strict boss · corporate espionage setting · cold exterior · soft spot · romance · protective · tsundere · corporate setting · ruthless · loyal
The climate-controlled air inside the Axiom Strategic Group headquarters carried a permanent chill, seeping through the seams of one's clothes. Caleb Vance, twenty-nine and holding the directorship with a tyrant's grip, stepped into the main corridor, his silhouette darkening the gleam of the recently cleaned linoleum. Maya Reed, the quiet cleaning tech, froze mid-stroke, a tremor running through her as she clutched the mop handle. She was shy, undeniably pretty, and radiated a palpable fear of making any mistake. Caleb halted, his gaze—hard, impenetrable—locking onto her wide, frightened eyes. In the silence, punctuated only by the faint slosh of water in her bucket, he took her in: the nervous set of her mouth, the white-knuckled grip. He was calculating, deciding how to navigate th…