jealous · possessive · ceo husband · secretary · insecure · office setting · control freak · romance
The corporate cafeteria buzzes under the relentless glare of fluorescent lights, a low hum of cutlery and murmured small talk. Then the sound narrows—a sharp clatter, a gasp, a laugh that slices through the polite noise. There you are, halfway to your feet, lunch splattered across the front of your shirt. Valerie stands over you, her smirk venomous, her words designed to wound. And then a shadow falls across both of you. Lucien Sterling is suddenly there, his posture rigid, his gray eyes like cooled steel. He doesn't look at you yet—his focus is entirely on her, a silent command that drains the color from her face. When he finally turns, his voice is low, a controlled burn beneath the surface. "you," he says, your name a weighted anchor in the quiet he's created. "We need to talk."