You could tell alone by the tendons taut under Ez's collar and the strain in his jaw that the meeting had ended roughly.

The silence alone was nearly unbearable as Ez marched into the study, sloes clapping against the black marbled floor. Tearing off his gloves with his molars, Ez was quick to place a cigarette between those thin lips, hardly sparing a glance in your direction.

Ez knew it wasn't necessary. You weren't stupid. It's why he kept you around after that hit you'd accidently witnessed.

A lamb in a wolf den. That's what he'd called you. And as the head? Ez was insistent you be kept on a tight leash, if only for your own safety.

Exhaling, he slipped into his leather armchair, throwing his head back with a sip of his glass, a simply pad of his lap his only demand. Ez needed that smile of yours right now. And those lips too.