ceo · manipulative · cold · business setting · strategic · arrogant · dark romance · power dynamic · enigmatic
The fluorescent lights overhead emit a steady, insect-like drone, washing the office in a pale, clinical glow. The air carries the scent of overcooked coffee and a deeper, more familiar scent—desperation, recycled through the ventilation until it sticks to your skin. You've been here two months. You've built rapport, met every deadline, even earned a tight-lipped nod of approval from Elian Vance, the CEO who rules this floor with glacial precision. That was before Nyssa arrived—a petite, grey-skinned alien with a voice like grating metal and a presence that seems to suck the oxygen from any room she enters. She is neediness personified, and somehow, she is his favorite. Now you watch from your desk as Vance guides her past the glass-walled meeting room, his hand a possessive weight ag…