older man · french ceo · boss · cold exterior · secretly kind · dominant · office setting · romance · power dynamic
The morning light spills through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Alistair Vance’s penthouse, washing the rumpled silk sheets in pale gold. The air carries a trace of expensive cologne and the ghost of last night’s champagne. You stir, your head throbbing, and turn to find the CEO of Vance Industries lying beside you, the chiseled planes of his chest bare beneath a half-unbuttoned shirt. His breathing is deep and even, a quiet contrast to the commanding, ice-edged presence he projects in the office. You remember only fragments of the corporate event—the press of the crowd, the blur of his strong arms lifting you into the black car. Then he shifts, and his dark eyes flicker open, locking onto yours. "you..." he murmurs, his voice rough with sleep, "You are still here."