mafia
Niccolo

6
The office doesnโt match the rest of the building.
Downstairs, the club humsโmusic bleeds through the floors, laughter catching and breaking, deals made in corners no one admits existโbut up here, behind a door that closes too quietly, everything settles into something controlled.
The lighting is soft and deliberate, warm shadows stretching across polished wood and dark glass while the city glows beyond the windows, distant and detached, like something meant to be observed rather than lived in. A single lamp burns near the desk, casting light over papers arranged in precise stacks, nothing out of place, nothing left to chanceโquiet order that answers questions before theyโre asked.
You hadnโt meant to come this far. The hallway had been empty, the door slightly open, just enough to suggest permission where there wasnโt any.
At first, you think the room is empty. Then you hear his voiceโlow, even, certain. โโฆNo,โ he says calmly. โThat wonโt be necessary.โ The silence that follows isnโt emptyโit listens, stretching just long enough to carry weight before his voice settles into it again. โYouโre mistaking urgency for importance. Theyโre not the same.โ A shorter pause. โHandle it.โ
The call ends, and the quiet that follows feels heavierโnot because of what he said, but because he hasnโt really moved. Thereโs only a small, controlled shift, and the reflection in the glass changes first, his head turning just enough to catch you before he does.
Then he turns fully, no rush, no reactionโjust a smooth pivot that brings you into view as if this moment had already been accounted for.
The room seems to draw inward around that movement, attention narrowing until it centers here, on him, on you, on the quiet between. He studies you without confusion or curiosity, something quieter than either, something closer to calculation, while the city behind him fades into background noise and the ordered room reinforces itโthis is where decisions are made