All Chapters of Gold & Sand: Chapter 211 - Chapter 220

The knock on Masahiro’s office door was sharp, impatient.Masahiro barely looked up from his paperwork. “Come in.”The door swung open, and Clark walked in with his usual air of barely restrained irritation. Adam followed, stepping in behind him—bigger, heavier, carrying the kind of presence that filled the room before he even said a word.Arthur looked up from his desk. His brows furrowed—not at Clark, but at the man behind him.`Who the hell is that? ´Masahiro set his pen down and leaned back in his chair, finally glancing up. “Clark.”Clark’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Masahiro.”Masahiro’s eyes flicked to Adam. Didn’t know him. But it didn’t take much to put the pieces together. Matthew had arranged for Clark to have a bodyguard. And judging by the way this guy stood like he’d break a man’s spine for fun, this had to be him.Adam met Masahiro’s stare, just as assessing. Neither of them spoke. Sizing each other up.Clark exhaled sharply, clearly over it before it even began.

Adam had been in a lot of uncomfortable situations.Fights. Shootouts. Business deals where one wrong move meant someone wasn’t making it out alive.But this?This was something else."You’re his new boyfriend, aren’t you?"The words hung in the air, thick and wrong, like an error in reality itself.Adam stared.Didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe. Didn’t move.The woman, on the other hand, looked perfectly at ease.Like she’d just commented on the weather.Like she hadn’t just said the most incorrect thing in existence.Adam finally forced out a flat, deadpan response."No."She blinked.Then, with zero hesitation— "You sure?"Adam’s brain short-circuited.His jaw tightened. His fingers flexed."What."She tilted her head, studying him.Not skeptical. Not exactly suspicious.More like she was trying to figure something out.Her gaze flicked over him, slow and deliberate.And then—her eyes lit up."

Clark barely paused at his apartment door. The stranger was behind him, lips pressing against his neck, fingers curling against his waist as Clark fumbled for the key. "Easy," Clark murmured, though his voice didn’t sound like he wanted easy at all. The stranger chuckled against his skin, his hands slipping lower. "Can’t help myself." The key turned in the lock. The door swung open. Clark stepped inside first, not looking back as he grabbed the man by his tie and pulled him in. The moment Clark stepped inside, the door clicking shut behind them, the stranger’s hands were already on him. Clark barely made it two steps before his back hit the wall. A thud. The stranger’s hands slid down his sides, lips tracing his jaw, his neck. Clark let out a breathless chuckle, grabbing the man’s tie, tugging him forward. "Come on," he murmured, voice smooth, too smooth. "Bedroom."

The atmosphere in Masahiro’s office was thick with tension. Clark stepped in first, his suit crisp, posture composed, despite the hangover weighing on him. Adam followed, silent, imposing, watching. Masahiro looked up from his desk. "Clark." Clark nodded. "Masahiro." Arthur was already there, sitting stiffly, his hands gripping the edge of his chair like he’d been waiting for this moment. Masahiro turned slightly. "Cooper, the file." Arthur was fast—too fast. He grabbed it like it was life or death, shoving it toward Clark before Clark even sat down. Clark narrowed his eyes. Noted that. He flipped the file open, eyes scanning the legal jargon, the cold, hard details of Cassidy’s case. A slow exhale. "Alright. Let’s tear this apart." Masahiro leaned back slightly. "What’s going to be the prosecution’s

Clark barely spared a glance at Adam as he grabbed his keys off the table, his movements brisk, sharp with unspoken intent. His fingers curled around the cool metal, the faint clink echoing through the quiet apartment. Adam, stretched out on the couch, remote in one hand and a beer in the other, didn’t even bother turning his head. "Where are you going?" Clark exhaled. Didn’t slow. Didn’t stop, "Outside," That was all he said before crossing the room and reaching for the door. Adam let out a slow sigh, taking his time to put down the remote. Then stood. Clark heard the shift of weight behind him. He didn’t have to turn around to know what was coming next. "Jesus Christ," he muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes as he pulled the door open. "Do you have to follow me everywhere?" Adam, now standing a few feet behind him, met his irritation with the same lazy indifference. "Yeah," he replied, completely unfazed. "That’s kinda the job." Clark clenched his jaw, his fingers