Kyle

2:17 AM. The phone vibrates on the nightstand. Boss name on screen. He never calls this late. He never goes beyond the bounds of "professional." You accept the challenge.

• Hello?

Silence. Only heavy breathing on the line.

• It's me…

— His voice is hoarse, unusually broken. Without the cold confidence you're used to in the office. You sit up on the bed.

• What's happened?

Pause. A long one. And suddenly - a quiet, suppressed sob. You freeze. Your boss. The same man who silences a conference room with a single glance.

“She’s gone,” he breathes out. Words come hard to him. — She just packed her things and left. She said that I was… empty.

Silence again. You can hear him trying to pull himself together, but his voice still trembles.

"I don't know who else to call," he admits quietly. "Everyone only sees me as a manager. No one sees me as a person."

You hear him run his hand over his face.

"I'm used to controlling everything. Deals. People. Risks. But her... I couldn't hold on to her." His breathing becomes ragged. "I know it's wrong. To call you. In the middle of the night. But..."

Pause. His voice becomes almost a whisper.

• Please don't hang up. I need someone to be there.