"Listen, when I started hanging out with Tycen, I had no idea he was in a relationship. He never mentioned you once. I swear to go if I'd known, I would've left him on read. I'm not a home wrecker in any way. Like, when we were in your apartment, he said he had a roommate and that you wouldn't mind me using your stuff..."

Rukiya closed her eyes briefly. She'd been listening to Lindsay go on for five minutes straight—girl hadn't even taken a breath. Rukiya guessed she was worried about her job. If Wendy caught wind of this... Lindsay might lose more than just this cushy receptionist position.

But Rukiya wasn't interested in ruining lives. Even as she stood there, listening to this girl go on and on. She felt no anger, no resentment, no burning malice. She was just tired, and a tad annoyed this girl was wasting her time. Men lie, go figure.

"I haven't even spoken to him since that morning," Lindsay continued. "But he's been blowing up my phone like crazy and—"

"Are you quite done?" Rukiya interjected.

Lindsay blanched. "I-I-I—"

"I hold no ill will towards you. Go in peace." She turned on her heel and strode out the firm without a backwards glance. Kadin was leaning against the wall beside the entrance and she put on a smile for him. "Ready?"

He tucked his phone in his pocket. "Lead the way."

She couldn't wait to get some hot pho in her stomach. Cold, wet days like these were perfect for a hot bowl of soup. PhoKing Fantastic was one block away from the law firm, but she smelled the delicious, signature pork broth long before she banked the corner.

The restaurant sat between two sky-high buildings—the charming red brick looked almost cartoonish juxtaposed with the monoliths of steel and glass. When downtown Hapton was being developed, the owners refused to sell, even after being offered exorbitant amounts of money, even after being bullied and harassed by the city's elite.

Which was why it was one of Rukiya's favorite spots. A line wrapped around the sidewalk, leading up to the door. Luckily, she'd called on Saturday to make reservations, so they waltzed right in and got a booth.

The smell of bone beef broth was even more heavenly inside. The atmosphere of the restaurant was cozy—filled with wooden tables and padded booths, forest scape paintings on the walls. Chatter filled the air, mixing with the soft instrumentals coming through the speakers.

Rukiya immediately released a sigh of relief when she settled into the booth. She picked up the menu and perused it, even though he already knew what she wanted. "So... what do you think?"

"Hm?" Kadin looked up from his menu. "It's a nice place."

"Not the restaurant. I'm talking about our meeting with Brigid. Are you comfortable going forward with the lawsuit?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "I hadn't really thought about... what we went through that night. I mean, there was a lot of other stuff going on last week. But now that I think about it. I think we deserve something. Accountability, at least. No one even reached out to apologize."

Rukiya nodded her agreement. "Let's see what Brigid digs up first. For now... what would you like?"

"Not sure. What's good here?"

"The pho is phenomenal, so are the goi cuon. I get mine large with extra beef. The tea here is really great too."

"Alright." He closed his menu. "I trust your judgment." A waitress came and took their orders. Two green teas, two stacked bowls of pho and a large order of goi cuon.

"So..." Kadin drummed his fingers on the table. "I heard you're a bit of a celebrity in these parts. Forbes' 30 Under 30."

Rukiya shrugged. She'd had a fair few television appearances, spoken at some seminars and conventions and done some interviews for magazines, but that hardly made her a celebrity, right? "I mean... yeah, I guess that's how some people would see it."

"But not how you see it?"

She shook her head. "I love my work, but I'm not out here saving lives. People pay me to brainwash consumers into buying their stuff. It's not the most admirable profession."

"But it pays the bills, and it's expensive living in this city," he said with a shrug.

"I know that's right." Moments later, the waitress returned with their teas, and the herbal scent filled Rukiya with glee. She took a sip, and the cold melted away from her bones. "How was your first day on the job, by the way?"

"It was alright," Kadin said between sips of tea. "We're preparing a whole bunch of assets ahead of a Kickstarter launch for the new game. I'm not allowed to talk about it beyond that yet. Next month, they'll be coming by the apartment to install a system so I can work from home sometimes."

Rukiya smiled. "That's great. I'm glad things worked out for you."

"Thanks." He gave his own sheepish smile and looked away for a moment. "Why is this so easy?"

"What?"

"Talking to you. Hanging out with you?" He met her eyes again.

Rukiya raised her brows. "Uh... We've hung out all of three times?"

"Maybe I'm just talking crazy, but I feel like I've known you for longer." Kadin shrugged. "It's been fun hanging with you."

She distracted herself with a sip of tea and took time to collect her thoughts. A million questions filled her head, but only one made it out of her mouth. "Are you flirting with me?"

"N-no. I didn't mean it in that way. I've just been having a really good time, and I was kind of thinking out loud." He roughed up his hair. "I'll shut up now."

"I was teasing you, Kadin," she said with a laugh. "For what it's worth, I like hanging out with you, too."

After minutes more of talking about work, home and Hapton, their food came. The bowls of pho were stacked high with thinly sliced meat, and the goi cuon was arranged in a neat little pyramid and flanked by sauces. Steam wafted against her face and bathed her in the scent of beef.

She threw in a bunch of fresh chiles, took a sip of broth and almost melted into her seat. A hot bowl of pho of a dreary day was better than sex. She looked over at Kadin and found him slurping up some noodles. "You like it?"

"Are you kidding me? This is incredible," he said in between bites.

Rukiya grinned. "I'm glad you like it."

She dug into her own food and they ate in silence for a while. Everything about the pho was perfect, the meat was tender, the broth spicy and the noodles springy. She was tempted to order another bowl, but didn't want to pig out in front of Kadin. She instead filled the empty space in her stomach and heart with goi cuon and chased it all with the rest of her tea.

"Incredible as always." Rukiya leaned back in her seat, her body and soul warm. Now she wanted dessert, and they passed a bakery on the way here... but Kadin might have things to do. She shouldn't keep him much longer.

"That was great. Thanks for inviting me," Kadin said with a smile.

Their waitress came back with the check and Rukiya swiped it before he could. She slipped a crisp fifty inside and wrote on the bottom of the receipt that the change was their tip. "Ready to get out of here?"

"You didn't have to do that, you know," he said after the waitress took off. "I can pay for my meal."

"I insist. And I was the one who invited you out." She stood and stretched, her food baby straining against her belt.

They stepped out of the restaurant into a late afternoon drizzle and kept their heads down as they speed-walked back to Greyland Tower. As afternoon faded to dusk, the temperature dropped, and the drizzle turned into snow. By the time they made it to the parking garage, thick clouds had gathered overhead, casting the city in a shadow that rivaled night.

Rukiya knocked the snow from her boots and rubbed her hands to warm them. "Well, drive safe, Kadin."

"You too." He smiled. "And thanks for lunch."

"No problem. Take care." She turned to leave, but stopped short when he called out to her.

Kadin roughed up his hair. "Uh, I got invited to a bonfire at the park near my apartment. It's about two weeks from now. Would you like to come?"

"Mmm?" she hummed, arching a brow. "Like a date?"

"I mean... I wasn't really thinking of it that way. I just thought we could hang out more, no strings attached. If you're not busy," he tacked on.

"I'm teasing you, Kadin, relax." Rukiya mulled the idea over for a moment. She enjoyed Kadin's company. She wanted to hang out with him more. As friends, maybe? Wendy would tell her the best way to get over an old man was to get under a new one, but Rukiya was too old for that shit.

"I apologize for being so forward," Kadin said, breaking the awkward silence.

"No, it's alright. I uh..." She mentally went over her schedule for the next two weeks. There were a lot of meetings in there, possibly travel. "I have a lot going on in the next few weeks, so how about I take a look at my schedule and text you."

"Sure, that works." He gave another smile, but this one was smaller and shakier around the edges. "Text me when you get in?"

"Will do. Drive safe."