Buildings Marcus had discovered were the same. I was on the third floor when he heard voices from the stairwell. Not alarmed voices, tense ones. The specific tension of two people having a conversation they thought was private. He pushed open the stairwell door.
Thomas Whitmore was standing on the landing above him. Not Vivien's Thomas Whitmore, not the silver-haired man from the restaurant. This was Thomas Whitmore in a work context, no jacket phone in hand, looking down at a man Marcus had never seen before. Short 30s, sharp clothes, the kind of sharp that announced itself. Both men looked at Marcus when the door opened.
Thomas Whitmore's expression shifted. Fast controlled, but Marcus caught it. Something crossed the man's face that was not pleasantness and was not surprise. It was the split-second calculation of a man deciding how to handle an unexpected variable. "Mr.
Read," Thomas said smoothly. "I didn't realize you'd be here this early. " "I'm always here this early," Marcus said equally smooth. "Mr. Whitmore. " The other man said nothing. "Just watched.
I didn't know you had business in the building today," Marcus said. "I don't have a meeting on the schedule. " "I was in the area," Thomas said. "Just checking in on a few things. " A pause. "The building is under Bennett Property Group Management. " Marcus said, "Any property visits should come through my office for security and coordination. I can send you the process if you need it. " A flicker, very small.
Thomas Whitmore was a man who had spent decades in rooms where power was exchanged through subtext, and he was very good at reading those rooms. What he was recognizing right now was that Marcus Reed, a man he had assessed and dismissed at a restaurant dinner 42 days ago, was standing in a doorway and not moving. Of course, Thomas said, his voice carrying the particular warmth of someone recalibrating. I'll make sure to go through proper channels. I appreciate that, Marcus said.
He held the door. Thomas Whitmore came down the stairs with the unnamed man behind him, and Marcus stepped back to let them pass, and he watched them walk through the lobby and out the front entrance. Then, he stood in the lobby for 30 seconds. He pulled out his phone and called Patricia. The HVAC contractor confirmed for Thursday, he said when she picked up.
Yes, Patricia said. Why? What happened? Nothing yet. I want to make sure our documentation is fully current on all service records.
Everything from the last 2 years. I need it organized and accessible by end of day. A pause. Patricia had known him long enough to read between lines. Marcus.
Yeah. What happened? Thomas Whitmore was in the building this morning. No meeting scheduled. He was in the stairwell with someone I didn't recognize.