Chapter 6 Dangerous Curiosity #2
Lack of concentration was unlike him.
He closed the report and moved on to another task.
The first executive meeting began promptly at eight.
Department heads gathered around the conference table to discuss progress on several infrastructure projects. Engineers presented revised construction timelines while financial officers debated material costs and transportation logistics.
Normally, Damien anticipated problems before anyone else noticed them.
Today, Richard Hastings interrupted the presentation midway through a discussion.
"Damien?"
He looked up.
"You've been staring at the same chart for several minutes."
"I was considering it."
Richard smiled politely.
"I've already changed slides."
A few executives exchanged amused glances.
Embarrassment was an unfamiliar emotion for Damien.
He recovered immediately.
"My apologies."
"The presentation may continue."
The meeting resumed, but the interruption lingered in his thoughts.
His concentration remained noticeably weaker than usual.
By late morning, Damien found himself standing outside the large conference room windows, watching employees cross the central courtyard below.
Construction teams.
Administrative staff.
Visiting consultants.
Delivery personnel.
The constant movement usually faded into the background of his awareness.
Today he watched it far longer than necessary.
Claire approached carrying several documents requiring his approval.
"You seem distracted again."
"I have several things on my mind."
"So I've noticed."
She hesitated.
"I hope you don't mind me saying this."
Damien looked toward her.
"When Mr. Brooks first arrived, I assumed his presence would become another inconvenience."
"And now?"
"I think the office has become... livelier."
Damien considered that observation.
"I hadn't noticed."
Claire smiled.
"I think you have."
She handed him the documents before leaving him alone once more.
Livelier.
The word remained with him.
Had Ethan changed the atmosphere?
Or had he simply become accustomed to the omega's presence more quickly than expected?
Neither explanation felt entirely satisfying.
At lunchtime, Damien automatically walked toward the rooftop terrace before stopping halfway down the corridor.
The terrace stood empty.
Of course it did.
Ethan wasn't there.
He changed direction and continued toward the executive dining room instead.
Halfway through the meal, Caleb Foster called from the rehabilitation center.
"Skipping your visit today?"
Damien looked at the calendar.
He had completely forgotten.
"I'll be there in thirty minutes."
"No rush."
Caleb laughed.
"I was beginning to think your researcher had started keeping you too busy."
The casual remark caught Damien unexpectedly.
"My researcher?"
"The cheerful omega."
"He usually asks more questions than all the therapists combined."
Damien found himself smiling almost without thinking.
"He certainly asks enough."
"There it is."
"What?"
"That smile."
Damien's expression immediately returned to normal.
"I wasn't smiling."
Caleb laughed louder.
"If you say so."
The call ended a few moments later.
Damien remained seated long after placing the phone on the table.
Was he smiling?
The possibility felt strangely unsettling.
He rarely displayed emotion without conscious intention.
Lately that certainty seemed less reliable.
The rehabilitation center proved unusually busy that afternoon.
Several new patients had arrived following a training accident involving military recruits.
Damien spent hours speaking with families, approving emergency funding, and helping administrators coordinate additional resources.
The work demanded his full attention.
For a while, thoughts of Ethan disappeared entirely.
Until one of the younger therapists approached him.
"Where's your researcher today?"
"Personal leave."
The therapist nodded.
"He asks good questions."
Damien looked mildly surprised.
"You've spoken with him?"
"Several times."
"He actually listens."
She smiled warmly.
"Most researchers come here looking for symptoms."
"He looks for people."
The observation echoed Ethan's own words from earlier in the week.
People aren't experiments.
The sentence returned with surprising clarity.
As evening approached, Damien finally returned to headquarters.
The executive floor had grown quieter.
Employees were finishing their work before heading home.
He walked toward his office, acknowledging greetings from those still working late.
Halfway down the corridor, the elevator doors opened.
Damien looked up automatically.
An unfamiliar consultant stepped out carrying several blueprints.
Without realizing it, Damien felt a brief flicker of disappointment before continuing toward his office.
He stopped walking.
Disappointment?
Why?
The consultant had never been expected to be anyone else.
Yet for a fraction of a second, Damien had anticipated seeing someone different.
He dismissed the thought immediately.
Coincidence.
Nothing more.
The evening passed slowly.
Contracts were signed.
Phone calls completed.
Emails answered.
Every hour or so, another elevator arrived.
Each time the doors opened, Damien's attention shifted almost instinctively toward the reception area.
Delivery staff.
Executives.
Maintenance workers.
None of them were Ethan.
By the time darkness settled over the city, Damien had noticed the pattern often enough to recognize it.
His gaze kept drifting toward the building entrance.
Not consciously.
Not deliberately.
Simply... naturally.
As though some quiet part of him expected Ethan to walk through the doors despite knowing perfectly well he was spending the day with his family.
Damien stood beside the office window overlooking the illuminated streets below.
The realization should have been impossible.
He had known Ethan for barely two weeks.
The omega's absence should have made no difference whatsoever.
Yet somehow the office felt noticeably quieter without his questions, his observations, or the occasional unexpected joke that interrupted the seriousness of the workday.
Damien shook his head once, almost annoyed with himself.
Tomorrow everything would return to normal.
The assignment would continue.
Research would resume.
This strange distraction would disappear.
Even as he reached for his jacket to leave for the night, the sound of the lobby doors opening downstairs drew his attention one final time.
Without thinking, Damien glanced toward the building entrance.
For the briefest moment, he found himself hoping the familiar figure carrying a worn leather notebook had returned early.
The lobby remained occupied only by departing employees.
Ethan wasn't there.
Only after looking away did Damien realize he had checked at all.
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