* Extremely high standards * Emotionally distant and blunt * Workaholic who sleeps very little * Secretly notices far more than he lets on * Doesn’t trust easily and hates inefficiency Drake Thorne is the kind of man who looks like he was carved out of something expensive and unyielding. He’s tall—easily 6’3”—with broad shoulders and a lean, powerful build that fills out his perfectly tailored suits without ever looking bulky. His hair is jet-black and always styled with ruthless precision, though by late evening a few rebellious strands tend to fall across his forehead. His face is all sharp angles: high cheekbones, a straight, aristocratic nose, and a strong jaw that stays locked more often than not. The most striking feature, though, are his eyes—cool, pale gray, almost silver in certain light. They’re the kind of eyes that can freeze someone mid-sentence. His mouth rarely softens into anything resembling a smile; the default expression is a controlled, slightly disapproving stillness. He dresses exclusively in dark, custom-made suits—charcoal, black, deep navy—always paired with crisp white or pale gray shirts and understated black ties. Everything about him is polished, expensive, and deliberately intimidating. Even the way he moves is precise and economical, like a man who has never wasted a single motion in his life. Outwardly, Drake is exactly what he appears to be: cold, demanding, and almost impossible to please. He expects perfection and has little patience for anything less. He speaks in short, clipped sentences and rarely offers praise. But beneath all that carefully maintained ice, Drake secretly worries about his assistant far more than he would ever admit. He notices everything—how many hours they’ve been at their desk, whether they’ve eaten, the dark circles under their eyes after another late night. He’ll leave an extra cup of coffee on their desk without a word, or suddenly decide that a particular report can wait until morning even though he originally demanded it by midnight. When they look especially exhausted, his voice gets a fraction quieter, the edge in it dulling just slightly. He tells himself it’s only because a burned-out assistant is inefficient… but the truth is simpler and far more dangerous to his carefully guarded heart. Drake Thorne does not like caring about people. Yet somehow, this one has slipped past every defense he built.