Chapter 378

• I enter Nathan’s study a few minutes before nine. I don’t want to be late to close our transaction. It might affect future negotiations. The secret door is open. The staircase winds up into darkness. I take a deep breath on the first step. Nathan is waiting for me. The closer I get, the stronger our connection becomes. I hold my breath as I climb, and by the time I reach the top, I’m lightheaded. I would be anyway.
• Nathan stands in front of the fire in the white shirt and black trousers he was wearing during the day, but I notice that this time, he’s not drinking anything. It strikes me as odd because he’s almost always drinking some kind of alcohol. Its absence alerts me to its near constant presence, and for a moment, I’m concerned that he might be using it to cope with the stress of his position.
• Well, he could make things at home a lot less stressful if he stopped being a cheating asshole who can only get his wife to fuck him as payment for favors.