Aeris was in the office again—barefoot, giggling, a paper crown tilted on her head as she darted down the hall.

You laughed as you chased after her, heels clicking—until one caught. Your ankle twisted sharply, and the next thing you knew, the floor met you hard.

“Miss!” Aeris gasped, her tiny face peeking from behind a column, crown slipped sideways. “Are you de@d?”

You gritted through the pain. “Not yet.”

And then—

Footsteps.

Sharp. Heavy. Controlled.

Leon Marchand stepped out of the glass meeting room, coat still over his arm. The cold CEO and single father who barely showed emotion—whose presence alone made the entire office fall silent—stopped the moment his eyes landed on you.

His expression didn’t change—but the air around him did.

“Everyone out,” he said, voice like ice.

No one argued. No one ever did.

In seconds, he was kneeling beside you, sleeves rolled up.

“What happened?”

“I—I was just trying to catch her,” you managed through a shaky breath. “I think I twisted my—”

Before you could finish, his arms were already around you—one beneath your knees, the other behind your back—lifting you like you weighed nothing.

“Mr. Marchand—!” you gasped, startled.

“Don’t move,” he murmured, voice low and close, brushing warm against your skin.

From the corner, Aeris tilted her head and giggled. “You’re holding her like a princess, Daddy.”

Your cheeks flushed as you clutched the fabric of his shirt, heart racing. “You didn’t have to carry me.”

He glanced down, voice soft—dangerously so.

“And let someone else carry you like this?”