Page 10 of Texting the CEO's Obsession
Nick: Busy bee, aren’t you? My day was fine, mostly meetings and paperwork. Nothing all that exciting.
She responds damn near immediately, and another grin stretches across my face.
Riley: Hopefully it wasn’t too stressful!
Riley: So are you from the city, or did you move here?
“That’s not surprising when it’s your design.” From anyone else, it would be a platitude, but Ma says it bluntly, with nothing but certainty in her words. She doesn’t do empty compliments—if she praises someone, it’s because they earned it. “I’m always happy to see D’Amico Global on the news, but it’d be nice to hear about your work from you sometimes, you know.”
Nick: Moved here from Connecticut when I was young. Yourself?
I love how quizzical she’s being. Little does she know, I already know everything about her. From the moment I met her in my office as a shy, reclusive intern, I made sure to take a closer look. But HR records weren’t enough to fill my curiosity. Instead, I hired a PI to look into her.
I wanted to know who I was really hiring, but also because I wanted to know her as a person. It would have been easier if she just begged for me on her knees like every other woman I’ve fucked in the past, but she’s anything but easy, which is one of the things I can’t get enough of.
“Listen, next time we’re working on something big, I’ll tell you all about it,” I promise with a chuckle. I’malwaysworking on something big, that’s what D’Amico Global does. We’re not the head of the industry for nothing.
Riley: I’m from Iowa, originally. I moved here a few years ago when my mom passed. No place better for a fresh start than the Big Apple, right?
“I’m sure you will,” Ma says drily.
Nick: I’m sorry to hear about your mother, but I’m glad you made your way out here. I wouldn’t have been able to meet you if you hadn’t. Work doesn’t take me out to the Midwest often.
I hope she’s smiling as she reads my text. She’s perfect in every way, and something that perfect doesn’t deserve to be hidden.
Fuck, I wish I had cameras in her house. Maybe I need to talk to my tech about that.
Riley: You’re sweet. I’m happy to have met you as well. What do you do for work?
Nick: I work in finance. You said you work for D’Amico Global, if I recall?
“Are you still working?” my mom asks.
Fuck, I forgot I was on the phone with her; I’m so wrapped up in my conversation with Riley that it completely slipped my mind. I know damn well she’s not going to let it go, but I try anyway.
“No, just distracted.”
Riley: Yeah! I’m a financial analyst there, mostly stock market stuff. I’ve been there for a little over a year, not counting my internship.
I reluctantly lock my phone and turn it face down so I won’t see any further texts until I’m off the call with my mother.
“You’ve got my full attention now, promise.”
She makes a curious sound on the other end of the line, and I know I’m about to get the third degree. “What’s got you so distracted that you can’t talk to your mother?”
Her voice is a whip snap—not angry, but sharp nonetheless—and I can’t help but grin as I remember how often I got scolded as a child. She’s always been in charge of the family, both in the home and when it comes to taking care of business since Dad died.
“Nothing. Just daydreaming.
I know it won’t work even as I say it, but I need time to come up with something believable to tell her.
“You’re not too old for me to box your ears for lying to me, Nicky,” she warns.
I sigh exasperatedly and decide to offer her a hint of the truth.
“Imayhave met someone.” I’ve been compulsively obsessed with Riley since she showed up in my office for her internship,but I have no interest in telling my motherthat. “I was texting her.”
As expected, she makes a series of thrilled noises at the news. “I expect to meet this girl soon,” she says decisively. “You’ll bring her to Sunday dinner some week, understand?”
