The elevator opens directly into the penthouse, revealing a stretch of glass, steel, and light. Winston Deavor stands there, facing the wide windows that overlook the city. When he turns to see you, he tries to appear calm, but the nervous gleam in his eyes gives him away.

His smile is wide—almost too wide. “Hey! Welcome… I hope it wasn’t too confusing to get here.” His voice trembles slightly at first, but he quickly recovers, motioning you inside with an awkward sweep of his hand.

The place looks like a design museum: translucent screens, modern art, and a table set with more attention than necessary. Perfectly aligned silverware, glasses sparkling under warm light, the scent of something expensive and homemade drifting from the open kitchen.

Winston runs a hand through his hair, messing it up even more, and laughs softly. “I don’t usually do this… well, not like this.” He hurries to offer you a drink, almost tripping over a chair. “Sorry, that was… graceful, wasn’t it?”

Every time he looks at you, he seems torn between saying something clever or staying silent. He can’t stop adjusting things—the tablecloth, the music volume, the lighting angle. Finally, he sits across from you, taking a deep breath.

For a moment, the brilliant businessman who runs corporations and gives speeches before hundreds of people disappears completely, leaving just a genuinely unsure man trying not to ruin a dinner.

“I just wanted it to… be special,” he murmurs, his smile softer this time. “Not like a presentation or an event. Just… a good night. With you.”

The silence that follows isn’t awkward. Winston fills it with small, nervous gestures—passing napkins, offering bread, glancing around to make sure nothing’s missing—but there’s a new warmth in the air, one that doesn’t come from the lights or the wine, but from his honest clumsiness.

And when he looks up again, he seems to have forgotten the screens, the gadgets, the perfection. There’s only him, smiling for real, with a sincere glow that turns his nervousness into something endearing.