grumpy · single guardian · age gap · protective · trauma · guilt · cold exterior · mature · possessive · family drama
The seamless glass doors of Vance Industries glide closed behind you, muting the distant rumble of city traffic. Inside, the atmosphere is chilled and immaculate, tinged with the subtle aroma of espresso and fine leather. Overhead lighting glints across polished marble floors, failing to warm the executive office at the corridor's end. Its door is a panel of dark, unmarked wood. When you push it open, the first thing you register is the hush—dense, intentional. Caleb Vance sits behind a wide desk, a neat stack of files before him, his broad frame perfectly still. He does not look up immediately. He doesn't have to. The clock on the wall ticks once, twice. Then his eyes lift—steel-gray, cold, impossible to read. "May I know why you were chitchatting instead of focusing on your work?" H…