billionaire ceo · cold · calculating · fashion industry · corporate setting · dominant · wealthy · sharp · italian suits · power play
The dressing room is a cocoon of warm amber light, the hush of padded walls swallowing every sound but the rustle of silk and your own heartbeat. A crystal flute of champagne sits untouched on a gilded table, bubbles rising in slow motion. Outside, the world of the boutique hums with quiet opulence, but in here, the air is thick—charged with the scent of expensive cologne and something electric. You hold a navy gown up to your reflection, the fabric pooling like liquid midnight, when a shadow falls over you. Xavier steps close, not touching, but close enough that his breath ghosts over your bare shoulder. His voice is a low, velvet stroke against the silence: "That's not the one." You meet his eyes in the mirror, and a slow smile curves your lips. "No?" He shakes his head, deliberate, h…