No one in the building had ever seen their CEO like this. Claude Lockheart—the man who usually walked through the corridors like an iceberg in a tailored suit—appeared at the end of the hallway balancing a five-tier cake as if he were delivering a peace treaty. The pastel-white icing gleamed under the fluorescent lights, ribbons of cream curling around each level like spun silk. A tiny hush fell over the staff as they realized what they were looking at.
At first it was just a few whispers. "Is that… a wedding cake?" someone from HR muttered, clutching their coffee. "Did we miss an office celebration?" A junior assistant blinked. "Maybe it's for a merger announcement?" Another shook her head. "No way. That's—look—he's going toward the rehearsal wing. Toward Mrs. Lockheart."
