The CEO'S secretary
Elias Rourke was more than a billionaire he was a tempest in a custom-fitted suit. As the CEO of Rourke Enterprises a bachelor, he was known for his icy effectiveness, merciless transactions, and total absence of emotion. Everyone referred to him as “Ice King” when he wasn't around.
Up until her.
Chloe Hart had worked as his secretary for slightly more than two weeks. Timid, kind-hearted, and excessively courteous, she was the type of woman who kept track of birthdays, tended to plants, and uttered "please" to the coffee maker. Elias hardly paid attention to her,until the morning she entered his office unannounced.
“I apologize for the interruption,” she said, her voice shaking, “but you haven’t had anything to eat today.” "It's nearly four."
He looked at her, irritated. “That’s none of your business.”
“I prepared a sandwich for you.”
She places it on his desk and walks away before he has a chance to reply to her.
Even with how rude he is to her, she brings him homemade meals everyday and lavender tea after tough meetings.
He started to notice little details about her, the way she played with her necklace when anxious, she shows no emotions even when he yells at her. One day, he sees himself approaching her desk not to order her around, but to ask her about her well being.
When a scandal almost destroys Elias’s empire. She stays by his side, not out of obligation, but because she trusted him.
He looked at her and whispered, “You are the gentleness in my whole existence." "I don't know how to show emotions, but I will learn just for you."
Chloe smiled, looking at him and said "Steel is capable of melting, Elias." "Even kings can experience love."
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Chapter: Chapter 18CHLOE'S POVBy lunch, I was drowning in numbers, meetings, and the distinct weight of being ignored. Elias didn’t say a word to me the rest of the morning. Every message came through his assistant or brief post-its left on my keyboard.It was like I was invisible and somehow, it hurt more than the argument.Around 2 PM, Nina dropped by my desk with a smirk.“Gavin told me to drag you downstairs for air,” she said. “You look like you’re about to murder someone.”“Just one person,” I muttered, grabbing my coat.We ended up in the small park next to the office building, the wind blew, the sun barely warming our skin.“I swear he only gets colder the more he cares,” Nina said, sipping her iced tea. “It’s like his feelings have a self-destruct button.”“I don’t want him to care,” I said, more to myself than her.“Liar.”I glared at her, but she just shrugged. “You don’t have to admit it. But don’t act like you don’t see the way he watches you when he thinks no one’s looking.”“He doesn’t…”
Last Updated: 2025-07-21
Chapter: Chapter 17CHLOE'S POV I froze, thumb hovering just above the green button, heartbeat thudding in my ears like it didn’t know whether to race or stop altogether. My first instinct was to ignore it. Let it go to voicemail, like I had every right to.But I didn’t."Hello?" My voice came out low and even, even though my stomach was doing somersaults.There was a pause, then his voice quiet and fixed. “Chloe.”Just my name. Nothing else. No explanation. No apology.I shifted the phone to my other ear. “Yes?”Another pause. I could practically hear him thinking. Elias never called without a purpose. In fact, he hardly ever called at all. Everything was usually sent through emails, meetings, post-its he would leave on my desk.“I got your final calendar update,” he said finally. “The meetings with overseas clients you rescheduled the Zurich call to next Tuesday.” ohh wow so that's why he called. He should have just sent a mail. “Yes,” I said. “You asked me to push it. I handled the others too. Ever
Last Updated: 2025-07-20
Chapter: Chapter 16CHLOE' POV I didn’t expect him to come.Not to my apartment. Not without a warning. And certainly not with words that sounded like honesty and regret, like he was finally stripped of all his usual armor.But Elias stood there, defenseless in a way I had never seen before. Not softer, just clearer. And maybe that was more dangerous than softness.Because it made me feel something again.After he left, I didn’t move for a while. I just stood by the door, my hand still on the frame, my heart stuck somewhere between my ribs and throat.There had been no promises. No grand plea. Just a man trying to change in front of me:slowly, ungracefully, maybe too late.And now, I had two truths staring at me.One in the shape of Elias Rourke.And the other in the echo of Gavin’s kiss still lingering on my lips....I made tea without thinking. The one that didn’t strain my nerves. I curled up on the couch and let the silence stretch out while questions flooded my head.What do you want, Chloe?Not w
Last Updated: 2025-07-19
Chapter: Chapter 15 ELIAS’ POVThe trouble with change is that it doesn’t come with a guidebook. No step-by-step. No checklist.You just wake up one morning and realize you can’t keep living like nothing matters when it actually does.I sat at my desk long after the building emptied out. My reflection in the glass looked tired, older. Or maybe just finally honest.In all my years of being controlling and with no emotions, I had never for once considered how it might feel to lose something I didn’t know how to name until it was gone.I hadn’t lost Chloe. Not yet.But she wasn’t mine either.And that truth was beginning to undo me....I started small.On Wednesday, I emailed her not from my executive account, not through a calendar invite. Just a direct message.Subject: About Friday’s Review PresentationChloe, I would like to sit in on your portion of the pitch review. Let me know what time works for you. I trust your direction with the client angle.—E.R.No micromanaging. No edits. Just acknowledgment
Last Updated: 2025-07-17
Chapter: Chapter 14ELIAS POVThe office felt different without her.Not quieter. Just... wrong.Chloe’s absence wasn’t loud or obvious. Her desk was still tidy. Her mug is still on the corner. No dramatic departure. No sudden vacancy. She was still employed, still working, still walking in with purpose and leaving at five like clockwork.But I could feel her slipping through the cracks I left in our silence.And somehow, that felt louder than if she’d screamed.I hadn’t seen her all weekend. Not since the conversation in the lounge, where I’d stood by the window like a coward and told her I respected her decision even though it burned like hell.She didn’t cry. She didn’t argue. She just looked at me like someone who was finally done waiting for me to become a man worth choosing.I’d let her walk away.Now I couldn’t stop thinking about her....Monday came with gray skies and the kind of energy that pressed against the glass like a warning.She walked in at 8:42 a.m., wearing navy and cream, a hint of
Last Updated: 2025-07-15
Chapter: Chapter 13CHLOE'S POV Saturday mornings used to mean sleeping in and drinking coffee, waking up slowly to a world I was constantly trying to outrun.But ever since I started at Rourke Enterprise, Saturdays had become a recovery day from emotional breakdowns from a week spent surviving men who didn’t say what they wanted, and feelings I hadn’t named yet.This one was different.I still felt the tension under my skin, but it didn’t own me today. Maybe because I’d finally made a choice and stuck with it. Maybe because I have finally stopped waiting for Elias to come find me. Or maybe because for once, the air outside the office didn’t feel like guilt.Whatever it was I didn't care anymore, I got dressed without checking my phone for any messages from him.I threw on a light sweater, tied my hair into a low bun, and left my apartment with no destination in mind but to find the version of myself I had started to miss....The farmers market was already open by the time I got there. Crowds moving be
Last Updated: 2025-07-13
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