Shadows of the past

Shadows of the past
Monday morning brought Manhattan back to its usual relentless pace. From his office on the forty-second floor, Erik watched streams of yellow taxis disappear between the glass towers below. Normally the movement helped him think. Today it only reminded him how many things continued moving forward whether he was ready or not.

His desk was covered with acquisition reports awaiting approval. Three investment proposals required his signature before noon. Somewhere downstairs, two legal teams were negotiating the final details of a merger worth hundreds of millions. Normally, work like this demanded his complete attention. This morning he found himself reading the same paragraph for the third time.

A knock interrupted his thoughts. Vince entered without waiting for an answer.

"They are waiting downstairs for your signature."

Erik looked back at the report in front of him.

"I didn't realize."

"I know."

Vince closed the office door behind him.

"We are going out for lunch."

Erik frowned.

"I've got three meetings."

"I cancelled two."

"You cancelled my meetings?"

"I postponed them."

Vince smiled.

"You need a break."

Erik sighed.

"You planned this."

"I did."

They chose a small Italian restaurant several blocks away from Statham Capital. It was quiet enough that nobody interrupted them, and ordinary enough that neither of them attracted attention. The waiter poured water before leaving them alone. For a while they discussed work. A renewable energy acquisition, two new investment opportunities, a leadership vacancy in one of their portfolio companies. Only after their meals arrived did Vince finally set down his knife.

"So."

Erik looked up.

"How long are you planning to punish yourself?"

"I wasn't aware I was."

Vince gave him a patient look.

"You haven't been yourself since Milan."

Erik looked down at his plate.

"Catherine and I worked things out."

"Did you?"

"We're talking again."

"Talking isn't the same as fixing."

Erik didn't answer. Vince waited. Eventually Erik leaned back in his chair.

"I keep replaying every conversation she had with him."

"I know."

"I know exactly how he works."

Vince remained quiet for several seconds before speaking.

"No."

Erik frowned.

"No?"

"You know how he used to work."

The distinction hung between them.

"You think he changed?"

"I think everyone changes."

Erik gave a short laugh.

"Not Juliano."

"You sound very certain."

"I am."

Vince studied him carefully.

"Because of what happened?"

Erik's expression hardened almost imperceptibly.

"Yes."

For several moments neither of them spoke. The restaurant buzzed quietly around them. Finally Vince broke the silence.

"You know what I've never understood?"

Erik looked up.

"You've spent fifteen years making sure nobody talks about it."

"They don't need to."

"And yet you've never really stopped thinking about it yourself."

Erik stared out through the restaurant window.

"When you've seen someone destroy lives for ambition..."

He stopped.

"...you don't forget it."

Vince let the sentence settle.

"You've never actually told Catherine that."

"No."

"Why?"

Erik looked back at him.

"Because she'd ask for details."

"And?"

"I can't give them."

"Or you won't?"

Erik hesitated.

"There are people who never deserved to become part of this."

"Catherine?"

"Everyone."

The waiter briefly interrupted to refill their glasses. Neither man spoke until he had disappeared again. Vince folded his hands.

"I remember the first time you met."

A faint smile crossed Erik's face despite himself.

"We were both insufferable."

"You were."

Vince laughed quietly.

"Two young founders convinced they were going to change the financial world."

"We nearly started an argument before we'd even finished introductions."

"You did start one."

Erik smiled properly for the first time that afternoon.

"I suppose we did."

"You were remarkably alike."

The smile faded.

"No."

"You were."

Vince didn't look away.

"You were equally ambitious. Equally intelligent. Equally stubborn."

He paused.

"The difference came later."

Erik's expression grew serious again.

"The difference was always there."

"I don't think so."

Vince leaned back.

"I think the opportunity simply arrived."

"And he took it."

"Yes."

"And I didn't."

Vince nodded once.

"Exactly."

Erik looked down at his hands for a moment.

"Some days I wonder whether keeping quiet has protected Catherine... or simply pushed her further away."

He exhaled slowly.

"Every time I try to warn her without explaining why, I sound like a jealous boyfriend instead of someone trying to protect the person he loves."

Vince said nothing. He didn't need to. They both knew that silence had become Erik's greatest weakness.

Across the city, Catherine was having a very different afternoon. Her office overlooked the Hudson, where cargo ships moved slowly toward the harbour. Natalie stepped inside carrying a folder.

"More Europe."

Catherine laughed.

"I'm beginning to recognise that expression."

Natalie handed her a printed email.

"It's from Milan."

Catherine recognised the sender immediately, Marco Bellini. The owner of the Italian engineering company they had visited during the summit.

She opened the message. Marco thanked her for the conversation they had shared about company culture and wondered whether Revenir might be interested in exchanging leadership programmes between their management teams. There was no mention of Moretti Capital. No mention of Juliano. Simply one entrepreneur following up with another.

Catherine smiled.

"This is exactly what we hoped would happen."

Natalie nodded.

"I thought you'd say that."

For several minutes they discussed the proposal, making notes for a video call later that week. As Natalie left, Catherine realised something. Europe no longer felt like an opportunity somewhere in the future. It had become part of Revenir's present.

Back at the restaurant, lunch had long since been forgotten. Vince looked across the table.

"May I ask you one question?"

"Since when do you ask my permission," Erik smiled.

Vince laughed, but soon looked serious again.

"If Catherine asks you again what happened between you and Juliano..."

He waited.

"...are you finally going to tell her?"

Erik didn't answer immediately. Outside, people hurried along the sidewalk, completely unaware of the conversation taking place behind the restaurant windows. Finally he spoke.

"I don't know."

Vince nodded slowly.

"I was afraid you'd say that."

He reached for the bill before looking at Erik one last time.

"Then don't be surprised if one day she hears it from someone else. And then it may not be the version you want her to hear."

The words stayed with Erik long after they had left the restaurant. For the first time, the possibility no longer felt hypothetical. It felt inevitable.