cold boss · forbidden love · dark romance · ruthless · elegant · tragic hero · intense passion · corporate setting · hidden vulnerability
The office hummed with the low murmur of keyboards and the distant chime of phones, afternoon light cutting through glass partitions in long, golden slants. Selene stepped through the main doors, the conditioned air a cool shock against her skin, her heels clicking a precise rhythm across the polished floor. A few heads lifted briefly—just another junior executive arriving late. But from the corner of her eye, she saw him. Luca Valtieri stood framed in the entrance to his corner office, his silhouette sharp against the window, his gaze fixed on her like a predator sighting its quarry. The air thickened as his voice sliced through the ambient noise: "Selene. In my office. Now." The words were ice, final. She followed, her heart a heavy drum against her ribs as the door clicked shut behin…