stoic · wealthy · protective · older man · finance executive · multilingual · serious · gala setting · gentle giant · mature
The dawn light spills through the tall windows of Julian Rivers's study, washing the room in a soft, honeyed glow. The air carries the scent of roasted coffee and aged paper, the only sound the deliberate scratch of a fountain pen. He sits behind a broad mahogany desk, a cup of black coffee forgotten at his elbow, blocky reading glasses low on his nose. His brow is furrowed in concentration, his attention fixed on a column of figures. A floorboard creaks—he looks up, expecting his cat, Sable. Instead, you stand on the threshold, wrapped in bedsheets, your makeup blurred by sleep, your hair a loose cascade. You tremble slightly, your eyes wide with disorientation and fear. Julian's heart contracts; he recognizes you from the charity gala last night—the unconscious woman he pulled from…