**(Rewrite Version 1: Emphasizing Inner Conflict and High-Pressure Environment)**
Her lips burned, and she almost recoiled with a jolt. Victoria instinctively smoothed down her emerald green blazer, but her fingertips trembled. That kiss felt like a virus, leaving her whole body with a sickening sense of violation. She fought to suppress the rage churning in her chest, yet the furious crimson flush staining her cheeks betrayed her proximity to explosion.
"Excuse me, am I interrupting?" Michael's voice held a hint of awkwardness, yet also a knowing amusement. "Victoria, a client is waiting. I can tell him you're… in an 'important meeting.'"
"No, it's fine." Victoria forced a stiff smile, battling the urge to scream "get lost." "I'll be right there." She could almost feel Michael's meaningful gaze lingering as he departed. Cornelius's chess game – even outsiders could glimpse its machinations.
Once Michael's footsteps had faded completely and the office door clicked shut, Victoria spun around. Her gaze, like two blades dipped in ice, pierced the man still leaning against the doorframe, a playful smirk dancing on his lips.
"Gavin, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Her voice was low, each word laced with venomous cold.
Gavin shrugged nonchalantly, as if he'd merely brushed against her sleeve. "Just a kiss."
"A kiss?!" Victoria's self-control was fraying. "This is utterly unprofessional! If anyone had seen us, my career would be over! My reputation, my efforts, everything would be irrevocably ruined!"
He slowly straightened, a flicker of something cold and unreadable deep within his eyes, his tone still effortlessly light. "You think I don't need this job?"
"Not like I do!" she retorted icily, every syllable etched with bitter sarcasm. "You don't have to worry about money, Gavin. Of course, you don't need this job. Some of us don't have that luxury, unlike you, born with a silver spoon in your mouth, treating all of this as a game!"
Gavin's smile receded slightly, his once playful eyes deepening to an opaque gaze. He leaned closer to her ear, his voice low and provocative, like a serpent's hiss. "Cornelius wants us to be 'compatible,' you see." He lingered on "compatible," almost caressing the word against her ear. "A public display of affection might just give us more leverage in this game, don't you think?"
Victoria's eyes blazed, wishing she could devour him whole. "You won't score any points with me." She enunciated each word, a desperate defiance in her tone. "Touch me again, and I'll make you regret it with a sexual harassment suit! I'll personally destroy everything you have!"
**(Ending Hook: A kiss, a forced alliance, and the shadowy puppet master, Cornelius. Are they a picture-perfect couple, or mortal enemies locked in a deadly game? Victoria and Gavin, two souls ensnared by fate, where will they truly go in this lie disguised as love?)**
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**(Rewrite Version 2: More Compact, Emphasizing Physical Reactions and Direct Conflict)**
She recoiled almost instinctively, her fingertips trembling as they brushed over her numb lips, before she roughly, almost violently, smoothed down her emerald green blazer, as if the kiss itself were a disease. A flush of furious crimson instantly burned her cheeks, scalding hot.
"Excuse me, am I interrupting?" Michael's voice was as awkward as stepping on a landmine. "Victoria, a client is waiting. I can tell him you're… extremely busy."
"No, it's fine." She forced out a professional smile, her nails digging into her palms. "I'll be right there." Damn Michael, his eyes brimming with gossip and pity made her stomach churn.
The moment the office door clicked shut, Victoria spun around, her chest heaving. She stared directly at Gavin, the man with that infuriatingly smug smirk, every pore of her being screaming rage.
"Gavin, what the hell was that?!" Her voice was a mere whisper, squeezed through clenched teeth, vibrating with barely contained fury.
He shrugged indifferently, hands casually tucked into his pockets, looking like an amused bystander. "Just a kiss."
"A kiss? That's utterly unprofessional!" Victoria was practically spitting fire. "Do you have any idea that if that had been caught on camera, I could lose my job? My future, all my hard work, would be ruined because of you, you bastard!"
He raised an eyebrow, his tone still infuriatingly light, making her want to tear him apart. "You think I don't need this job?"
"Not like I do!" she shot back, every word a barbed arrow. "You don't have to worry about money, Gavin. Of course, you don't! Some of us don't have that luxury, unlike you, who treats all of this as a mere game!"
Gavin's smile vanished, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He suddenly leaned in, his lips close to her ear, his voice a hoarse, dangerous whisper, like an ancient curse. "Cornelius wants us to be 'legitimate.' A public display of affection might earn us some points, don't you know?"
Victoria's eyes blazed with a fierce inferno, her hatred almost tangible. "You won't score any points with me." She bit out each word, a final ultimatum. "Touch me again, and I'll sue you for sexual harassment! You'll regret it, Gavin!"
**(Ending Hook: An office thrown into chaos by a single kiss, two individuals bound together against their will, and the elusive "Cornelius" pulling their strings. Are Victoria and Gavin a model couple in public, or sworn enemies behind closed doors? In this meticulously woven web of lies and intrigue, how will their true relationship be exposed, and what fate awaits them?)**
