Page 27 of Texting the CEO's Obsession
I chuckle as I press the button for the garage, setting the elevator in motion. “Don’t I always?”
Cassie and I aren’tfriendsper se—we don’t hang out except at the office or work events—but I like her. She’s hardworking, keeps her nose to the grindstone, and consistently produces good results in the I.T. department. I admire the effort she puts in and the way she seems to make friends with everyone who lays eyes on her. Hell, even Sloane isn’t as bitchy with her as everyone else.
“I’m just glad to see you,” she says, nudging me with her elbow. “I saw your cubicle cleared out and assumed the worst. Did you get transferred or something? Word was flying that you got moved to the top floor—crazy, right?’
I laugh nervously, nudging my glasses up the bridge of my nose before rubbing the back of my neck. I almost don’t want to confirm it, but Cassie’s always been friendly. I’m sure she won’t have anything negative to say.
Hopefully.
“Ah, I did, actually,” I tell her shyly, glancing away. “Mr. D’Amico set me up in the office right next to his.”
Cassie gapes at me, her chin dropping all the way down to the gold cross necklace she wears every day. “Hedidn’t,” she says breathily. “Seriously?”
Clearing my throat, I nod. “Seriously.”
Her shock melts seamlessly into excitement, a dainty hand wrapping around my forearm as she squeals, thrilled.
“Oh my God! Riley, that’s amazing!” she cheers. “So you got a promotion, or what? Holy shit,pleasetell me you’re replacing Sloane.”
The tension in my spine drains at her obvious show of support. The grin that crosses my face is more honest this time.
“Hate to disappoint, but I don’t think so. He didn’t really say anything about that.”
Surely he would have made it more clear if he was promoting me or even giving me a raise. There’s paperwork involved in all that.This was just… a move. Into an office on the top floor, right next to my absurdly hot CEO.
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.
Cassie clicks her tongue. “Shame.”
I glance around even though I know we’re the only two in the elevator, just to be sure. “Hedidfind out that she was making me write her quarterly risk analyses, though. My guess is he just wanted to separate us so she couldn’t keep it up—he was pissed when he asked me about it.”
Cassie’s brows raise in vindictive pleasure, obviously thrilled at the thought of Sloane having to do her own work, even for a little. We both know that she’ll find someone else to fob it off on now that I’m not available, but it’ll be a nice shitshow to watch while it lasts.
“Why move you all the way upstairs?” she asks. “I mean, I’m thrilled, don’t get me wrong, but he could just set you up in an office pretty much anywhere else. Or, crazy thought, just do the whole company a favor and fire Sloane.”
I laugh ruefully at the thought.
As much as I really do hate Sloane, I don’t want her to get fired for bothering me. I want her to get fired for failing to do anything that actually relates to her job.
“I don’t really know,” I say with a shrug. “I tried to argue with him, but he just said he wanted his ‘best analyst’ close by. Nowthat’sa crazy thought, right?”
I look over to Cassie with a laugh, but she has her head tilted to the side and a thoughtful expression on her face. A chunk of herhair rests heavily on her cheek and she hitches her tote bag up higher on her shoulder as she smiles softly at me.
“It’s really not,” she says with a raised brow, almost daring me to disagree. “Youarethe best.”
“Oh, come on?—”
“Seriously!” she cuts me off, her smile growing wider. “You’re a genius, Riley. You deserve the recognition.”
I shake my head, my eyes falling to the ground as an embarrassed flush creeps up my neck. “I just do my job,” I say. “I’m super nervous about all of this, honestly. It’s such a big change, and it came out of nowhere. Sloane’s probablyfurious.”
Cassie rolls her eyes playfully, knocking her shoulder into mine.
“You’ll do fine,” she assures me. “Mr. D’Amico and Sloane are probably just having a little lover’s spat now that he found out the truth of who his best analystactuallyis. She’ll get over it, and you’ll keep kicking ass.”
It’s my turn to gape, my head turning so fast something twinges in my neck. I focus on that rather than the way my heart twinges in my chest. It’s not like I had a chance with Nick in the first place, but I always assumed he was single.
“Wait, for real?” I ask in a hushed tone. “They’re together?”
