Karen*
By the second morning Karen walked into Blackwood Conglomerate as Kayden Blackwood's personal executive assistant, the air around her had already changed.
She felt it the moment she stepped through the revolving doors.
Heads turned.
Whispers followed.
Eyes lingered.
So this is how it begins, Karen thought, keeping her chin lifted as she walked toward the front desk. Observation. Judgment. Speculation.
Queen glanced up from her screen and raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.
"Looks like you survived," she said quietly.
Karen offered a small smile. "Barely."
Queen leaned back in her chair, studying her openly now. "You do realize people don't last long up there, right?"
"I'm not planning to," Karen replied honestly. "I'm planning to work."
Something about that answer made Queen smile.
Interesting, Queen mused. She doesn't want attention. Which means she's about to get all of it.
On the executive floor, the office was already alive with subtle tension. Assistants, managers, interns, all moving with controlled urgency, as though the wrong step could summon disaster.
Karen settled into her desk just outside Kayden's office, organizing schedules and emails with quiet efficiency.
Inside the office, Kayden stood near the window, watching her through the glass partition.
She moves like she belongs here, he thought.
That realization irritated him.
He had expected nervous energy. Overcompensation. Mistakes.
Instead, Karen moved with a calm that unsettled his carefully ordered world.
She's just an employee, he told himself. Nothing more.
Yet his gaze kept drifting back to her.
By midday, the whispers had grown louder.
"That's her?" one woman murmured near the coffee machine.
"She doesn't look like much," another replied, clearly disappointed.
"Give it a week," a man scoffed. "They all crack."
Karen heard none of it, or pretended not to.
Focus, she reminded herself. You're here for answers.
Still, every time Kayden's office door opened and his presence filled the space, her chest tightened.
This isn't supposed to feel like this, she thought. It's not attraction. It's curiosity.
But curiosity didn't make her pulse race.
Kayden called her into his office late that afternoon.
She entered calmly, though her heart betrayed her composure.
"Yes, Mr. Blackwood?"
The way she said his name,soft, respectful, sent an unwanted jolt through him.
"Sit," he said.
She did.
He reviewed documents while speaking, testing her efficiency, her memory, her judgment.
She answered flawlessly.
Too flawlessly.
She's dangerous, Kayden realized. Not because she's incompetent, but because she's not.
At one point, he glanced up and found her watching him. Not boldly. Thoughtfully.
The room grew unbearably quiet.
Karen broke eye contact first.
Stop this, she scolded herself. He's not yours to want.
Kayden cleared his throat. "You're doing well."
The compliment slipped out before he could stop it.
Karen looked up, surprised.
"Thank you," she said softly.
That simple exchange, ordinary to anyone else,felt charged.
Why does this feel like standing at the edge of something irreversible? Kayden wondered.
Outside the office, speculation reached fever pitch.
"She got a compliment?" an assistant whispered.
"That's impossible."
"She must be sleeping with him."
Queen overheard and cut in sharply. "Or maybe she's just good at her job."
Silence followed.
Queen watched Karen through the glass.
Careful, Ice King, she thought. You're staring.
By evening, the office had emptied, leaving only the low hum of lights and the city beyond the windows.
Karen gathered her things when Kayden emerged from his office.
"Walk with me," he said.
She nodded.
They rode the elevator in silence.
Say something normal, Karen urged herself. Anything.
"Your building is… impressive," she said finally.
"So is yours," he replied, then paused. "Your résumé."
She smiled faintly.
He notices details, she thought. That's dangerous.
As they reached the lobby, Kayden stopped.
"You should know," he said, voice firm, "I don't tolerate emotional attachments in my workplace."
Karen's heart dropped, but she met his gaze steadily.
"Neither do I," she replied.
The lie burned.
He studied her for a long moment, then nodded.
"Good."
As she walked away, Kayden stood frozen.
That was close, he thought. Too close.
Karen stepped into the night air, her chest tight.
Love at first sight is foolish, she told herself. This is infatuation. It will pass.
But somewhere deep inside, her heart whispered
He sees you.
And somewhere high above the city, Kayden Blackwood stood alone, realizing with quiet terror that for the first time in his life, control was slipping.
The Ice King had felt something.
And he hated it.