Page 47 of The CEO

Even though it was still a little early, the shop was busy. While we waited in line to order, Pria stared down at her black peep toe heels with her hands clasped together in front of her. I kept the palm of my hand on the small of her back in a silent show of solidarity. I wracked my brain for ways for Pria to stay at Avery Capital Holdings and be taken seriously, but I wasn’t sure how to do the latter. I couldn’t make anyone respect her or listen to her, but I could make sure that anyone who didn’t treat her like everyone else, would have it marked in their file and if it continued to happen, be fired. I didn’t care if I had to hire an entire new staff.

We ordered our sandwiches. Mine a teriyaki chicken with bean sprouts and hers a ham and Swiss with water for us to drink. Their teriyaki chicken was what kept me coming back to the sandwich shop. I wasn’t sure how they made it taste as amazing as they did, but I was addicted to it. Carrying our tray to an empty table, I sat across from Pria and took her in. Her eyes were downcast as she sat slumped in her seat. She was in a bad way, there was no doubt about it.

Handing her sandwich over, I opened mine and took a bite before I spoke. “I wish I had some magical words to make this all better, but I don’t. If you want, I can fire everyone and let you hire an all new staff.”

She bit the inside of her cheek before looking up and rolled her eyes at me. “Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t do that, and I won’t let you.”

Taking another bite, I chewed and watched her pick at her sandwich. She pulled off a little piece and popped it in her mouth.

“We could do what Sadie mentioned. Why not supply a document and come out as a couple?”

She choked on her bite and coughed a few times. After taking a drink of her water, Pria sat up taller in her seat. “And what happens when we break up? Do I find a new job then?”

“What makes you think we’ll break up? I thought after the night in the hospital that we… I don’t know.” I shrugged. I wasn’t good at talking about my feelings or having feelings at all for that matter.

Her face softened. Reaching across the table for my hand, she clasped hers over mine. “We did. Sometimes I think it was all a dream or the drugs were playing tricks on me. I never thought I’d be your type. I mean look at you.” She indicated my chest, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with what she was talking about.

I sat back in my seat, my sandwich forgotten. “I don’t understand. What did you think my type was?”

“You’re a strange mix of the boy next door and a model who’s extremely cocky, but somehow you make it work for you. It doesn’t make sense but it’s very appealing. You don’t need to tell me how good-looking you are or how amazing your body is. I saw you with supermodels and ex-cheerleaders, and here I am this little Chinese girl.”

I didn’t need her to tell me, but I liked knowing how attracted she was to me.

“You’re my type, Pria. I love how small and tight your body is. I love how we fit together, and I love how you don’t take any of my shit. And you should know you could be a supermodel with how gorgeous you are.”

She scoffed. “If I was like ten inches taller maybe.”

“I don’t care about your height. I know what I see.”

“You sure know how to make a girl feel good when she’s down. Who would have thought?”

“Certainly not me, but you’ve worked your way into my heart. I don’t see what we have having an end date. I’d happily send out a memo to the entire staff declaring you’re mine, but I understand if you don’t want to.”

“I hate this. I’m back for two days getting looks because of my arm and your secretary probably telling everyone I was in the hospital after I sent her that email, and now this.”

There wasn’t anything I could say to make her feel better, so I stayed silent and tried to show my support by being there for her.

“Maybe it was too soon for me to come back,” she murmured. “I could work from home, but I don’t want them to think they can scare me off.” Her eyes filled with tears and her chin trembled. “I don’t know what to do, King.”

“I say we make a united front and show there’s nothing they can say or do that bothers us. You do your job and if anyone gives you a hard time, put it in their file and let them know. We do quarterly reviews on all our employees and they all know there’s a three strikes and they’re out policy. Next month everyone is up for review and I doubt they want to lose their jobs.”

“Do you think it’s that easy?”

“I don’t know, is it? I don’t care what they say about me, but if I hear them badmouthing you it will be the total opposite. But I sincerely doubt anyone is going to be saying anything around me. They know to be scared of me.”

“It’s a good thing you’re a cocky asshole.” She cracked a tight smile.

“Most days it is. Let’s go in there and show them it’s you and me, and we don’t give a fuck what they say.”

“That’s easy for you to say.”

It was.

“I’ll do whatever will make this easier for you, but you’re a fighter and a hard-ass bitch when it comes to your job. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t have hired you.”

Wrapping her sandwich up, she picked up her water bottle. “Thank you, I needed to hear that. Let’s go kick their asses.”

All right, I guess we were doing this.

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