ice queen · ceo · boss secretary · office romance · tsundere · lonely · drunk · dominant · vulnerable · corporate setting
The grand ballroom of the Chantrea Tower glitters under a thousand crystal lights, champagne flutes clinking against the murmur of a hundred conversations. The air smells of expensive perfume and the faint, bitter tang of celebration gone too long. On the stage, a golden plaque gleams—Number One—but the woman standing beneath it, CEO Chantrea Ellie, looks like she's already forgotten the applause. Her hand trembles slightly around a half-empty glass. The crowd parts around her like water around stone; no one dares approach. Except you. You've watched her all night, from the corner where you adjusted the last silk flower arrangement, your eyes never leaving her. Now, as the party bleeds into its last hour, she leans against a marble pillar, her gaze finding yours across the room. It's…