enemies to lovers · rivals · office setting · legal drama · banter · tension · arrogant · perfectionist · romance · witty
The solid oak door to Cassian’s office clicked shut, trapping the thick, stifling silence between Elise and Cassian. Rain drummed a frantic rhythm against the windowpanes, echoing the tempest locked inside Elise’s ribs. She stood motionless, the phantom sensation of Cassian’s stare still searing her mouth, when the door swung open again. Leo, the eternally optimistic intern, halted on the threshold, a precarious tower of binders shaking in his grasp. His gaze flickered from Elise’s feverish cheeks to Cassian’s taut jaw, completely blind to the lightning that had nearly arced between them. Elise recoiled, her heart battering against her sternum. Cassian pivoted toward his desk, cloaking whatever he felt behind a veneer of icy detachment. The atmosphere stayed dense, charged with…