The CEO

by Shealy James

  He paused for a long moment, and my frustration spiked again. “That doesn’t explain why she looked like she wanted to poison my pancakes. Keep going, Grant.”

  “After that I only had…arrangements with women. All of them travel in social circles like my mother’s. In fact, most of their mothers are friends with Iris.”

  “What do you mean ‘arrangements?” I asked.

  “They were agreements where all parties knew the relationship wasn’t going to result in marriage and kids. It wasn’t going anywhere.”

  I didn’t think I would have agreed to that even in my confused, post-marriage state. Was that what casually dating was? If so, I retracted my earlier thoughts that it could be for me. Then I had to know. “Is that what you want with me?”

  He moved closer to me. “No. God no. From the moment I saw you I felt a connection to you. Remember when you offered me your hand to introduce yourself?” I nodded, remembering how instead of shaking my hand, he just walked away. “I was afraid to touch you. I thought you would see how nervous you made me.”

  “You seemed so sure of yourself,” I told him. “I even thought you were incredibly arrogant that night.”

  “I was trying to seem unaffected. It doesn’t matter though. Spending time with you has been everything to me. You challenge me like no woman before you, and the way you react when I touch you cuts me deep inside. I’ve never wanted to be with anyone like this before. I want to do everything with you, and it kills me that you are constantly trying to end this.”

  “I’m sorry, but this whirlwind has been really overwhelming for me. You have to think about where I’m coming from. I mean, I just moved here to start over after ending my marriage to someone I have known my whole life. I have one friend in the city, and then suddenly you’re there with your three-piece suits and caveman style antics.”

  “Caveman? You think I’m a caveman?” he asked with a surprised laugh.

  I waved him off and tried to move the conversation forward. “Finish telling me why your mother hates me.”

  “None of those girls ever meant anything, and my mother knew that. She was fine with it because she always thought that when I was ready to settle down, it would be with her best friend’s daughter, Kitty…uh, Katherine. She’s a few years younger than me, but our mothers have been planning our lives since the day Katherine was born. It’s never been a secret. Both Daphne and Grace married men my mother chose for them, but I’ve never been one for doing what my mother says.”

  “Your mother is arranging marriages? Why didn’t you just tell her you didn’t want to marry Katherine? Or is it that you don’t want to marry her right now? I mean, you’re in your thirties, right? Do you want to marry Katherine one day?” I spouted off question after question as they popped into my head.

  He seemed unfazed by my rapid-fire inquisition. “I’m thirty-two, almost thirty-three. No, I don’t want to marry Katherine…ever. If the right girl wants to marry me, then I suppose I’ll get married. If I never find her, then I won’t. As far as my mother goes, she has a tendency to only see from her own point of view,” he finished with a pointed look.

  He was trying to put me at ease. “Sounds like someone else I know.” I rolled my eyes.

  “You might be asking for it, peach.” He grabbed me and tickled my sides, causing me to squeal. When he stopped we were nose-to-nose, and his bright green eyes were looking into mine.

  I kissed him gently. “Thank you for telling me.”

  “Thank you for listening. Please don’t try to end this every time I screw up. I’m new to this, so give me a chance before you run.” His lips touched mine gently at first, but it didn’t last. This man didn’t know how to be anything other than consuming.

  After we ate a simple stir-fry dinner I cooked, we spent the next few hours talking—just talking—in my bed. Apparently my cute grey sofa was the most uncomfortable piece of furniture on the west coast, or at least according to my six foot something dark-haired, light-eyed boyfriend with a rock hard body and a very sexy happy trail. I didn’t say I wasn’t thinking about other things while lying in my bed, wrapped around this enchanting man. Unfortunately, we had used up his condom supply earlier that morning.

  I had never even thought to buy such things, because I never thought I would be in this situation. Birth control was a point of discussion during our snuggle time, and we agreed that it would be best for me to get on something. I didn’t tell him I couldn’t get pregnant, because the doctors never found out why I couldn’t, which always made me wonder if it was me. At any rate, it was always better to be safe than sorry.

  Grant did suggest we could keep our physical relationship limited while I sorted the birth control situation out. I knew he was trying to slow things down in his own way after our talk, but after becoming acquainted with Lady O, waiting was not something I really wanted to do. In fact, I wanted to do him as much as possible, and I told him such. He laughed and agreed with me, and then we made out like teenagers while pretending to watch a movie. I couldn’t think of a single night I enjoyed more…ever.

  Chapter 11

  My life in numbers:

  24. The number of days I have lived in Seattle.

  23. The number of hours I spent getting to know Grant this weekend.

  22. The number of emails in my inbox this morning.

  21. The number of emails I deleted from my inbox this morning.

  20. The number of minutes it took to say goodbye to Grant this morning.

  19. The number of times I told myself not to flip out about Grant today.

  18. The number of times I have reminded myself of Holly’s advice to go with the flow.

  17. The number of times I have freaked out about my relationship with Grant.

  16. The number of missed calls and messages from home this weekend.

  15. The number of days I have worked at Mitchell College.

  14. The number of minutes it took me to get to work once we said bye.

  12. The number of minutes it took me to put on my makeup this morning.

  11. The number of days it has rained since I moved to Seattle.

  10. The number of months I’ve waited for Mark to sign the damn papers.

  9. The number of orgasms Grant has given me since Saturday.

  8. The number of texts about Grant from Holly since Saturday night.

  7. The hour at which Grant returned with breakfast and dressed for work.

  6. The hour at which I was awoken to find an empty bed and a note.

  5. The number of text messages I had from Tara asking about Grant.

  4. The number of times I have worked out since moving here.

  3. The number of events I have attended as the “Event Manager.”

  2. The number of men on my mind this morning.

  1. The number of men I wanted to be thinking about.

  I woke up this morning to an empty bed. It was still dark outside, which meant it was way too early to be awake. I never woke up early unless something disturbed my sleep. In this case, the disruption may have been the empty space next to me. I went to bed with Grant wrapped around me only to awake very cold and alone.

  I frowned and grumpily turned on the crystal lamp on my bedside table. I glanced over at Grant’s empty side of the queen-size bed where I found the note.

  Good morning my gorgeous Georgia Peach, I ran home to change and will grab breakfast. I took your keys, but I’ll be back before you even need to get out of bed. Go back to sleep, beautiful.

  - Grant

  I smiled widely at his thoughtfulness. Now that we had cleared up some of the mama drama and spent some time talking, I felt like I was blissfully in this thing with Grant. If only I could get rid of the other man in my life. That thought alone ruined my happy ones, so I sunk back down into my bed and grabbed Grant’s pillow. It smelled of him, and I fell back asleep, happily dreaming of dark hair and eyes that read like a mood ring.

  When I was awoken an hour later, it was from
kisses down my back and a handsome man in a three-piece suit. “Good morning, sunshine,” he said huskily when he felt me stir beneath him.

  “Good morning, handsome. I missed you when I woke up the first time.”

  “You were sleeping so peacefully I didn’t want to wake you. I know how much you love mornings, but now you need to get up for work, peach. I have meetings to get to, but I want to have breakfast with you first.”

  I rolled out of bed and grumbled. “Quit calling me that. It’s insulting. Peaches are fat and round.”

  He pulled me back to him with an amused grin on his face. “You’re definitely not either of those, that’s for sure.” He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my nose. “It is the only thing I know about Georgia other than the capital is Atlanta, which is home to the busiest international airport in the US.”

  “Aren’t you full of fun facts today? Should I start calling you evergreen? Or how about Washington Apple?” I smirked.

  “Apple of your eye? I like it.” I rolled my eyes at his cheesy joke, making him laugh before he smacked my rear. “Go get ready. I have bagels and coffee for us. I guessed that you’re a cream and sugar kind of girl.” He kissed my lips roughly, making me want more, but he pulled away quickly. I could think of much better ways to get me moving.

  When I was out of the shower, I sauntered into my bedroom sans towel or robe only to find Grant sitting on my now made-up bed with his iPad in his lap and phone in his ear. His eyebrows raised in surprise when he noticed me. I ignored him and continued dressing in a matching light pink lace bra and panty set.

  “Tom, I’ll call you back when I get to the office.” He threw his phone on the bed next to his iPad and prowled over to me. His lips went straight to my neck. “You’re such a mean little temptress. You know neither one of us has time for that this morning.”

  “What?” I asked innocently. “I’m just getting dressed for work.”

  “Yeah, right,” he whispered before he took my lips in a passionate kiss.

  “I thought I had to get dressed,” I said against his lips.

  “Mmm…maybe we should take the day off. I can think of several things I’d rather do with my time than go meet with grumpy old business men.”

  “Me too, but Tara would be over here in a second. I’m sure she’s dying to hear all the gossip, and we have some events coming up that need my attention.”

  “What events?” he asked after I pulled away, and he straightened his tie.

  “One of them is the anniversary ball where all the elite, which I believe includes your parents, come and show off their money and their legacies, which I believe includes you.” I tapped his nose and then stepped into my walk in closet, which conveniently was about the same size as my bathroom.

  He followed me, but stood at the door, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed confidently across his chest. “Does that mean I get to take you as my date?”

  I pulled on a belted floral shirtdress and tan wedges before saying, “Hmm…I don’t know. I have to work the event. It isn’t social for me. Some of us aren’t part of Seattle’s high society, Mr. Mitchell.”

  “You should be. It would be more respectable with people like you in it. As it happens, I would rather be floating in your elite circle than the one my mother insists upon.”

  I slid past him to my bathroom to fix my makeup. “I don’t have an elite circle. It’s just me.”

  “Even better,” he said as he snuck up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.

  ***

  The rest of Monday was boring in comparison to my weekend. I followed Tara to meetings all day with professors and the college administration. We barely had a chance to talk, which I knew was driving her crazy, but I had to decline when she asked me to go to dinner. I already had a date with a very handsome man, which included pasta and him, two things I couldn’t pass up.

  The next thing I knew, it was a dark and rainy Tuesday, and I was sitting in my office after a long day of filling Tara in on most of my weekend. She gave me her advice about Grant and his family, and then I made phone call after phone call to confirm vendors and speakers for the next few events.

  I had also spoken with my lawyer, Martin, about the divorce proceedings. He suggested we go to mediation. I told him I would think about it, which was progress, considering for the past ten months I automatically turned down the suggestion of mediation. I didn’t want to face Mark. I hadn’t been able to be strong in our marriage. What made me think I would suddenly grow a backbone for mediation? I didn’t think having a lawyer would suddenly enable me to stand up for myself.

  At just after five, I was exhausted. That could have been because I hadn’t really been able to rest since before the start of my wild weekend, though. Tara had already left for the day, and I was ready to be home. As I dropped my bag on the entry table in my tiny apartment, my phone rang. Holly.

  “Hey, Hols. How are you?” I answered.

  “I’m great now. I just finished packing. Matt and I are headed to the beach tomorrow for some fun in the sun. Maxine let me off work for the next three days when I started cussing under my breath after spending an hour with a woman whose loan I had to deny because she thought she could use her boyfriend’s assets without his permission. She was fake all over and attempting to dig for gold with a man fifteen years her senior. Nightmare.”

  “Sounds fun. Now I’m totally regretting never taking a job in banking. Shucks!” I said sarcastically. “How’s everything else? Matt?”

  “Good. Dad actually invited Matt to go fishing with him on Sunday. It was pretty funny watching my rocker fiancé fishing with my dad and brother. Mom and I giggled for hours about it when Matt caught more fish than the big boys.”

  I laughed knowing how much that probably drove the Benton boys crazy. “You should make Matt a trophy for his achievement. Your dad and brother would hate that. They would make him fish every Sunday until they proved it was beginner’s luck.”

  “Probably. Enough about me. My life is boring. Tell me all about your new man. What’s his name?”

  “His name is Grant Mitchell, and he’s the grandson of the founders of the college where I’m working. This weekend was a bit of a whirlwind.” I proceeded to tell her all about my weekend. I filled her in on all of the fights and some of the fun. I did leave out some of the dirty details. She didn’t need to know everything, but it felt good to share this with her. Living in Seattle was a little lonely since I was used to having friends and family just down the street. Now I was living alone for the first time ever, in a place where I had one friend—now two, I guess.

  She was silent for a moment on the other end. I thought I lost her. I looked at my phone and saw it was still connected. “Hols?”

  “Yeah. I’m here. I just…Evie, have you Googled this guy?” she asked timidly. Her tone had me grabbing my laptop and sitting down on my uncomfortable sofa.

  “No, why?” I asked as I tapped my nails against my glass coffee table, waiting for my computer to wake up. I put her on speakerphone and set the phone next to the computer.

  “Just Google his name and Seattle. I looked at the images page. I just wanted to see what he looked like since you never sent me a picture. I didn’t expect to find this. He’s kind of famous, or at least well-known.”

  I was typing. “What? What did you find?”

  “You need to see it for yourself. You may already know, in which case I’m making a big deal out of nothing.”

  The first image that popped up was one of him and his father in their tailored suits in a Forbes article. It was a great picture. “He’s really good-looking, isn’t he?”

  “He definitely has good genes, but so do all of the well-bred models who grace his arm.”

  “Yes…I’m seeing that.” What I was seeing was a nightmare. Grant had dated every daughter of every rich family in the state of Washington, maybe even some from California and Oregon as well. His beautiful sisters were in some photos, but it was really o
ne beauty after another at one formal even after another. I wondered if these were the “arrangements” he told me about. If so, he had a lot of them.

  “Did he date all of these women?” Holly asked.

  “I don’t…well, no. Two of them are his sisters. I don’t think he had relationships with all of these women, but that doesn’t mean…oh god!” I kept scanning the pictures. “He must think I’m an idiot! He told me about women, but I didn’t know we were talking this many. Well, that explains why the son of a bitch is so good in bed. He has been polling women for the last fifteen or so years. He’s so out of my league, Holly.”

  “Stop it right now, Evie. If anything, I’d say you’re out of his league. Compared to him, you’re practically a virgin.”

  “Oh jeez.” I cringed. I’m probably terrible in bed compared to these girls. I was no tiger in the bedroom. These girls looked like they could make a guy hard just by walking into the room in one of their perfect dresses, with their shiny hair and bikini-ready bodies. No one ever liked having your new boyfriend’s last bed buddies thrown in your face, and here I was looking at a parade of them. In the back of my mind I counted three separate girls with the name Katherine or Catherine, and it made me wonder which one was Kitty, if any of them.

  “Evie, you knew he had a past. You’re just freaking out about seeing it in pictures. The photos are part of the life he lives. Every one of these is at some charity event or holiday party. None of this is an indication of how he really lives his life. Look at him. He looks exactly the same in every picture. There isn’t one where he is smiling candidly.”

  I took a couple of deep breaths. “No. You’re right. The Grant I’m dating is really different than the Grant in these pictures, but the man in the pictures is the Grant I met the first night at the lecture. I’m just not so sure I can reconcile this man with the one who I might really like.”

  “You really like him?” I could hear the smile coming through the phone.