The Apartment Adrian Was Never Supposed to See
That evening, Adrian canceled a private dinner in downtown Boston.
Instead, he asked his driver to take him to the address listed in Marissa’s employment file.
The neighborhood was less than forty minutes from his estate, yet it felt like another world.
The apartment building was old but carefully maintained by the people who lived there. Bicycles leaned against the railing. Children’s drawings decorated one first-floor window. A laundromat glowed across the street.
Adrian carried two grocery bags upstairs.
He felt ridiculous.
He had negotiated contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars without hesitation, yet he had spent twenty minutes standing inside a pharmacy wondering which formula to buy.
When he reached Marissa’s apartment, he heard a baby fussing inside.
He knocked.
Marissa opened the door and froze.
“Mr. Whitmore?”
Her expression immediately became anxious.
“Is something wrong at the house?”
“No.”
She glanced at the grocery bags.
Then at him.
“I’ll be there tomorrow morning. I know I left a little early today, but I finished everything before I—”
“Marissa, this isn’t about your work.”
She stopped.
Adrian looked past her and saw a tiny apartment furnished with secondhand pieces. A portable crib stood beside the bed. Baby clothes dried on a folding rack near the heater.
On the table sat an almost empty formula container.
Marissa noticed where he was looking.
Embarrassment crossed her face.
“Please don’t fire me.”
Adrian felt something tighten in his chest.
She had almost nothing left, yet losing his job was still the thing she feared most.
“I’m not here to fire you.”
Before he could explain further, footsteps sounded behind him.
A familiar voice came from the stairwell.
“Adrian, I strongly suggest you leave.”
Adrian turned.
Russell Vance, Whitmore Infrastructure’s longtime corporate attorney, stood at the top of the stairs.
Two company representatives waited several steps behind him.
Adrian frowned.
“How did you know I was here?”
Russell ignored the question.
“This situation involves an old company matter. It should be handled through the proper channels.”
Marissa suddenly pulled the door closer to herself.
Her expression changed.
Adrian noticed.
And immediately understood one thing.
She knew Russell.
