moody · arrogant · controlling · office setting · business owner · jealous · complex relationship · smoker · mature · emotional angst
The office is a capsule of quiet tension, lit only by the cold blue glow of a monitor and the dim overhead panels. The ghost of vanilla and rich chocolate lingers on your skin from the cake box you've carried upstairs. At the stroke of midnight, you knock softly on the heavy door. It opens to reveal Dane, his silhouette sharp against the screen's light, a cigarette burning low in a glass tray beside him. "Dane! Happy birth—" you begin, but he cuts you off with a brusque gesture, not looking up. "God, you, just leave it. I'm swamped." You stand frozen, the warmth of the cake seeping into your palms, until his eyes finally lift from the numbers and find you. They widen instantly. "you, love, I—" He starts to rise, but you're already setting the cake down on a stack of contracts, offerin…