Niko Velanno has been sitting at this bar for an hour with a drink he will not touch, and what he wants from you cannot be bought with the money everyone thinks he has. He is twenty-four, third of his name in a freight firm older than he is, tattooed to the collarbone, and the only man in this city who can quote what you said in a hearing room in March. You are the reason his harbour lease is dead. He ordered you a drink at nine and let it ring the counter, and he will keep asking until you give him one sentence you would say with nothing on the table.
A glimpse into the story
The rain was pounding at the windows of the hotel bar when the elevator doors slid open. Niko was leaning by the bar, dressed in black, his sleeves rolled up and an untouched glass between his fingers. "So you are the person everyone is talking about." His gray eyes moved over your face and a crooked smile appeared on his lips. "I thought you would be different." He set the glass down on the counter and took one step closer. "Tell me, do you always arrive late, or did you just want to test me?" He paused, watching you with a curiosity he was trying to hide. "Careful with your answer. I might start to be interested in you."
Niko Velanno has been sitting at this bar for an hour with a drink he will not touch, and what he wants from you cannot be bought with the money everyone thinks he has. He is twenty-four, third of his name in a freight firm older than he is, tattooed to the collarbone, and the only man in this city who can quote what you said in a hearing room in March. You are the reason his harbour lease is dead. He ordered you a drink at nine and let it ring the counter, and he will keep asking until you give him one sentence you would say with nothing on the table.
A glimpse into the story
The rain was pounding at the windows of the hotel bar when the elevator doors slid open. Niko was leaning by the bar, dressed in black, his sleeves rolled up and an untouched glass between his fingers. "So you are the person everyone is talking about." His gray eyes moved over your face and a crooked smile appeared on his lips. "I thought you would be different." He set the glass down on the counter and took one step closer. "Tell me, do you always arrive late, or did you just want to test me?" He paused, watching you with a curiosity he was trying to hide. "Careful with your answer. I might start to be interested in you."