Manuel's POV

I sat in my office with a pile of territory reports spread across my desk, the papers smelling faintly of dust and ink. They had been sitting there for days, and the weight of them pressed on my mind as I flipped through another page.

The door opened without permission. Ryan walked in like he owned the place, shoulders tense, jaw tight.

“Hey, what’s up?” he said, moving toward my desk with the kind of tired swagger that told me he was forcing himself to act normal.

I ...