Chapter 2 - The Currency of Kindness
Leo looked at the old man's hands—cracked, blue-tinged from the biting cold, clutching the wet canvas bag as if it were the last anchor keeping him attached to the earth. He looked back at Pendelton, whose arms were now crossed over his dark suit jacket, his jaw set in a hard, uncompromising line.
Without speaking, Leo reached beneath the mahogany counter. He pulled out his own lunch—a tray holding a hot, wrapped burger, a crisp portion of fries, and a steaming paper cup of black coffee he had purchased just ten minutes prior.
Leo stepped out from behind the desk, walking straight toward the trembling old man. The floor squeaked softly beneath his shoes.
"Here, take mine," Leo said gently, extending the warm tray into the old man's shivering hands.
The old man blinked, his cloud-grey eyes widening in utter disbelief as the heat radiated against his palms. "What about you?" he stammered.
"I'll be fine," Leo replied with a faint, reassuring smile.
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Pendelton rounded the reception counter instantly, his face flushed with mounting rage. "I told you to send him away!" Pendelton barked, his voice echoing sharply off the high glass walls.
Leo stood his ground between the manager and the visitor, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. "He hasn't done anything wrong," Leo said firmly, his voice steady despite the adrenaline spiking through his veins.
