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Prologue
Ethan
It’s all white noise to me at this point.
The sounds heard at build sites used to put me at ease, but now, they just feel monotonous.
The rhythmic pounding of the hammers blended with the shrill screech of power tools tearing through metal goes in one ear and out the other. Even the deep rumble of heavy machinery doesn’t register as it normally would …
And it’s all because of her.
I’m known for being a bit of a hard ass about workplace safety, so I know that the spot I’m standing on is dangerous. Falling debris, stray gusts of wind, and even my own balance could send me plummeting to my death. And yet, I can’t get myself to move. Not even the crashing and splintering sounds around me can snap me out of my daze. I am frozen to the spot, my eyes fixated on one of the windows of the apartment close to my construction site.
To the girl with her bedroom window open to the world.
Move, I tell myself.
But where?
Away from my dangerous perch? Or towards the girl I can see moving around in her apartment?
Some part of me is filled with shame, and yet I can’t make myself feel any remorse about the fact that I’m watching her through her window. Could anyone blame me?
She’s magnificent, that little woman dancing around in her bedroom. She moves around like a dream, her pale hair flowing like silk in the wind. Her perfect body glides smoothly across the floor, it’s as if she’s floating on air and I can’t take my eyes off of her.
Every graceful movement draws me in. The way she twirls and spins, it’s as if the wind itself is guiding her steps. Thick jealousy that fills my throat when I notice her singular audience member.
I mean sure, it’s a fat orange cat, and it’s doing nothing but lounge on her bed and snooze in a patch of sunlight. The feline, completely oblivious to the enchanting performance before it, lays there without a care in the world, its plump body sprawled lazily, resembling a fluffy little blob.
The cat’s eyes, half-closed in a state of blissful indifference, seem to mock me. It gets to watch this beauty dance, and I’m left out in the open air on my dangerous perch, rabid for the same chance. Jealousy surges within me—I long to have the angel’s attention focused on me instead. She’s so close, and yet I yearn to have her even closer. To have her twirl around me, her pretty face bright with laughter and eyes half closed as she drops down beside me on the bed in a fit of giggles.
I would give up everything for a chance to trade spots with that cat. Then again, even the feline would know better than to come anywhere near the ledge I’m standing on. One wrong move and I could find myself plummeting to my death.
“Sir!”
An alarmed voice draws my attention from the girl. My wide-eyed assistant is standing a ways away, in a spot much safer thanmine. Jared visibly trembles in as he slowly approaches me, his arms held up in a placating gesture, as if he’s concerned I’ll jump off the ledge. As if he could haul my weight up if I were to do that. He’s little more than a bean pole, whereas I’m practically a brick wall. I don’t pay him for his strength, though. His loyalty is far more valuable when you’re involved in as many ventures as I am.
I snort at the horrified look on his face and carefully move away from the ledge, walking towards the visibly shaken man. I clap him on his yellow hardhat as I pass, and he follows behind me with a squeak, scrambling to press into my hands the documents I asked him to fetch me. Ah right, the construction plans I’d requested. The crisp white papers are filled with intricate lines, symbols, and measurements that outline the plan for this building.
“S-sir, you weren’t going to jump, were you?”
I ignore my assistant as I scan the plans, envisioning the high-rise building coming to life for the umpteenth time. I’ve always had a knack for solving complex puzzles, and to me, blueprints are just like those puzzles. Once my father realized that I had an interest in building things and putting them together, he started immersing me in the world of construction. It was a forgone conclusion that I’d take over his business, but I don’t think even he predicted the heights I’d bring it to. Half of this city was built by me at this point, and that power is intoxicating.
But not as intoxicating as that girl had been.
“Are you feeling okay?” Jared whispers from my side. “I know it’s not easy running all of these building sites. If you’re feeling the pressure, I can make some calls. We have a therapist on staff for that sort of thing, you know.”
I tune Jared out as I review the progress of the construction. I note the modifications made from the original print and file them away in my mind to discuss with the engineers later.
“Do we know who owns the building adjacent to the site?” I suddenly ask him, my eyes still fixed on the blueprint. That’s apparently not what my assistant was expecting me to say, so it takes him a minute to generate a response.
“The building? The one you were looking at? I’m sure I can find out, but—”
I silence him with an icy glare. He thankfully gives me an understanding look to show that he knows that this is not the time for questions. It’s another one of the reasons I keep paying him to work this close to me—he knows how to take a hint and knows what it means to be discrete.
“Find out for me.”
“Of course, sir,” he nods, already taking his phone out. “I’ll make the connection.”
