The CEO (10 page)

My eyes started to roll into the back of my head as I lost total control of my body.

His hand gripped my neck once more and his stare was intense. He was focused, focused on making me come, and I did, just before he did.

I sat up on the desk staring at him. His abs twitched as he slid his pants back up. He ran his hand across his mouth, wiping away my left over residue, and smiled.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Ryan.”

Ryan was a great worker and a damn good fuck, but the look in his eyes when we were together showed me he was looking for something I had no interest in:
a commitment.

Liam was a big part of the reason why I shut myself down. I’d given up so much for him that I’d lost myself. I’d lost sight of what
I
wanted.

I became more like my dad. I wanted to love my work, build an empire, and then eventually settle down and share my life with someone, but it wasn’t the time for that.

Now it was all about my needs, not my wants.

I decided to go into work late the next day. After the late night with Ryan, I figured I’d earned it. Our letter was perfect and had been sent out the night before, after our little rendezvous.

As I rolled over in bed, my phone vibrated. I looked at the screen and saw a text from Liam.

Liam: Are you working today?

Me: Not at the moment, but I will be, why?

Liam: Good, open the door.

I had no idea what he wanted and it was even more of a shock that he was in front of my place. I grabbed my robe and headed to the front door.

I looked through my peep hole and he was standing right in front of the door with something behind his back. I couldn’t see what it was, but I figured it was flowers.

As I unlocked the top latch my heart started beating rapidly. I was nervous, but why? I had no reason to be nervous. Besides, he was in my space, not a foreign place.

“Good morning, Sheila,” he said as he handed me a styrofoam coffee cup. “I’ll be right back.”

He ran back down the stairs and to his car. He grabbed a couple styrofoam trays and a bouquet of flowers, then returned to my door.

“What’s all this?”

“Breakfast. I plan on having you for lunch.”

We sat down at the bar in the kitchen and I opened my tray. It was full of diced hash browns, turkey sausage, and egg whites.

“Thank you, Liam. You didn’t have to do this.”

“Of course I did. You deserve so much more than just breakfast from me.”

I could feel my cheeks start to heat as I stuck my fork into my potatoes.

After breakfast, I invited him over to the couch to watch a movie, but we never got the chance to watch anything. As soon as we sat on the couch he shoved me back, loosened the tie on my robe, and fucked me—
raw.

Thank god I was still on birth control, because the last thing I needed right now was a baby. A baby brought into this stressful ass world would not be good, especially if it was Liam’s.

After having breakfast and experiencing Liam for lunch, I finally strolled into the office around noon. Ryan was looking at me suspiciously, like he knew I’d been with someone else. He never said anything about it, but the look on his face told me exactly what he was thinking.

“Hey Ryan, did you hear anything back from the press regarding our release?”

“Not yet. I’m sure they were so stunned at its perfection that they need some more time to process it all.”

“I sure hope so. Could you order lunch for us?”

“Sure, what would you like?”

“A grilled chicken Caesar salad, with light dressing on the side.”

I sat down at my desk and saw a huge manila folder on it. Inside were more permits and health and safety information in regards to natural gas. I started to regret coming in so late; if I had come in first thing in the morning all that paperwork would be finished already.

As I tackled the stacks of papers, Ryan came in with lunch. “That was fast.”

“Let’s just say I kind of ordered it ahead of time. I figured you’d order a salad anyway,” he laughed.

“Well, you must know me very well, then.”

“Indeed I do, Ms. Quinn. I know more about you than you care to realize.”

The creepy smile that formed on his face at that moment would normally freak any girl out, but not me. The only thing that could scare me would be my father passing away, and I knew that wasn’t happening any time soon.

I devoured my salad and dove right back in to my paperwork. I was determined to have it all signed, sent, and filed before the normal work day was over.

Several hours later, I finally finished my paperwork just before the clock struck six o’clock.

I placed the stack of papers back in the folder for Ryan to scan and file for me. As I walked across the hall, he was nowhere to be found. I placed the folder down on his desk and went back to my office. Usually he was always there, and normally I wouldn’t care, but I was a little curious since the office was getting ready to close for the weekend.

I grabbed my phone out of my purse and texted him.

Me: Where are you?

No answer. All of his things were still in the office, so I assumed he must have run out for a minute. I wasn’t going to dwell on it, but I was going to leave at seven with or without him.

Thirty minutes passed and there was still no sign of Ryan. I decided to take a walk and look for him. I brought my cell phone just in case he messaged me during my search.

I took the elevator to the ground floor and walked by the gym.
Bingo!

Ryan was inside the gym with his headphones in, pumping away on the arm cruncher machine. He had a black sleeveless undershirt on and the sweat from his continuous reps was pouring down his face. He looked hot, I had to admit. I hadn’t pegged him for a person to hit the gym like this, so it was a little surprising to say the least.

As I stalked from afar, my cell phone rang and Liam’s number was on my screen.

“Yes?”

“What are you up to right now?”

“Nothing much, why?” I asked.

“I wanted to take you out for dinner tonight. Do you have plans?”

I looked over at Ryan and he stopped working out. Our eyes connected through the glass and he started smiling. “I do have plans tonight. We can go out another time, bye.”

Ryan waved for me to come inside the gym with him. I opened the door and the smell of sweat filled the air. “Like what you saw?”

“Maybe. I had no idea you even knew what a gym was,” I joked.

“Guess we both learn something new about each other every day, huh?”

“I guess so. Would you like to go for a run with me tomorrow morning?” I asked.

“Sure. What time?”

“Six o’clock sharp, not a minute later. Meet me at the reservoir!”

“Six in the morning?” he questioned.

“Yes.”

“I’ll be there. Don’t you worry.”

I set my alarm for four a.m. to prepare for my run with Ryan. I always completely stretched my body out before a run and made sure I ate or drank a high energy, low fat snack to keep me going.

My goal was to run five miles with him; I decided to keep it light for his first run with me. I could easily run ten miles in my sleep, but wanted to see if he could keep up with me.

Running was an escape for me. I put on my spanks and tank top, plugged in my headphones, and tucked my blade in my bra, just because I trusted no one.

When my feet hit that pavement, I felt like it was me against the world. Some of my best business ideas came to me while I was out for a run. All my stress left my body through my soles and was left behind me, allowing me to open my mind and think freely.

I power walked to the reservoir and got there fairly early. Not many people were out at that time of morning, but there was a strange guy in a gray hooded sweat shirt sitting on the bench in front of the water.

I had left my phone at home and hoped Ryan got my text, but I hadn’t bothered checking before I left.

I walked over to a tree to help me balance as I did one final stretch of my calves to make sure I was nice and loose. I couldn’t help but feel like I was being watched and as I turned around, the hooded stranger was behind me.

I stepped back and started reaching for my blade. He slid his hood back to reveal himself. “Ryan? I almost stabbed you!”

“Well good morning to you, too,” he laughed.

“No one is usually here at this time, especially not hanging out on a bench with a hood over their head like some creep.”

“Hey, did we come here to run or to dwell on my creepiness?”

“Both, actually,” I laughed.

“How many miles are we running today?” he questioned.

“I figured we’d start with five.”

He shook his head in disgust at me. “Seriously, Sheila? I can tell you run ten miles easy. Your body is in phenomenal shape.”

“You’re right; I wanted to take it easy on you.”

“Sheila please, I used to run cross country. I’ll have no problem keeping up with you. Besides, when did you start getting soft?”

“Soft? Okay Mr. Cross Country, hope you enjoy all uphill!”

An hour and a half later we completed our tenth mile. I was a little sweaty but otherwise fully energized. Ryan looked the same,
surprisingly.

“I’ve never met a girl that barely broke a sweat after running ten straight miles.”