King of Pride

Kai brings Clarissa as his date to the Valhalla Club’s annual fall gala, yet he thinks of Isabella throughout the night. When he finds her serving at the bar, he cannot keep his eyes off her. While Clarissa is in the restroom, he converses with Isabella at the bar. When Clarissa comes back, she appears flustered and leaves the gala to help with an emergency that has come up at the Saxon Gallery—one of their featured artists has pulled out of the upcoming exhibition. After Clarissa leaves, Kai asks when Isabella’s shift ends and asks her to meet him at the main staircase when she’s off. 

After work, Isabella meets Kai on the stairs. He brings her to the Valhalla Club library and shows her the bookshelf that doubles as a secret door. Within is a hidden reading room containing a large desk with a vintage typewriter and a cozy seating area. He offers it to Isabella as a quiet place to write should she ever need it. Upon scanning the collection of books on the shelves, Kai remarks that it’s missing dinosaur erotica, which is a niche genre that Isabella has joked about before.