Page 1 of Saving the CEO

CHAPTER1

Devin

The last thing Devin Kendall had time for was finding a wife. Running a multimillion-dollar empire and keeping an eye on his siblings? He had enough on his plate with those responsibilities alone.

“What was Grandfather thinking?” he mumbled out loud to an empty office. The overcast sky he saw outside the large windows matched the somber tone of his voice. He’d come up against a lot of problems in his thirty-five years of life, but none had seemed as unsolvable as his current situation.

He rose from his chair and began pacing the length of his office with his phone in hand. The text he’d just received from his cousin Nick stared back at him, making his jaw clench.

Hey cuz, just a friendly reminder you have three months before you hand the biz over to me. Enjoy them while you can.

Three more months. He had approximately ninety days until the start of the new year, which was when he was expected to hand over Kendall Industries to his obnoxious younger cousin. Nick would no doubt turn around and sell the automotive parts manufacturing company to the first available buyer, then take the money and squander it.

Devin couldn’t allow the business that had been in their family for three generations to fall into the wrong hands. But he also couldn’t save it, not in his current state. His grandfather’s will stipulated that the company could only be owned by a Kendall who was married. There was some antiquated reasoning behind the request—one he didn’t pretend to understand—and he had no choice but to accept it.

Since his grandfather’s passing last year, they’d had a grace period in which a subsequent heir could be named. In that time, Devin had been promoted from COO to acting CEO. But it was only a matter of time before he’d lose his position. His bare ring finger, and even emptier social calendar, put him out of the running. While most of his cousins qualified to inherit the business, none of them had shown any interest in taking it over—until Nick eloped last month and threw his hat into the ring. Since then, he’d made his intentions to unseat Devin as annoyingly loud as possible.

The question now was how soon could Devin find a woman who’d be willing to marry him?

“Hi, big bro!”

The feminine voice calling out to him from the doorway stopped him midstep. He greeted his sister with a curt nod. “Bekah, what brings you here?”

She gave him a sugary sweet smile that made his suspicions rise. “I’m just grabbing lunch with a friend downtown and thought I’d stop by and see how you’re doing.”

He returned to his chair behind his large mahogany desk and gestured for her to take the seat across from his. It wasn’t the first time Bekah had dropped by unannounced and, knowing her, it wouldn’t be the last. They shared their father’s light brown hair and their mother’s blue eyes, but their personalities were like oil and water. She thrived on spontaneity and had only recently settled on a career path at the age of twenty-five. He could never predict what rabbit hole Bekah would go down next, but one thing he could be sure of: she was here to ask for money. “How much do you need, sis, and what do you need it for?”

Bekah’s cheeks reddened. She placed her hands on her hips, her fingers digging into the hem of her sweatshirt. “Can’t a girl come and see her brother without having some kind of ulterior motive?”

“Yes, but I’ve yet to see it happen.” Devin glanced at his watch, noting the time he had left before his next meeting. “You have exactly eight and a half minutes to present your case—starting now.”

“Okay, fine, there is something I’ve been thinking about. Now, hear me out …”

Devin bit back a knowing smirk. If he had a dollar for every time he’d heard that line from his sister, he’d have enough money saved up to buy his dream car. It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford the latest Porsche with his current salary, but he’d been trained at a young age to count every penny. Every second mattered as well. Their father had drilled the strictest work ethic into him. Being the oldest child meant carrying more responsibilities and burdens. Was it fair? Not really. But he was thankful that he had been the one to bear the brunt of their father’s discipline rather than his siblings.

“What do you think, Dev?”

Devin blinked. It took him a second to realize Bekah was waiting for him to answer. He steepled his fingers together and pretended to consider her words. “What do I think? It sounds interesting.”

Bekah wrinkled her nose in exasperation. “Devin! You weren’t listening—again! How do you expect to ever find a girlfriend? Don’t you know that no woman wants to be ignored? We want to feel like the center of a man’s universe. We want to be heard and validated and made to feel important. When are you going to understand that?”

“All I understand is that kind of mentality places a lot of expectations on one person and does not sound healthy for either party.”

He loosened his tie and yanked it off. After tossing it onto his desk, he ran his hands through his hair. All this talk of the opposite sex had him feeling cornered like David must’ve felt in front of Goliath. Maybe his sister was right. He could handle board meetings and negotiating high-stakes contracts for work, but he was clueless when it came to women. He’d never met one who held his attention long enough to pursue anything serious. What he wanted was someone business-minded who understood his drive and ambition and wouldn’t constantly be in need of attention. A woman independent enough to have her own goals and dreams and not let her life revolve around her husband.

“I’m just trying to help.” His sister’s tone softened as she continued, “What’s not healthy is you working all the time. When was the last time you went out?”

“I had that work event over the weekend.”

“Forfun.”

He opened his mouth to answer, then shut it again. The knowing look on her face made him balk. “I don’t need to have fun.”

“I beg to differ! This is one area that you could really use some help with, and I know just the person to help you.”

“I don’t have time—”

“Hear me out, Dev.”

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