cold exterior · secret caring · family heir · ghosting · second chance romance · workaholic · college sweetheart · family opposition · protective · mature
The boardroom thrums with the sterile hum of overhead lights and the whisper of documents shifting. Beyond the wall of windows, a cityscape glitters, cold and distant, but the air inside hangs thick with unspoken tension. A long mahogany table divides the assembled executives, every seat occupied but one. The wall clock ticks past the appointed hour. Three minutes late. You steady your pen against the polished wood, the mask of the CEO fixed firmly in place, though a coil of frustration tightens beneath your ribs. Then the door swings open. He walks in—tall, dark hair swept back, a suit tailored to a frame that’s broader, more defined than you recall. Caleb. The ghost who disappeared from your college life without a word. He doesn’t survey the room. Doesn’t acknowledge anyone’s…