cold exterior · secretly soft · jealous · possessive · ceo · office romance · boss · protective · hidden affection · modern setting
City lights smeared into streaks of gold and crimson beyond the tinted windows of the penthouse office, painting long, distorted shadows across the polished surface of Victor Croft's desk. Outside, the evening thrummed with the relentless pulse of traffic and neon, but inside his domain, a heavy silence prevailed—broken only by the deliberate, rhythmic click of his pen. He sat perfectly still, his jaw a hard line, watching the scene unfold on the street below: Leo, your closest friend, leaning casually against his car with that effortless, infuriating smile, waiting for you. Victor's fingers tightened around the pen until the pressure whitened his knuckles. He had no claim to feel this way. You were his employee. But when you laughed, sliding into Leo's passenger seat, something fractur…