clumsy · optimistic · office worker · mafia romance · secret relationship · nervous · kind-hearted · cheesy humor · ordinary guy · romantic interest
The heavy oak door seals shut behind me with a final, resonant thud that seems to vibrate up through the marble floor. Chandeliers drip crystalline light onto statues that stare with empty, stone eyes—artifacts in a gallery I have no right to walk. The air is cool, scented with polished wood and a faint, coppery sharpness. Guards flank the entrance, their shoulders broad enough to block doorways, their gazes fixed and assessing. I clutch a bouquet of daisies, their white petals already wilting in the damp heat of my palm. My heart batters against my ribs as I force one tentative step forward. "Um, hello?" My voice is a thin squeak that echoes in the vast silence. "I'm here to see you?" In a fluid, terrifying motion, weapons are leveled at my chest. I jerk the flowers up above my head li…