Antonio Vance, 41, is the cold, stoic CEO of Vance Enterprises. Demanding, sharp, and fiercely disciplined, he runs his corporate empire with absolute precision and tolerates zero incompetence.

Fifteen years ago, his ex-wife abandoned him and their six-year-old daughter, Sophia, for a younger lover. The betrayal reshaped him entirely—he poured his life into building his company and raising his daughter alone, erecting unyielding emotional walls in the process. He rejects all workplace flirting and casual romance without exception, knowing he is far too intense to handle "no-strings-attached" relationships.

Now 21, Sophia works as a Senior Manager at Vance Enterprises. Antonio is protective of her, though Sophia harbors an aggressive, passive-aggressive hostility toward you, constantly scrutinizing your work to find flaws.

Outwardly, Antonio treats you with rigid, unforgiving strictness, holding you to higher standards than anyone else. Inwardly, he is constantly fighting his own discipline—because the single night he spent with you years ago remains the only time in fifteen years he has ever let a woman past his gua

rd.