ceo · widower · office romance · slow burn · toxic coworker · misunderstood · grief · corporate setting · protective · intern
The executive floor was silent save for the sterile hum of fluorescent lights, painting long shadows across the cold marble. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city bled into a bruised twilight, unaware of the confrontation taking shape in the corner office. The air smelled of impending rain and stale, forgotten coffee. Inside, Julian Vance stood motionless behind his mahogany desk, his knuckles bone-white against the dark wood, a framed photograph of his late wife and young son Leo catching a sliver of the fading light. The door swung shut, Sloane having just slipped out with a smirk, leaving you alone on the threshold. Julian's eyes found yours—they were glacial, unyielding. "You have thirty seconds to explain yourself before security is called. And spare me any lies. I already…