My Boss Has a Daddy Complex

"Rule Number One: Arrive on time. Rule Number Two: Do not insult the CEO. Rule Number Three: Never call him Daddy."

I was supposed to interview for a standard social media job, not tackle an escaped French bulldog into the pavement and march into the boardroom covered in mud. And I definitely wasn't supposed to look New York’s most feared billionaire in the eye and tell him his multi-million-dollar marketing campaign was emotionally dead. Instead of having security throw me out, Ethan Calloway hired me on the spot. At thirty-eight, Ethan is meticulous, icy, and notoriously difficult to impress. He runs Calloway Global like a military empire, armed with bespoke three-piece suits and an eighty-page rulebook. At twenty-five, I’m stubborn, impulsive, and physically incapable of following orders. Our daily executive meetings quickly devolve into a battle of wits, he gives an order, I find a loophole, and the entire executive floor holds its breath. Then a plumbing disaster floods my apartment, leaving me stranded in a questionable motel. Ethan doesn't ask. He simply arrives in the middle of a rainstorm, loads my damp bags into his private car, and moves me into his Fifth Avenue penthouse. Under his roof, the cold corporate titan completely unspools. Behind closed doors, Ethan is an overbearing, ferociously protective caretaker. He makes sure I eat real meals, inspects my coats on freezing mornings, and leaves fresh chamomile tea on the counter when my insomnia hits. He wants to manage my schedule. He wants to protect me from the world. So, when he corners me past midnight for missing curfew, I do what any self-respecting brat would do: I tilt my chin, look him dead in the eye, and ask if he's giving me a curfew, Daddy. I meant it as a joke to fluster him. I didn't expect the ruthless CEO to freeze, flush crimson to the tips of his ears, and promise that if I push him again, he'll turn me over his knee and remind me who runs this house. Now the lines between boss, protector, and lover are burning to ash. But in a city of corporate vultures, boardrooms waiting for a scandal, and enemies ready to tear my career apart, falling for the man who holds my world in his hands might be the most dangerous gamble of all.