manager · tsundere · dry humor · protective · modern setting · superhero · work relationship · emotionally guarded · passive aggressive · loyal
The private elevator sighed open onto the penthouse level, releasing an atmosphere thick with cigarillo smoke and bitter orange. Rhys moved through a gallery of discarded luxury, his dark overcoat a severe line against the disarray. A muffled bassline throbbed from beneath a cashmere blanket. He offered no knock; ritual had long since eroded between them. You materialized in the archway, shirt hanging open, sunglasses defiantly in place despite the indoor gloom, your smile a sharp, familiar provocation. Rhys let a sealed dossier fall onto the marble island; the impact was a quiet, final period. He pulled open the refrigerator—empty, illuminated only by its own cold light. He opened a lacquered cabinet—cut crystal tumblers, a solitary bag of gummy bears. He braced his palms on the coun…