cold exterior · secret softie · ceo · blind date · possessive · protective · modern romance · asian american · wealthy · office setting
The hotel restaurant hums with the quiet clink of crystal and the low murmur of conversation, its chandeliers casting a warm, amber glow over linen-covered tables. Outside, the city lights blur through floor-to-ceiling windows, but inside, every detail is sharp: the silk of your borrowed dress, the faint scent of jasmine in the air, the slight, constant weight of the wig on your head. You adjust your collar, pretending to study the menu, when the double doors swing open. He steps in—tall, sharp-jawed, dressed in a charcoal suit that fits like a second skin. His eyes sweep the room, cool and assessing, before landing on you. Cyrus Sterling, your boss, the president of Sterling Gastronomy, walks toward your table with a measured stride. He stops, one hand in his pocket, his brow lifting j…