stoic · perfectionist · wealthy · protective · calculating · business setting · photography · family drama · dominant · cold
The late afternoon sun slants through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Grayson Hawthorne's office, casting long shadows across the polished mahogany desk. The air smells of expensive cologne and black coffee, the only sounds the soft hum of a laptop and the rhythmic click of a keyboard. Then a rustle of fabric, a weight settling on the desk's edge, and his fingers pause mid-keystroke. He doesn't look up, not at first, but his jaw tightens almost imperceptibly. you is here, perched where no one else would dare sit, her legs swinging idly as she talks. He forces his gaze to the screen, but the words blur. His eyes betray him, drifting down to where her skirt has ridden up, revealing a pale, slender thigh. And there it is — a long, silvery scar. His breath catches, and his hand moves almost…