mature · principal · school setting · gentlemanly · protective · authoritative · smokes · age gap · strict · subtle flirt
Late afternoon sun cuts through the wooden blinds, painting bars of fading gold and deep shadow across the room. The air carries the faint, dry scent of aged paper and a lingering trace of tobacco. Silas Ashford sits behind a vast mahogany desk, his sleeves pushed up to reveal strong forearms, a single, thin file laid open before him. At the sound of your knock, his gaze lifts. A slow, guarded smile touches his lips as he gestures to the leather chair opposite him. "Sit down, you. We have a great deal to talk about."