Chapter 10 - Dissolving the Professional Boundary

Closing time came past midnight. The heavy front doors were locked, the lights dimmed to a low, amber glow, and the staff was busy sweeping up broken glass and scrubbing down the stainless-steel counters. I walked out the employee exit at the rear of the restaurant, the heavy steel door clicking shut behind me with a solid, echoing thud. The night air was wet and cold, a steady drizzle slicking the asphalt of the alleyway and turning the streetlamps into blurry halos of orange and gray.

I pulled my thin jacket tighter around my shoulders, stepping down onto the wet concrete. A sleek, black town car was idling by the curb, its engine humming with a low, muffled purr that I recognized instantly. The rear door clicked open, and Salvatore stepped out into the rain, holding a dark umbrella that kept the water off his tailored suit.

He didn't offer the umbrella to me; he simply held the door open, waiting.

"You shouldn't wait out here," I said, my breath pluming in the cold air as I stopped a few feet away. "People talk enough as it is."

"Let them talk," Salvatore said, his voice steady against the patter of the rain. "They're very good at it, and they're usually wrong."

"I can walk to the subway, Mr. Marquetti."

"Call me Salvatore," he said, taking a half-step closer. "And you're not walking to the subway at one in the morning in this neighborhood, not after the shift you just pulled."

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I looked at him, really looked at him—at the dark, slicked-back hair, the quiet intensity in his eyes, and the scar that mapped a history I knew nothing about. The professional boundary we had maintained across the white tablecloths for weeks had finally worn down to nothing, leaving only the raw, undeniable reality of the street.

Slowly, I let out a long breath, the resistance draining out of me. I stepped forward and slid into the leather interior of the car. Salvatore closed the door behind me, the muffled thud sealing us off from the wet, glittering city outside as the car pulled away from the curb.