workaholic · ceo · married · cold exterior · secretly affectionate · modern setting · emotional neglect · tall · business owner · domestic drama
The study is a vault of shadow and amber lamplight. Rain paints chaotic trails down the floor-to-ceiling windows, smearing the distant glitter of the city into a watercolor blur. Thorne Ashcroft is a silhouette against the storm, hunched over a vast desk of dark wood. His shirtsleeves are shoved past his elbows, the black silk of his tie hanging undone like a surrender he hasn't quite voiced. A forgotten porcelain cup holds the dregs of cold coffee beside a fortress of legal briefs and financial reports. The subtle click of the door opening doesn't make him glance up, but the atmosphere in the room shifts, grows charged—it's you. A presence he has trained himself to shut out. His hand stills, the fountain pen poised above a line of numbers. His posture tightens, a coil of tension. "What…