Front Desk Monsters Inc

Rule number one at Valour Group: Never stay past 6:00 PM. For most, leaving work early is a dream. For Katlyn Sterling, it’s a survival tactic. As the only assistant fierce enough to handle the cold and aloof billionaire Lukas Valour Hart, she has spent three long years strictly adhering to the rules—especially the one regarding his office door after sunset. She is used to his impossible demands and his suffocating silence, until the day the stakes become too high to walk away. When an urgent file forces Katlyn to breach his penthouse office at 6:01 PM, she doesn't find her billionaire boss. She finds a monster. Amidst shredded silk and shattered glass, Lukas Heart is mid-shift, a beast of shadow and golden eyes groaning in agonizing pain as he transforms into something unexplainable. Terrified, Katlyn does the only thing a sane person would do: she flees. But she doesn't get far before her beastly boss buries his fangs deep into the curve of her neck. She escapes the office, breathless and trembling, only to find the nightmare has followed her home. Waiting in her living room, laughing with her family, is Lukas. He isn't the boss she knows; he’s a predator wearing a suit, his smile a silent warning that her life is no longer her own. The next morning, Katlyn is ready to fly her family out of Jersey with a resignation letter in hand. But Lukas doesn't just reject her notice—he issues a demand. "Unfortunately, I marked you last night, assistant," he purrs, his gaze sweeping over her with possessive heat. "You can't leave. You won't survive twenty-four hours without my scent nearby. And since I need to ensure my secret stays buried... prepare yourself. We’re getting married in a week.”

I was the sole front desk clerk at a haunted hotel. Welcoming players, checking in on the bosses’ quarters, and slacking off a bit were all part of the job. At least, that was what I thought. It turned out my days were far from ordinary. A blood-drenched little girl in a tattered red dress kept ringing the service bell. Her eerie voice echoed, “Miss, why didn’t you come play with me?” A creepy black cat with glowing eyes wouldn’t stop meowing and rubbing against my legs. And then there was the old woman with claws like knives, cheerfully knitting me a sweater… out of players’ skin. One day, I took a day off to care for my sick mother. That was my biggest mistake. The entire game instance erupted in chaos. Bosses interrogated players, demanding to know where their precious front desk clerk had gone. “Did she abandon us? Is she never coming back?” I ran. They chased. But no matter how fast I fled, their grip on me only tightened. In the end, escape wasn’t an option.

Behind the Desk, Under the Mask For three years, Winston has been Louis's secretary—the only employee capable of keeping up with the demanding CEO of one of the country's most powerful companies. Their days are filled with arguments, impossible deadlines, and constant clashes that leave everyone wondering how Winston still has a job. What Louis doesn't know is that Winston was never hired by chance. As the son of Vance, Louis's biggest business rival, Winston was planted inside the company to gather information and help bring it down from within. What began as a mission soon becomes complicated as the years pass, and the line between duty and loyalty starts to blur. Then a shocking discovery changes everything. A secret connection reveals a side of Louis that no one else has ever seen, forcing Winston to confront the truth he has spent years avoiding. The man he was sent to betray is no longer just his boss—he has become someone Winston can no longer bring himself to hurt. As hidden agendas come to light and a ruthless corporate war intensifies, Winston finds himself trapped between two worlds: the father who raised him and the man he was sent to destroy. In a game of secrets, loyalty, and betrayal, every mask will eventually fall—and when the truth is exposed, neither of them may walk away unscathed.

After I join a new company, I keep running into problems—not from people, but from the company's equipment. The fingerprint scanner fails to recognize me every single time, and I have to submit a manual attendance appeal almost daily. When I ask the admin to change the device, they respond with thinly veiled sarcasm. "Everyone else clocks in just fine. Why are you the only one with so many issues?" The air vent above my desk blasts cold air directly at me. My hands and feet are freezing every day. I ask to switch seats. My manager looks at me like I am making things up. "Everyone else sits there without a problem. How come the AC only blows cold air when you sit there?" One strange incident after another makes it impossible for me to function at work. When I get home, I complain to my boyfriend and say I want to quit. He shuts down the thought immediately. "You're making almost 60 thousand dollars a year before benefits, with weekends off and paid leave. Where are you going to find a job like that?" I think about it and realize he isn't wrong. Just as I decide to stick it out, the company elevator malfunctions. I fall from the 33rd floor and die. In my final moments, I can't understand it—why does every piece of equipment in the company seem to target me alone? All the devices are newly installed. All my coworkers are people I have just met. I have no grudges with anyone. There's no reason for someone to sabotage me from behind the scenes. When I open my eyes again, I am back at the company. It's my very first day on the job.

It was my third day working as an NPC cashier in a horror game when the supermarket got completely wrecked by players. They stormed in, smashing shelves, looting everything, setting fires, feeling real proud of themselves. "Told you the shopkeeper here was useless. Absolutely trash in all combat stats," one said. "Grab whatever you want. Once we're done, we'll just kill the owner," another chimed in. My mouth was gagged. I shook my head in terror. One of the players sneered. "Begging? That won't save you." No! That was not what I was trying to say! I was trying to tell them that today was the NPC internal shopping day. Three minutes from now, every single dungeon boss in the entire game would be rushing here to shop.

Cocky, arrogant, and dropped dead gorgeous: That described my boss, Mr. Craft, to a T. His thick hair, cold blue eyes and strong jaw held power in a conference meeting, causing women to melt in his presence. I’ve wanted to confront him on his stubborn attitude and critical demands for employees. I’d bitten my tongue in many scenarios and held in my true feelings over a dozen times. Keeping the peace was necessary until I had enough experience under my belt to move onto bigger and better things. The only problem was; Craft Marketing was the bigger and better, and the longer I stuck it out with him, meant more opportunities would arise. I’d been the only female intern to land a job directly under him, and was also the only one who hadn’t slept with him. I knew he was promiscuous with the tall and leggy blondes that breezed into his office looking immaculate, then scurried back out with mussed hair, flushed cheeks, and unbuttoned blouses. I'd ignore the magnetic pull of chemistry and curiosity between us. Unless it came to my advantage.