Chapter 10 - The Velvet Vine
Two months later.
The air inside The Velvet Vine hung heavy with the aroma of truffle oil and designer perfume. The marble floors gleamed flawlessly.
Clara Hayes sat at the central booth. She wore a tailored ivory suit, the exhaustion entirely erased from her eyes. She was the newly instated CEO of Lumina Tech, having reclaimed her father's company and successfully taken it public.
She looked up as a busboy approached her table carrying a pitcher of ice water.
He was wearing a faded, stiff uniform. His hands were raw from industrial chemicals. He looked completely defeated, his spirit crushed by the brutal reality of his new existence.
Marcus Vance poured the water into her crystal glass. He didn't make eye contact. He didn't speak. He was awaiting trial, out on bail, entirely bankrupt, and forced to take the only job that would hire a disgraced felon.
May you like
Clara watched him wipe a drop of condensation off the granite table with blistered fingers.
She didn't mock him. She didn't insult him. She simply took a sip of her water, leaving a crisp, hundred-dollar bill on the table as a tip, and walked out into the bright city sun. True power, she realized, wasn't about making people feel small. It was about knowing you never had to be small again.
