Page 2 of Texting the CEO's Obsession
CHAPTER 1
RILEY
One Year and Five Months Later
I’msonot supposed to be here.
The massive conference hall at the Rosen Hotel has been converted into an elegant ballroom, glittering golden lights reflecting off the flawlessly waxed floors and sparkling in an endless sea of champagne flutes. A sea of masked faces surrounds me, everyone dressed in gowns and suits that look custom tailored and probably cost more than several months of my rent. The masquerade ball is in full swing.
If Taylor, my ride or die, wasn’t at my side, I’m pretty sure I’d have thrown up beside one of the ridiculous art installations the first time someone asked me what country club I belong to.
It’s thanks to my best friend—using ‘thanks’verylightly here—that I was invited in the first place. Taylor works for the social media company that D’Amico Global Headquarters, the firm I work at, is using to market their latest product release. She insisted I come along with her when she got an extra ticket. Ididn’t have the heart to tell her no. Now, standing awkwardly at Taylor’s side while she sweet-talks her way through yet another conversation, I’m wishing I had.
“It’s so refreshing to see such intelligent, beautiful young ladies instead of grouchy old men like me.” Allen is probably in his seventies, but the twinkle in his green eyes tells me he was a real charmer when he was younger. “And Riley, do you work with your friend here?”
I gulp and force my smile wider, endlessly grateful for the masquerade mask and hoping it hides the panic in my eyes.
“No, sir, I’m a junior financial analyst. I work for D’Amico Global.”
“I invited her along to get her used to events like these.” Taylor leans in close to the man, and his wrinkled face flushes when she places a hand on his arm. “She’s talented, but she’s still new to the business. I thought it’d be smart to start her early.”
Allen huffs out a pleased little noise, not-so-subtly shifting closer to Taylor and placing a hand over hers.
“Smart girl you are,” he says with a grin. “A friend of mine is having a private pre-launch for a new endeavor of his next quarter.Veryexclusive; only the top investors will be there. I think he’d be thrilled if I could bring along some new talent to assist. What do you ladies say?”
Taylor and I share an excited glance. She gives him a sunny smile as she reaches into her bag to pull out a sleek black business card. I fumble to do the same.
“You should give us a call,” she says with a wink.
“I’ll have my people call your people,” he promises.
“I look forward to it.” Taylor’s eyes stray to another group of people now that she’s caught her prey, and she squeezes the man’s arm once more before dropping her hand. “It was absolutely lovely to meet you, Allen, but we have to run. A few colleagues just showed up and we can’t throw them to the wolves this early in the evening.”
Allen chuckles, waving us off and snagging another glass of champagne from one of the roaming waiters. “Go have fun, girls. You’ll be hearing from me.”
We peel off through the crowd, and I breathe a sigh of relief as soon as we’re out of earshot.
“Chin up, buckaroo,” Taylor says with a playful nudge. “You’re doing great.”
“How do you do this all the time?” I groan, keeping my smile carefully in place for anyone who happens to glance over. I can’t be looking miserable when I’m supposed to be advancing my career, after all. Mom raised me to work my ass off, just like she did. I’m not going to let a little (or a lot of) social anxiety get in my way.
“Got the gift of the gab.” Taylor grins, entirely at ease in her ornate lace mask and shiny black silk gown, gold jewelry glittering. At least one of us looks like we belong here. “Youwanted to network. Grin and bear it for a bit longer. I promise I’ll let you hermit away in your apartment for a month after this.”
“Thank God,” I say, a little of the tension bleeding out of my shoulders.
Taylor laughs brightly, rolling her eyes at me.
“Don’t look so happy, getting out is good for you! Can’t waste that pretty face on spreadsheets.” She snags us each a glass of champagne and presses one into my hand with a devious grin. “Maybe you’ll even meet someone while you’re here. God knows you could use a distraction from that crush on your CEO.”
“Taylor!” I hiss, glancing around nervously as we walk along the edge of the crowd. “Not here, someone could hear!” My face is so flushed that I can feel the heat radiating back at me beneath my mask, embarrassment flooding my veins. I know my attraction to Nicholas D’Amico is insane at best, but I can’t be blamed when he looks likethat.
“Just trying to be helpful,” she says breezily. “No one’s listening to us, I promise. Now come on, Jesse’s going to impale himself on that stupid statue if he keeps waving his hands around like that.”
I follow her gaze to the group of her coworkers standing around a rather spiky abstract sculpture, but I’m not quite ready to socialize again. The hors d'oeuvres table is nearby, so I nod my head toward it instead of following her.
“I’ll catch up with you.”
Taylor tosses a wave over her shoulder. “Get me a plate too!”
