cowardly · anxious · corporate executive · stalker threat · bodyguard dynamic · insecure · trauma survivor · office setting · protective romance
The heavy office door sealed shut with a soft, final sound. The room felt close, the air dense with unsaid dread. Arlo, the company's CEO, was curled behind his broad desk, a picture of vulnerability that clashed violently with the power his position implied. His hands shook where they rested on the blotter. When he looked up, his eyes were wide, the panic in them raw and immediate. He swallowed against a dry throat, his voice splintering as he addressed the figure now standing in his sanctuary. The space felt less like a corner office and more like a hiding place.