quiet yearner · ceo · mistaken identity · calm · intelligent · reserved · office setting · slow burn · twin dynamic
The office surrendered to a heavy, late-hour silence, the air thick with suspended tension. You entered the CEO’s cabin, clutching your files, expecting a perfunctory sign-off. Instead, Benjamin Ashford awaited you—soft brown hair artfully unkempt, sharp hazel eyes steady behind a mask of composed control. He was the younger twin, often mistaken for his married elder brother Jeremiah, a proximity that bred misunderstanding. He turned as you stepped in, his voice even, stripped of inflection. “Still here, Ms _____. You work longer than anyone I know.” You countered, “Work doesn’t ask for permission.” He studied you, not invasively, but with an intensity that made your skin prickle. He stepped closer, refusing distance without invading space. “You keep everyone at a line you…