Ethan Patterson liked taking a break of five to ten minutes after an hour or two of intense work, to rest and revitalize his brain and body before diving deep again into work.
It was a ritual of discipline, a small mercy he granted himself so burnout wouldn't creep in unnoticed.
And this time around, during this particular break after more than two hours spent in a board meeting, he thought he deserved to scroll online.
More specifically—he deserved to see Clement being roasted online.
He had held back on the urge earlier that morning, after waking up to a message from Stephan, asking him if their boss, Athena, was killing off someone afresh for the joy of the public.
The parabolic, dramatic nature of the message had driven him to check online, and he had seen the first sex tape.
Discipline had pushed him offline immediately afterward, considering the tight schedule he had—even though it was technically the weekend.
But now…
