Chapter 10

• Even as they grew closer each day, Jonathan knew little about Eric's life. The little he had shared was that he lived with his grandmother, and he had shared a bit about his childhood. He didn't seem like the type of person who liked to talk about his problems; he preferred to keep them to himself.
• And it was true, as he believed it might bother people and that made him uncomfortable. What he always claimed was that, overall, his life was peaceful. As he put it, nothing was exciting that disrupted his routine or was worth going into detail about.
• What Jonathan knew was that, despite not showing it, Eric was an extremely affectionate person and would do anything to please someone he genuinely liked. His displays of affection were small but meaningful.
• And even though he was closed-off, grumpy at times, and introspective, the most important thing for Jonathan was that he had a good heart. Despite Eric constantly annoying Jonathan with his teasing ways, he knew his intentions were as pure as can be. It was evident that his words were not laden with malice.
• On further thought, of all the things Jonathan loved about the job, for now, Eric was at the top of the list.
• During the day, time crawled slowly. As slow as a turtle. Staring at the clock the whole time, Jonathan forgot a few times that he would stay late to accompany the technicians working on-site.
• The closing time of the office came, and he saw the employees leaving one by one. Luckily, some people stayed to work overtime, making the building less eerie as it was completely dark. Someone had turned off the lights, forgetting that they would have to stay late that day.
• It was already past nine in the evening when Jonathan noticed the last employee on the floor going home. Only he, Eric, and the technicians who were working hard to recover the files affected by the cyberattack remained. Both of them began speculating about what might have happened, and Eric was convinced it was a move by rival companies, while Jonathan believed the motivations could be personal.
• A close person, or even a former employee, whose goal was to destroy the mighty Empire.
• As they discussed their theories, Jonathan noticed the moment Eric stepped away, remaining silent for a few minutes, pacing back and forth as he did when he was nervous. Curious, he anxiously waited as the blonde finished his call.
• When he returned, he said he received a phone call that worried him, but he chose not to share the reason. He only told Jonathan that he needed to leave and would explain it better later, but everything was fine. Although he was concerned, Jonathan didn't question him, even though he was sure that something was not right. Even though they had known each other for a short time, he could tell when his friend was nervous or anxious about something bothering him.
• Regardless, he couldn't force him to open up. He would have to wait until he was ready.
• Now, without Eric to talk about the absurdities that came to his mind all the time, Jonathan was completely bored. With no other choice, he spent the rest of his time watching videos on YouTube, wondering how much longer he had to stay at the site.
• Soon, he felt his eyes getting heavy, affected by fatigue. In an attempt to stay awake, he spun back and forth in his chair a few times, but even with his constant effort, he fell asleep for a few minutes, surprised by one of the technicians who informed him that they had finally recovered all the lost data.
• Although he was relieved that the company's situation had been successfully resolved, he was extremely concerned about the journey back home as it was late, and he lived far from the company.
• His first instinct was to seek shelter at Hugo's house, but he was unsuccessful in trying to reach his friend by phone. With no other option, he stood in front of the completely dark building while waiting for an Uber to accept his ride.
• Suddenly, not understanding the situation, Jonathan saw a car approaching slowly, but it was dark, and he couldn't see the license plate to confirm a possible driver. The app said a driver hadn't accepted the ride to take him to his destination yet, and Jonathan panicked, thinking it could be something like a robbery.
• The Park Empire was already locked, and he couldn't take shelter in the company. Suddenly, the car stopped in front of him, and he felt his spine chill, afraid of what it could be.
• The car remained there, ominously parked in front of him, and Jonathan thought of running, hiding, doing anything to save himself from a possible kidnapping. However, as the car window opened slowly, his heart raced like never before.
• It was Elliot; he was his guardian angel at that moment. And upon seeing him, Jonathan felt his heart race even faster, without even understanding why this feeling kept affecting him so often.
• But what could be stated as a fact was that the feeling was repeating more often than it should.
• As the car window slowly rolled down, he could see Elliot with a subtle smile on his face, illuminated by the car's red LED light. Jonathan felt like his stomach was being completely turned upside down.
• It was as if he had gone back to school, where the crush he had on a classmate would approach, and he would fall apart inside as if he were made of Lego pieces. His entire structure would be compromised, and his senses would get lost in his mind.
• The incapacitating feeling was accompanied by the sensation of riding a roller coaster, where the butterflies in his stomach settled, making him feel like he was falling from a hundred-story building.
• Ignoring completely all these maddening feelings, he opened the car door gently, sitting on the beige leather seat, and looking directly at Elliot for the first time in a while.