Page 25 of Forever with the CEO

“Your projections are on point, as always,” Derek said.

Derek was the CEO of the M.K. Ledger. He and the chief of marketing had been sitting in my office for the past two hours, and we’d gone through all the numbers I’d worked on every night this past week. My hard work had paid off.

Focusing on the meeting had been difficult, though, because my mind was still on what Nick had suggested. I was half convinced that I’d dreamed the entire conversation.

The chief of marketing excused himself after we finished, saying he had another meeting, but Derek lingered.

“Now, to move on to other things,” Derek said. “I have a proposition for you.”

“I’m listening.”

Whenever he had a proposition, it was something new and exciting. I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it.

“I’m in talks of acquiring a small company. Would you like to be in charge of the M&A process?”

That was quite a challenge. I’d be in charge of the merger and acquisition, which would be a feather in my cap and nice addition to my résumé.

“I love M&As,” I replied. They were fun and challenging... and ate up a lot of time, I realized, but didn’t say it out loud.Shit.

“Take your time and think about it. I can send you some paperwork we have. You’ll need to sign a nondisclosure agreement first.”

“Sure, no problem.”

“I know that in the past, you would have done it without hesitation, but your situation has changed a bit.”

Derek looked me straight in the eye when he said it. He’d been very understanding when I’d been a bit erratic and occasionally late the first month after the twins moved in with me. But once things settled down, we found our routine, and it ran a bit smoother. I didn’t want to give him a reason to think that I couldn’t do my job, though.

However, that gave me an idea.

“I will consider it, but an M&A would take a lot of my time.”

“I know that.”

I didn’t even hesitate. I rolled back my shoulders and said, “It would be fair if that were reflected with an extra bonus.”

He smiled. “Allison, one of the things I’ve always loved about you is that you’re not afraid to ask for what you deserve. You know how to drive a hard bargain.”

I smiled right back, though my heart was pounding in my chest. That would mean additional income. It wasn’t something that would be recurring, of course, just for the duration of the project. But M&As could last well up to two years. Hopefully, a judge would see that as a sign that I was truly willing to do anything to give the twins a fantastic life.

Except marry Nick, huh?a voice said at the back of my mind.

Oh, man. I truly hadn’t imagined that, had I?

“Send me the NDA and the paperwork, and I’ll get back to you.”

He nodded. “And I’ll think about your request as well.”

I knew I wasn’t going to get him to actually agree to a bonus right now. He and I worked exceptionally well together. However, asking for a raise always felt like pulling teeth. It frustrated me to no end when he said that a raise wasn’t in the budget when the company made record high profits.

After he left my office, I managed to relax, standing and stretching my legs a bit. They’d gotten stiff over the past two hours. I rotated my ankles a few times too. Even though mostpeople took off their shoes while at their desks, I refused to do that. My feet swelled in the summer, so sometimes it was hard to get them back on.

Now that I was alone in my office and the adrenaline had worn off, I was starting to rewind this morning’s conversation with Nick. It had been in the back of my mind until now, but suddenly it was front and center again.

“We could get married.”His voice resounded clear in my mind.

Goodness. I needed to sit down for this.

I plopped back down into my chair, grabbed my glass of sparkling water with two slices of lemon, and took a hearty sip.

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