Melting the Ice King

vi

ng up to the ceiling, overlooking the river of traffic below. The su

a single succulent in a geometric planter, her tiny reb

hat moment, the world reduced to a login prompt, and her fing

sk list: synchronize calendars, confirm travel arrangements for next week's London conference

as the spreadsheet populated and her email notifications pi

er K

ndustry that chewed up half the men who tried it. Cold as Manhattan snow. Exacting as

as h

stra

a mi

bo

retending no

ooftop, in that bed, beneath hi

setting. The power in the room. And the

cker of r

he trace o

her like she

ore than she was

rself that he was just a boss. A stranger in a tailored suit. Someone with a face and a title

n her thumb over the welcome packet's embossed logo

d every departmental query with the practiced courtesy of someone with more experience. Her headset buzzed intermit

xed. Always listen

d slipped through his carefully constructed walls in Rome. The woman wh

e the London strategy. Viviane slipped in at the back, tablet in hand, and quietl

ircle back," she noted, prepar

ed glass-taller, broader, in motion even when

mon vinaigrette. She prepped his afternoon slate, printing files in the color-coded binders he p

l-no sig

imple text from her cousi

ped back:

before it sent. Too pe

he glass. The office heaters clicked softly. Viviane's eyes si

ffice): "Miss Clar

cus like a knife. She exhaled once, stiffened her shoulders, and rose. The folde

that defied how unsteady she felt. The door to his office stood ajar, presi

ed through wi

ow, shoulders squared, hands clasped behind him. His silhoue

dn't

it

rom the corner of the doorway, crossed to the guest chair, and sat, heels

king out at the city he contro

t tell me

d, but she blinked once

id evenly. "Whe

e added, ste

s proximity made the air

r name. You didn't of

sing the distance, folding his

ized. She le

ow

in something al

get things t

le

hrough a hundr

l came back hollow in th

precise, as if every

is is n

as cooler

not strang

briefly, blinking ba

we?" she

weight of his presenc

plic

lick of his heel

the single word ec

d her she wasn't alone. She rose, smoothed her skirt, and walked out into the corridor alm

ped her folder like a lifeline, and star