Adriel looked down. She was right. He groaned and sat on the edge of the bed, head in his hands. Jenna snorted, and came to stand in front of him. She tugged the jacket straight on his shoulders, smoothed the collar, tilted her head to assess.
"This one," she said. "Done. Stop touching it."
Adriel didn't move. He stared at the floor between his shoes and said nothing, and the silence was apparently louder than any of his wardrobe complaints because Jenna's hands stilled on his collar.
"Okay," she said, voice shifting. She sat beside him on the bed. "What's actually going on? And don't say nothing. I know your nothing face and this isn't it."
Adriel picked at a thread on his sleeve.
"Is this about Landen?" she asked.
His silence was answer enough. Jenna sighed.
She was aware of Landen. She knew they were seeing each other, knew Adriel was in deep, knew the broad shape of it even if Adriel had kept the details close to his chest. He'd been tight-lipped in the way he always was when something mattered too much to risk saying out loud, as if describing it fully would somehow jinx it, or worse, invite the kind of scrutiny he wasn't ready for. Jenna had let him have that space, which was generous for her.
"What did he do?" she asked, and there was a careful edge to it.
"Nothing," Adriel said quickly. "He didn't do anything wrong. It's just…" He exhaled. "This event tonight. We're both going. But separately. He doesn't want anyone at work to know about us."
He saw the flicker in Jenna's eyes, and he rushed to add the rest.
"It's not like that. He's not ashamed. He said he doesn't want to give people ammunition. Because I work for him. Because of the power dynamic, the gossip."
"Okay," she said eventually. "I can actually see his point."
Adriel blinked, surprised. He'd expected a fight.
"No, I mean it," Jenna continued. "If he's your boss, and people find out, you're the one who gets the looks. You're the one people whisper about. He's probably right that it would get ugly." She paused. "But."
"But," Adriel echoed, already deflating.
"But his reasons being valid doesn't mean your feelings aren't," Jenna said. "You can understand why he wants to keep it quiet and still hate the way it makes you feel. Both things can be true, Adriel."
He stared at the floor. She was right. She was always right about the things he didn't want to hear.
"What do you actually want?" she asked.
The question was so simple it winded him. He opened his mouth, closed it.
What did he want?
He wanted Landen's hand on his back in a room full of people. He wanted to be introduced as something. He wanted the space betweenmineandMr. Alvarezto close.
"I want him to not have to pretend I don't matter to him," Adriel said quietly. "When other people are watching."
Jenna nodded slowly. "Then you need to tell him that."
"I can't just…"
"Yes, you can. You tell him what you need. You tell him what's not working. That's how this works, Adriel. You don't just take what you're given and be grateful. You get to want things."
Adriel looked down, fingers twisting in his lap. When he spoke, his voice was so soft she had to lean in to hear it. "What if he leaves?"
The question hung between them.
"What if I tell him what I want and he doesn't want the same thing?" Adriel whispered. "What if it's too much?"
Jenna was silent for a moment. She looked at him and something in her expression went very steady.