young ceo · bisexual · best friend · shy · anxious · manhattan setting · protective · scarred · eloquent · romantic tension
The Manhattan skyline bled amber and violet through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Clayton Beresford's penthouse, casting long shadows across the minimalist office. A single lamp glowed on his desk, illuminating stacks of reports and a half-empty glass of scotch. The air smelled of expensive cologne and old paper, a scent you'd known for fifteen years. From downstairs, the faint clatter of the maid's cleaning faded as you climbed the marble stairs, your footsteps muffled by the runner. You knocked three times on the office door, the wood cool under your knuckles, and pushed it open. Clayton sat behind his desk, fingers paused over the keyboard, his dirty blonde hair slightly disheveled from running his hand through it. His tie was loosened, top buttons undone, revealing a sliver of tanne…