The CEO

by Shealy James

  Before our food came out, my phone did start buzzing. Unfortunately, it was only Jane. Her calling was the perfect excuse I needed to step away from the table. I waved my phone at them and told them I would be right back. The patio was quiet because of the rain, so I stood over to the side under the overhang and answered my phone. “Jane?”

  “Hey, peanut. I didn’t expect you to answer. I thought you’d be hanging out with your new man.”

  “No. I’m out to dinner with some friends though. What’s up?”

  “John’s sick with some stomach bug. I took the kids to Mom and Dad’s anyway, but now I’m bored. Why are you answering if you’re out to dinner with friends?”

  “Rough day.” I proceeded to give her a quick run-down of my morning and my fight with Grant. “That’s the gist of it, so you can imagine how much I want to be out with friends, especially when some of them are his friends, but it’s better than sitting at home sulking, right?”

  “I’m sorry, Evie. It all sounds very dramatic. His mother sounds…lovely.”

  “Lovely is not on the list of words I’d use to describe her.”

  “Just remember she doesn’t know you. Her judgments are based on Grant’s past behavior. Women like that don’t get where they are because they’re easy going. She’s used to being in control, Eve, and if you want her to respect you, then you have to stand up to her. You can’t just ignore the problem and pretend it doesn’t exist.”

  “I also don’t want to drive a wedge between Grant and his mother.”

  “No, of course not, but don’t let her talk to you that way. It’s really tacky that she would call you names anyway. This isn’t preschool. The twins are only five, and they know better than to call people names.”

  “She only does it in private. When I went to brunch with his family, she sat there almost completely silent for the duration of the meal. I would rather her call me names than stare at me like that again.”

  “I’m sure,” Jane agreed.

  “Eve?” Tara called my name. I turned and found her peeking out the door. “Food’s here.”

  “Janie, I have to go. Our food just arrived. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Hang in there, little sister. Everything will be better once you talk to Grant. He just needed time to think, like you said.”

  “I know. Love you, Janie.”

  “Love you too, Evie.”

  I hung up my phone and checked for any new text messages. Nada.

  Back at the table, they were all still happily drinking and talking. “Was that Grant?” Nolan asked.

  “No, my sister. She never calls this late, so I was worried something was wrong.”

  “Is Jane all right?” This was from Tara, who looked like she had ordered another cocktail.

  I laughed. “Yeah. Her date night was cancelled because John is sick. Now she’s bored.”

  “I bet she never gets time to herself,” Tara mused. “She should do something relaxing.”

  “She hates downtime, so she’ll probably build an entire tree house or something. I’m like a sloth compared to my sister. How’s the food?” I asked everyone. They were quick to tell me it was delicious.

  I picked at my food even though it was as good as they described. I should have been hungry since I’d skipped breakfast and picked at my lunch, but stress was like kryptonite to my appetite. What I needed was a bath and sleep…and Grant.

  Everyone else was finished eating, so I set my fork down. “Hey guys. I think I’m going to head on out. I’m really tired from today.”

  “Just wait a little while, and I’ll take you home,” Nolan offered.

  “I’ll get a cab.” I couldn’t walk. I had no idea where I was exactly.

  “You’ll do no such thing.”

  “Nolan, it’s fine.” He pulled me back down in my seat and firmly refused to let me leave alone. “You’re acting like Grant now,” I said, exasperated with yet another man bossing me around.

  “Who’s acting like me?” a familiar deep voice asked from behind me. As I turned to let my eyes confirm what my ears thought they heard, I saw Maddox smirking before Grant leaned down to kiss my cheek. Nolan quickly moved to the seat on the other side of Maddox at the large round table, allowing Grant to sit next to me.

  “What are you doing here?”

  He patted Maddox on the back. “My good buddy Maddox said you were all out enjoying margaritas and asked me to join the fun. Sorry I’m late.”

  Just then a waitress came by to see what Grant wanted. He ordered water and something to eat for himself and another round of margaritas for everyone. He turned to me. “You want another, babe? You hardly ate anything.”

  I said, “No,” at the same time that Nolan and Tara shouted, “Yes.”

  Grant laughed and ordered me another one “just in case I changed my mind.” I couldn’t figure it out. He was acting like nothing ever happened.

  Throughout the rest of the evening everyone seemed to have a good time, but I just felt withdrawn. Grant’s arm was around me, somewhat grounding me. I was talking to everyone, and it was like I was there, but I felt more like I was watching from the outside. I knew what the problem was, but there was nothing I could do about it with all of our friends sitting around us.

  After we said bye to everyone, Grant guided me to where his car was parked and held the door for me as usual. He didn’t close it right away, though. Instead, he stopped me from climbing all the way in so he could stand in between my legs. He slid his hands up my thighs and asked, “Did you have fun shopping with Nolan and Tara?”

  “It was fine. I have to pick up my dress on Tuesday, though.”

  “No problem. I’ll take you,” he said as he pushed hair that had escaped from my bun out of my face. “You okay?”

  “Fine.”

  “Shopping was fine. You’re fine. Can I get another word?” he teased lightly, even though I could tell he was worried.

  “Tired. I’m tired.”

  Grant kissed my forehead and my cheeks. “Then let’s get you home and in bed.”

  I asked the important question. “My home?”

  “Your home,” he confirmed with a kiss on my lips.

  “Okay.” I didn’t know if that meant he was staying or not, but I was glad to at least have my bed and my stuff for the night. I needed my space to deal with whatever this was.

  The car ride was silent other than the music Grant had playing, but he touched me as much as one possibly could while driving. He held my hand as we walked and wrapped his arms around me in the elevator. It seemed he was as desperate as I was to get rid of the uneasy feelings that had developed between us since this morning.

  Once we had both settled into my bed, he pulled me onto him so our bodies were against each other. He started tracing his fingertips up and down my back as I rested my head on his chest. This was the position I was in this morning when I woke up, before the day went to shit. I was sure it wasn’t a coincidence.

  “How did you know where we were tonight?” I asked.

  “Maddox. Here.” He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and pulled up Maddox’s text.

  Maddox: Are you really the jackass that leaves his girlfriend checking her phone every five seconds? Get your ass over to the Mexican Cantina on Pine before Nolan switches teams for her.

  Nice. Thanks, Maddox. I tried to explain my needy girlfriend behavior. “I called you. I figured you would call me back.”

  “I was going to call you back. I was talking to my dad. After my meeting, I went by my parents’ house to talk to my dad about work and you. My mother apparently wanted to talk to me again. It didn’t go very well, and my dad intervened. I don’t think you’ll have any more problems with my mother now.”

  I rolled off of Grant’s chest and rested my head on my pillow. I wanted to be able to look him in the eye. “Let’s get something straight. I don’t have a problem with your mother. We have a problem. She hates me because I’m not who she chose for you, and the more you
fight her in my favor, the worse the tension will become.”

  “Then what do you want me to do, Eve? I’ll do anything to not have another day like today. I was miserable knowing how upset you were with me and with my mother. Honestly, I didn’t know what to do, because I know you’re waiting for a reason to end this.”

  “I guess we both have our insecurities then.”

  “What do we do about it?”

  “I don’t know.” I felt the tears welling in my eyes.

  It was then he saw my face. “Oh baby, don’t cry.” He pulled me to his chest and held me there. I held back a sob I was fighting.

  I blinked the tears away and said, “I guess we have to learn to trust each other. I have to find a way to believe I fit in your world, and you have to trust that I’m not going to end things when we argue.”

  “What about the money thing? I want to be able to spend my money on you. I have plenty of money, and I have never wanted to spend it on anyone. I would buy you the world if I could, Eve, and you’d be mad at me forever.” He ran his fingers through my hair after I set my chin on his chest to look up at him.

  How could I explain the money thing to him without telling him how much I had given up? I slid my arm under my chin and started talking. “Here’s the thing about the money. I work hard to live independently. I always have. Other than tuition, my parents haven’t paid for me since I moved into the dorms at eighteen. My ex didn’t have a job when we moved in together, so I paid for everything. Like you, I was more than happy to share what I had. He took advantage of my generosity, but it was fine because I had the “what’s mine is yours” mentality.

  “Eventually, my dad gave Mark a job working for his company. Mark started making good money, better than my teacher salary. We built the house and combined our bank accounts, but by then he was in control of the money. I had to ask permission to go to the grocery store. If I spent more money than I said I was going to, he would yell at me, even though some of the money was mine. If I wanted to go shopping, he had to be there to approve my choices. He picked out every item of clothing I had for two years. When I gained weight, he ridiculed me for needing to get a larger size. I was just disgusting and wasting his money on clothes according to him.

  “In the meantime, Mark was accruing debt on credit cards and spending hundreds of dollars at bars and strip clubs. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time. Now I have given him everything, every last dime, except for my inheritance from my grandmother that we used as our down payment on the house. He’s fighting me on that too, though. That’s supposedly why he won’t sign the papers.

  “So, I’m sorry if I seem a little touchy about money, but money is used to control people. I’ve given up every dime that I practically ever had so I could be on my own again, and I’ve worked hard to save up enough money to live in this tiny apartment with my cheap furniture and my inexpensive clothes.” I had tears running down my cheeks by the time I finished telling Grant everything.

  He wiped the tears from my cheeks with this thumbs. “Eve, I don’t want to buy you things because I want to control you. I want to buy you things because I want to show you how much I care about you. As far as I’m concerned, you can wear whatever you want as long as all the essentials are covered. I don’t want to have to be fighting off all of your admirers everywhere we go.”

  “Yeah, right,” I said with a dramatic eye roll.

  “Come here,” Grant whispered as he tugged me up his body, so I was directly on top of him. “I do want to share everything with you, and I want us to be partners. You let me do my thing and buy you lots of extravagant crap that you don’t need, and I’ll shower you with affection and hang out on your uncomfortable couch as much as you want. Deal?”

  I just wanted to hold on to this moment forever, because Grant seemed so content. For that reason alone, I agreed to his deal. Well, for that reason, and the fact that his very hard erection was nestled a little too close to the part of my body that was aching for him. This time I didn’t have to be worried about his lunatic mother walking in, so I was able to really enjoy my generous man and his mad bedroom skills.

  Chapter 16

  Sunday morning I woke up before Grant. It was the first time that had ever happened, and I took full advantage of the opportunity to watch him sleep. He looked so young and relaxed. I tried to sneak out of bed, but strong arms trapped me and pulled me back. “Where do you think you’re going, peach?”

  I wiggled in his arms. “I was going to go to the bathroom.”

  He opened his arms for me. “Then by all means…” Just as I was about to set my feet on the floor, he grabbed me again. “I changed my mind. Bathroom is too far away.”

  “If you don’t let me go, we might have another problem then.” I rolled over and kissed my way up his chest to his lips. “I’ll come back, you know.”

  “Will you?” He kept his eyes locked with mine.

  I smiled at his worry. “Always.” This time he let me up.

  I took care of my business only to find an unpleasant surprise that was going to put a real damper on our sex life for a few days. Ugh! At least I could use cramps as a real excuse if I needed one today. I brushed my teeth and hair before heading back into bed. Grant was already on his iPad reading the morning’s news, but he set it aside as soon as he saw me. He opened his arms, and I happily climbed on top of him.

  His hands started to roam, and I unfortunately had to put a stop to them. “Not a good time, handsome.”

  “Always a good time, beautiful.”

  “Not this morning or for the next three to four days.” His mouth formed into an “O” as he understood what I just told him. He kept his hands firmly planted on my rear. “And I think we should join your parents for brunch.”

  His eyes closed and his head fell back. “Why would you want to go to brunch with my family?”

  “Because, my darling prince of Seattle, I want to show your mother it isn’t my intention to come between you two. And let’s not forget that two out of the three of your family members adore me.” I smirked. Grant tickled me in response, causing me to squeal and squirm.

  “We better stop that if I can’t have you for the next couple of days.” He rolled me onto my back and kissed up my neck. “You know, I would say three out of four Mitchells you have met adore you. I also think you might be on to something. You’ll get to meet Daphne’s husband. He’s back in town. He’ll probably be just as charmed with you as Dad and Daph.” He kissed me again before pulling me off the bed and giving me a motivating slap on my bum. “You get ready. I’m going to call my dad and let him know to save two seats at the table.”

  This time I pulled out all the stops on my brunch outfit. The last time the devil woman saw me, I was wearing Grant’s clothes. This time I would be wearing a cream-colored wrap dress with a dusty-pink belt and matching peep toe heels. It actually had a designer label, and I had spent a lot of money on it, so there was no way I was ever getting rid of this dress.

  I carefully curled my hair and meticulously applied my makeup. My pearl and gold jewelry looked traditional and classy. I applied my rose lipstick instead of my usual red.

  Grant walked in as I finished putting my lipstick on. He was already dressed in a pair of khakis and a blue and white checked button down that he had left here last week. “Whoa, babe. You look gorgeous.”

  “You always say that.”

  “I always mean it too, but this dress is very sexy. Maybe you shouldn’t wear it to brunch.” His lips immediately found their way to my neck. “Mmm…smell good too.”

  “I like this dress, and it is one of the few things I have that might put your mother and me on the same planet, which is all I can hope for at this point.”

  “Baby, you don’t have to try to impress my mom. She doesn’t have a problem with how you look or dress. She’s acting this way on principle because you aren’t…”

  He stopped before finishing that thought, but I let the cat out of the bag. Pun intended. �
��I’m not Kitty.”

  “Thank heavens for that.” He kissed me. “Let’s go. We don’t want to keep the queen waiting.”

  Brunch number two was equally as tragic as brunch number one, but not nearly as humiliating as our pornographic moment in front of Iris yesterday morning. Daphne and Harrison were jovial and entertaining, as I had come to expect. Daphne seemed a little edgy with her husband Ian there. He was nice enough, but he was definitely on team Iris in the game of life.

  Iris did actually speak to me during brunch, but it was mostly to get answers about the anniversary party. On the way out of the restaurant was when her claws came out. She stopped me and pulled me to the side. “I would like to speak with Eve for a moment.” Grant looked suspicious, but he nodded his acceptance after seeing that I wasn’t panicking about spending five seconds alone with the woman. I had to admit I was curious.

  Once we were a few steps away from everyone, she leaned in and spoke quietly. “I don’t care how many designer dresses you have in your wardrobe or what kind of tricks you have in the bedroom. You are not now, nor will you ever be good enough for my son. That being said, you don’t appear to be a complete idiot, so let’s make a deal. Since you obviously have him trapped in your sticky little web, you’re going to have to leave him. How about you run away back to Georgia to your husband, and I’ll pay two-years of your salary you would have earned working from the college?”

  My mouth hung open for just a second, shocked at the fact she had offered me money to leave Grant, and at the fact she knew I was married. I never wondered why it didn’t bother me that she insulted me and said I wasn’t good enough for Grant. I happened to agree with her. Everything else was just plain rude.

  I turned my lips up into a little smile and channeled my inner diva. “Look,” I said firmly, “your son pursued me, not the other way around. I tried to avoid him for many reasons, but one of them was because I somewhat agree with the fact that I don’t belong in his world of snobs and hypocrites. But you know what I discovered?” Her perfectly threaded eyebrow rose in question. “Grant doesn’t belong in that world either. He’s kind and decent and cares more about people than he does about the ridiculous amount of money he has. I care about your son, and I’m not going anywhere. You can continue to treat me like the trash you think I am, but all you’ll do is drive a wedge between you and him. I don’t want that for him or for you, but the ball is in your court, Mrs. Mitchell. How will you play?”