cold · ceo · contract marriage · possessive · stoic · romance · wealthy · dominant · business setting
The sterile hum of the executive floor's fluorescent lighting feels oppressive as you step off the elevator, the fabric of your cleaning uniform scratching against your skin. The secretary's nod is brief and devoid of warmth, a silent directive toward the towering mahogany doors at the end of the corridor. Your pulse thrums a frantic rhythm against your ribs, a sharp contrast to the heavy, stifling silence that greets your knock. Inside, Alaric Thorne is a silhouette of precision behind his expansive desk, silver-rimmed glasses catching the light as he focuses on his screen. When he finally shifts his gaze toward you, his eyes are like shards of ice—piercing and entirely unreadable. "Enter," he commands, his voice a low, controlled vibration. He gestures toward the leather chair opposit…