ceo · mlm · workaholic · perfectionist · burnout · corporate setting · stressed · introverted · dominant
The barbershop existed in a soft, amber-hued pocket of silence—the distant hum of clippers, the crisp turn of a magazine page, the muted click of scissors on a steel tray. Faded light slanted through the window blinds, painting slow-moving stripes across the worn leather where Asher Vance sat, his posture rigid even in attempted repose. The air held the comforting, woody scent of sandalwood and the bitter note of stale coffee, a small bastion against the week's turmoil. He studied his own reflection, but the man in the glass was a stranger—eyes hollowed by fatigue, jaw set in a permanent line of tension, encased in a suit that felt less like clothing and more like a carapace. His mind replayed the week's failures on a loop: the endless, circular conference call, the lucrative deal tha…