Chapter 9: The Coffee, the Lie, and the Price
Kai Harlon sat in the backseat of his sleek black car, the morning city rolling past the tinted windows. His driver kept quiet, used to the silence, but today it was heavier than usual.
Kai's eyes were fixed on nothing. Or maybe, on too much.
His mind wasn't in the car. It was back in that hotel room.
Back to the woman. The touch. Her lips.
But all he could remember was River.
River's voice. River's eyes. River's damn smile.
He ran a hand over his face and let out a quiet breath.
"I'm not into men," he muttered under his breath.
He had always liked women. Their softness. Their energy. Their scent. Everything. That night should've been easy.
But he hadn't felt anything.
Not even a spark.
Not even when she stripped, kissed his neck, whispered into his ear.
Nothing.
Just River. Just memories.
Kai clenched his jaw.
The driver noticed the frown in the rearview mirror.
"Is everything alright, sir?" he asked carefully.
Kai blinked, then looked out the window.
"I'm fine."
But he wasn't.
---
As they pulled into the company lot, Kai stepped out, adjusted his coat, and made his way to the elevator. The silver doors slid open. A group of employees quickly stepped aside when they saw him.
He didn't say a word.
But just before he reached his office door, he heard voices from the hallway around the corner.
"Honestly, I don't get what Mr. Harlon sees in that new secretary."
"River? Please. He acts like he's better than everyone. Always so quiet. It's creepy."
"I bet he's just a pretty face. Probably has something on the boss. That's why he's still here."
Then Mara's voice joined in, soft but sharp.
"Trust me. People like River know how to play innocent. I've been working here for four years. Never once did Mr. Harlon take my coffee. Now suddenly he likes his new secretary's bland little routines?"
The others giggled.
Kai's eyes narrowed.
He stepped around the corner.
Silence hit like a slap.
Mara froze. The others did too.
Kai looked at all of them. Then straight at Mara.
"Do you have so much free time that gossip is now part of your job description?"
"No, sir. We were just—" one of the girls stammered.
"Don't finish that sentence. Get back to work."
They scattered like ants.
Mara lingered, embarrassed.
Kai gave her a cold look.
"If I hear one more whisper like that, I'll have your desk moved to the storage room. Permanently."
He walked past her.
Her cheeks were flushed with anger and in embarrassment.
She turned back to her desk, lips tight, fists clenched.
She didn't understand it.
She had been with the company longer. She had worked harder. She had waited for him to notice her — dressed well, stayed late, brought him coffee, smiled when he passed.
And yet…
He never looked her way.
Then River showed up. Soft-spoken. Calm. And suddenly, he got a seat outside the CEO's office?
Mara bit the inside of her cheek.
She wouldn't let it show, but she will have have to do something about it, She won't let him win.
But her heart boiled with jealousy.
---
River arrived ten minutes later, returning from a delivery errand.
He walked in with his usual calm, placed the file on the tray, and went straight to the small pantry to make coffee — for Kai.
At the same moment, Mara stood up from her desk.
She already had a cup of hot coffee, perfectly brewed, sitting on her tray.
She had planned it. She'd gotten in early. Waited.
She wasn't going to let River win today.
Kai was in his office, going through reports, when the door opened.
Mara stepped in, holding the coffee with a smile.
"I thought you could use a break," she said sweetly.
Before he could respond, the door opened again.
River entered, quietly, with another cup of coffee.
Mara's smile faded.
Kai looked up.
Two cups. Two people.
River glanced at Mara, then at Kai.
Kai looked from one cup to the other.
Then, without a word, he reached for River's.
"Mara, get back to your desk."
She blinked. "Sir?"
"I said, get back to work."
Her cheeks burned.
"Yes, sir."
She placed the cup on the table, forced a fake smile at River, and left.
Kai took a sip of River's coffee.
Then frowned.
"It's bland."
River looked at him. "Sir?"
Kai placed the cup down.
"Too weak. Make another."
River nodded and walked out.
A few minutes later, he returned with another.
Kai sipped again.
"Still bland."
River tried again. Third time. Still, the same complaint.
By the fourth cup, River raised an eyebrow.
"Sir, may I ask… has your taste changed suddenly?"
Kai looked up slowly.
"It's your job to know my preferences."
River held his gaze. "You used to like it mild. That's how I've made it every day and now."
Kai leaned back. "So you do remember my preferences? But, yet you made it bland.
Kai stared at him.
"Mara used to make it better."
That hurt.
River didn't show it. But something inside him cracked.
He picked up the failed cups and walked out quietly.
Kai watched him go.
He stared at the last untouched cup. Then at the door.
The truth was, Mara's coffee had always been too sweet. He hated it.
But he said it anyway.
Because something inside him was angry. Confused. And hurting.
He wasn't sure at who.
River?
Or himself.
---
The rest of the day didn't get better.
Kai handed River tasks that usually took hours — and asked for them in thirty minutes.
River did them all.
He rearranged the conference call. Handled a last-minute delivery error. Even fixed a software glitch in Kai's system.
Each time, he did it without a word.
Without complaining.
And with a smile.
But inside, River was holding it together with threads.
He didn't know what he had done wrong.
Why suddenly, the kindness from Kai had turned cold.
Was it something he said? Something he didn't say?
He delivered the final folder by 6 PM, placed it neatly on Kai's desk, and turned to leave.
Kai didn't stop him.
Didn't thank him.
Didn't even look up.
River stepped out into the hallway, his chest tight.
Kai stared at the door long after it closed.
He leaned back, closed his eyes, and breathed out slowly.
"Guess that's the price," he muttered.
For ten years of silence. For ten years of not knowing why River disappeared.
Now he was here. And Kai didn't know what to do with the guilt.
So he pushed.
And River took it.
But for how long?
---
The sky had already begun to darken again when River stepped out of the building.
He paused by the glass doors, pulling his jacket tighter around himself. The wind carried a chill, but not as cold as the one he'd been feeling inside all day.
Behind him, high above, Kai stood at the window.
He was watching.
River walked off down the street without looking back.
And Kai just stood there.
Staring.
Feeling like the cruelest man alive.