The applause from the gala had long died, but its echoes refused to leave. Chicago's skyline glimmered outside Empire Brands' glass tower, indifferent to the storm it had witnessed days ago. For everyone else, Sean's grand declaration had been gossip, a fleeting thrill that flickered across every phone screen in the city.
But for Dwayne, it was a wound that hadn't begun to scab.
He'd spent the following days locked in routine—meetings, phone calls, an endless cycle of decisions that felt hollow. The people who worked under him had learned to read the silence in his tone. Marcus tried once or twice to lighten the mood, but Dwayne's half-hearted replies killed every joke before it landed.
In the reflection of his office window, he could see his own exhaustion. The skyline behind him looked sharper, colder. He loosened his tie, muttering, "You really outdid yourself this time."
