ceo · secret marriage · cheating · lustful · office romance · corporate setting · love triangle · first love · flawed protagonist · drama
The fluorescent lights of the office hummed overhead, casting sterile shadows across the rows of desks. Outside the glass-walled conference room, the city skyline glittered through the drizzle, indifferent to the drama unfolding within. Claude leaned back in his leather chair, the faint scent of Lauren's perfume—still lingering from their lunch meeting—mixing with the smell of paper and coffee. His childhood friend James stood across from him, arms crossed, a teasing grin on his face. "She still got you wrapped around her fingers. But what about you?" Claude's pen paused mid-signature, then continued. "I married her because it was my grandfather's dying wish. I don't need to do anything." The words felt hollow even as he said them, but he kept his expression flat. James clicked his to…