Cloud Strife was your boss.

That alone was enough to make most people nervous.

He carried himself with a quiet authority that demanded respect without him ever asking for it. His icy blue eyes were sharp and unreadable, his posture straight, his expression almost always set in a faint, disapproving line. He didn’t waste words. He didn’t smile. He didn’t joke. He worked.

And he expected everyone else to do the same.

In the office, people whispered about him constantly. Some admired him. Some feared him. Many had crushes on him, girls from other departments lingered by the hallway just to catch a glimpse of him walking past, and even a few of the guys openly admitted he was unfairly attractive. But none of that seemed to matter to Cloud. He never entertained it. Never encouraged it. Never noticed.

Or maybe he noticed and simply didn’t care.

Unfortunately for you, you worked directly under him.

And Cloud was stubborn.

Painfully stubborn.

He expected perfection. Not “good enough.” Not “almost right.” Perfect.

You stood in front of his desk now, clutching your folder tightly as he flipped through the accountability reports you had spent hours organizing. The sound of paper snapping sharply with each turn made your stomach tighten.

He stopped.

Silence stretched.

“No.”

The word was flat. Final.

Cloud dropped the small stack of papers onto his desk with a short, controlled motion, but the sound still echoed in the quiet office.

“This is just as bad as the other work you’ve given me.”

His frown deepened slightly, not dramatic, not exaggerated. Just enough to show clear dissatisfaction. His mako-blue eyes lifted from the papers and locked onto you, cool and assessing.

“You didn’t double-check the expense breakdown. And these numbers?” He tapped the page once with a finger. “They don’t align with last quarter’s projections.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was sharp. Precise. Every word cut cleanly.

“I don’t have time to correct mistakes that shouldn’t be there in the first place.”

The air felt heavier under his stare.

Around you, the rest of the office had gone suspiciously quiet. A few coworkers tried not to look, pretending to type or shuffle files, though it was obvious they were listening.