her thoughts still looping back to the interview she couldn't quite understand.
Every time she tried to make sense of it, the memory shifted—his voice, the silence, the way the room seemed to bend around him.
"You're thinking again," Chloe shouted over the music.
"I can't turn it off," Zara replied.
"Try alcohol," Chloe said simply, taking another sip of her drink.
Zara almost smiled.
Almost.
Chloe checked her phone suddenly, her expression shifting.
Zara noticed. "What?"
"Nothing," Chloe said too quickly.
Zara narrowed her eyes. "Chloe."
"It's nothing," she repeated, already stepping back. "I just—need air."
"That's what people say before they disappear," Zara called after her.
Chloe waved without turning back. "I'll be two minutes!"
But she never came back.
Zara frowned, watching the crowd for a moment before shaking it off.
She wasn't a child.
Chloe would return.
Another drink arrived.
Then another.
And somewhere between the noise and the lights and the fading edge of her frustration, her phone buzzed.
Zara blinked at the screen.
Unknown number.
She frowned slightly and opened it.
One line.
"Resume by 9 a.m. tomorrow."
No greeting.
No explanation.
No congratulations.
Just instruction.
Zara stared at it for a long moment.
Then let out a slow breath, leaning back slightly as the meaning settled in.
She didn't fail.
She just… hadn't understood the game yet.
Across the club, Chloe paused near the entrance, scanning the crowd as if she was looking for someone specific.
Then she saw him.
A slow smile touched her lips.
"Of course," she murmured under her breath.
He was already there.
Leaning slightly against the edge of the VIP corridor, looking far too composed for a place like this.
His eyes lifted the moment he sensed her.
"You're early," he said as she approached.
Chloe tilted her head slightly. "And you're pretending you're not relieved."
A faint pause.
He exhaled through his nose. "That would imply I was waiting."
Chloe smiled. "Weren't you?"
Their exchange wasn't loud.
Like something that had happened before and would happen again.
His gaze flicked past her shoulder briefly. "You're not alone."
Chloe hummed softly. "Neither are you."
Then her attention shifted.
Chloe's steps slowed slightly as her eyes drifted past him.
Someone stood further down the corridor.
Still.
Too composed for a place like this.
There was something about him that made the air feel… structured.
Like everything around him adjusted without permission.
Chloe tilted her head slightly. "Is that your scary CEO?"
He didn't answer immediately.
That alone was an answer.
Chloe let out a soft hum, studying him properly now.
"He looks like he fires people just for breathing wrong," she added casually.
He exhaled. "You're not wrong."
Chloe smiled faintly. "Comforting."
At that moment, Sebastian's gaze shifted—not fully toward them, but just enough to acknowledge presence.
It wasn't interest, It was awareness.
Like he already knew the outcome of anything unfolding in front of him.
Chloe held the look for half a second longer than necessary.
Then she stepped back.
"Anyway," she said lightly, as if nothing had happened. "I'll call you."
He glanced at her. "You won't."
Chloe's lips curved. "You're learning."
And she turned away.
Not hurried.
Not disturbed.