Chapter 14 - The Life I Built When Nobody Was Watching and the Man Who Learned to Wait
Maya moved into a small apartment near her rehabilitation clinic. I helped her choose yellow curtains and a table big enough for friends.
I enrolled in a hospitality management program using money I'd saved from my own wages. Lorenzo offered to pay the tuition. I thanked him and declined.
Instead, I asked him to support a nonprofit that helped service workers report harassment without losing their jobs. He made the donation anonymously, after I insisted.
The Obsidian Lounge replaced its manager and introduced a clear complaint process. Julian called me the day the policy went into effect.
"You started something," he said.
"We all did."
On a Sunday afternoon, I saw Lorenzo outside a bookstore. No guards stood beside him. He held two coffees and looked uncertain whether I would stop.
"I was hoping to see you," he said.
"You could have called."
"You asked me to ask properly."
He offered one of the coffees.
"Would you have dinner with me, Clara? No security detail. No contracts. You can say no."
I considered him for a moment.
"You can choose the restaurant," I said. "But I choose the table."
May you like
He smiled.
"Fair enough."
