Tribeca, an area where artists once gathered to live in abandoned warehouses and lofts.
However, now that area was also being actively developed, with modern high-rise buildings steadily going up. And at the center of it all was Lockhart Real Estate Development.
A newly built high-rise building overlooking the Hudson River.
Hidden among them, a private lounge bar without a single sign.
Joshua Lockhart appeared there with a noisy group of four or five people.
They all seemed already somewhat boisterously drunk. Among them, several were existing customers of the bar, faces familiar even to Elian.
As soon as they were seated, they glanced at Elian and giggled among themselves. Elian could easily detect that Joshua Lockhart’s gaze, revealing interest, was directed at him.
Since he couldn’t miss the opportunity, Elian volunteered to be in charge of that table.
Even while approaching the table with menus, Joshua Lockhart’s green eyes remained fixed on Elian the entire time. He didn’t even try to hide the fact that he was staring intently.
“Good evening. I’m ‘Lian,’ and I’ll be taking care of your table today. I’ll prepare the menus for you first.”
Elian handed menus to each person in the group.
“What do you think?”
The man sitting next to Joshua Lockhart asked in a low voice while glancing at Elian. Joshua Lockhart feigned ignorance as if he didn’t know what he meant.
“What?”
Another member of the group tapped his arm and pressed him more mischievously.
“We were right, weren’t we?”
“Be quiet. What kind of manners is this with someone standing right in front of us?”
Even while scolding them like that, he looked at Elian intently.
It was a gaze that looked somehow different from the young man in paparazzi snaps, sitting in a relaxed posture at a café on Melrose Avenue laughing and chatting with friends, that young man with a brilliantly shining smile befitting the nickname “California Sunshine.”
A gaze that freely revealed the excitement of finding what he wanted.
Even then, Elian could be certain that he had succeeded in catching his interest.
After passing Joshua’s group’s order to the bar, Elian was called by the manager and briefly left his spot. On his way back to the hall after quickly checking next week’s schedule, he discovered someone loitering in the corridor. Elian hesitated and unconsciously hid behind a pillar.
“I told you I’m not interested in that kind of thing. Don’t waste your energy. When have I ever listened?”
It was Joshua Lockhart.
With one hand stuck in his pants back pocket, he was circling around a marble sculpture decorating the middle of the wide corridor while on a call. Whatever the other person said, he snorted while tapping the sculpture’s thigh with his fist.
“How could that be? Is there even enough affection for that? Between Lorenz and me.”
A sneering voice.
Thud. This time he landed a punch on the sculpture’s knee.
“I own 15% of NOVA Media. Including Father’s shares, that’s 25%. Do I look like an idiot who would even lose NOVA?”
As he lowered his head, his abundant curly hair that looked soft flowed down. His red lips, as if deliberately painted, twisted in anger. He ground his teeth lowly, revealing his displeasure.
“That’s how it sounds to me.”
Joshua Lockhart ended the call unilaterally. As if still not satisfied, he lingered in the corridor spewing curses for a while before disappearing.
It wasn’t difficult to guess that the phone call just now was about the Lockhart Group’s successor.
Joshua Lockhart seemed uninterested in the successor position, and the person on the call seemed to want to incite him.
The clearest point was that the call just now had utterly ruined his mood.
When Elian returned to his position, the drinks Joshua’s group had ordered were almost all prepared. In addition to their orders, Elian placed a few chocolates on a small plate and put it on the tray.
Behind the sofa where Joshua Lockhart was sitting, the night view of Tribeca spread out. But he didn’t even glance at such scenery.
Joshua, who was leaning back slumped in a high-backed single sofa, fixed his gaze on one spot while holding his temple. His attention was directed solely at Elian. The gaze fixed on Elian approaching with the tray was rough and blatant.
If earlier it had been a look that said he wanted to date, now it was…
“Excuse me. Here are the beverages you ordered.”
Negroni, Vesper Martini, Macallan.
After announcing and serving the drinks the group had ordered one by one, Elian set down Joshua Lockhart’s drink last.
“Mezcal Negroni. And… dark chocolate.”
Joshua Lockhart’s brow narrowed as he looked down at the plate placed in front of him.
“Dark chocolate?”
“Sweet food helps when you’re in a bad mood.”
His gaze looked up at Elian again. A faint smile flickered in his green eyes.
“So you eavesdropped on my call.”
“I didn’t eavesdrop, I overheard. The corridor is a public space.”
A gaze like a fastball that didn’t know how to throw curves or sliders stared piercingly at Elian. Even Elian, who was used to such gazes, found it burdensome.
He’s probably the type who skips push-and-pull even when seducing. If he wants something, he reaches out immediately, and he believes that just by reaching out, he can have it.
“If you were offended, I apologize. I’ll take the chocolate back…”
Elian, who had bent down and reached toward the plate, was stopped by Joshua Lockhart. He snatched the plate away and placed it on the sofa’s armrest, then picked one up and began unwrapping it.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t eat it.”
His sulky behavior, like a child who didn’t want his chocolate taken away, made Elian want to laugh.
“Then I’ll pay for the chocolate.”
At Elian’s words before leaving the table, he frowned. Then he asked as if to confirm he hadn’t heard wrong.
“You’re buying? For me?”
“Is that not allowed?”
The group burst into laughter. Someone tapped Joshua’s arm and giggled.
“Lucky you, Josh.”
This time, Joshua Lockhart didn’t scold his group. It seemed like he couldn’t hear anyone’s words in the first place. He was only fixing his eyes on Elian’s figure turning around and moving away from the table.
Joshua Lockhart’s group drank one glass each of the drinks they ordered and then left without incident. They would probably move on to find amusement somewhere else in this huge city again.
The opportunity that had come after three months had left, but strangely, Elian wasn’t anxious at all. He was confident that Joshua Lockhart wouldn’t end the situation like this.
When it was time to get off work, Elian changed from his uniform into casual clothes in the locker room and gathered his helmet and backpack. He found his bicycle in the underground parking lot, took the elevator, and exited the building.
“……”
A car designed as sleek and streamlined as a bullet was parked in front of the building. And Joshua Lockhart was leaning against it, staring this way. Because of his height and build from playing ice hockey for a long time, the car felt smaller than it actually was.
Elian slowly approached him while pulling his bicycle.
“It’s like a movie.”
Unlike the content of his words that sounded like admiration, his tone was dryly parched.
Sweeping back his dark brown curly hair, Joshua opened his mouth.
“You have the expression of someone who expected I’d be waiting.”
“To some extent.”
“Well, this wouldn’t be the first or second time you’ve been hit on.”
“That’s right.”
A short laugh.
“I’ll take you home. Get in.”
“I refuse.”
“Why?”
“I know you’ve been drinking, so there’s no way I’d get in. Drunk driving is an act that threatens not only your own life but others’ lives too.”
After briefly chuckling, he threw open the driver’s door to show him. A driver was already sitting in the seat.
“Is that good enough now? Will you get in?”
“As you can see, I brought my bicycle.”
Elian tapped the bicycle’s handlebars.
Joshua Lockhart bit his lower lip hard and let out a long breath. His shallow patience seemed to already be showing its limits.
“You flirted first. Why are you backing out?”
This time Elian snorted. As if he’d never heard anything more absurd.
And with a condescending gaze as if dealing with a childish kid, he smirked crookedly at Joshua Lockhart.
“Are you really assigning this much meaning to a single chocolate? You don’t seem naive enough for that.”
“I’m not naive.”
Joshua Lockhart emphasized once more and added.
“I’m not naive. Enough to know that working at a bar frequented by the upper class and offering something like chocolate as a ‘service’ isn’t done with pure intentions.”
Elian sighed and faced him directly.
“You’re right. I’m not naive either.”
“……”
“Enough to know that the curiosity you have toward me right now is nothing but cheap desire for conquest.”
