Page 25 of Sutton's CEO

The last man I put my complete faith and trust into promised that I would be his sole successor. Then on his death bed he told me that he was giving half the company to an illegitimate daughter he had just barely come to know about. I was angry as hell, but I couldn’t let him see it. I had wanted to put Sutton in her place and ensure that she didn’t come back to New York with me.

But that was before I met her. Now I didn’t know what to think.

Hollingsworth had been more of a father than mine had ever been. Despite the fact that I attended the finest of schools and lived in well-appointed surroundings, I never knew what it was like to be loved or cared for. My father cared about appearances, little more than that. He wasn’t there when I graduated top of my class, nor was he there for any of the other major events in my life.

Shit, I didn’t even know about my half-brother until he showed up one day. My family was ten shades of fucked up. All that mattered to my dad was knowing the right people in the right places. He had fucking loved when I went to work with Hollingsworth., a man worth billions. My father suddenly wanted to be in my life.

I had to shut that shit down immediately. I couldn’t allow my father to ruin the best thing to ever happen to me.

Hollingsworth smoothed the way for me, and for that I will always be grateful. The man was a powerhouse of energy, always looking for the next acquisition, and he knew contracts like the back of his hand. When he became ill, it was a shock for everyone. It was hard to believe that such a strong man could have cancer.

As the disease ravaged his body, Hollingsworth confessed that he might have a daughter. A woman had tried to contact him years ago, but Hollingsworth had brushed it off as a gold digger. Why he had waited until that moment to hire a private investigator, I will never know. But I do know that the moment he found out Sutton’s name he was hellbent on finding her.

Sutton is wrong for the job, for New York, and definitely for me. I don’t believe in romance or fairy tale endings. I sure as shit have no business being a family man.

No matter how much her sweetness tries to pull me in, I have to be strong. I will only hurt her in the end. I don’t do love.

Sutton mumbled something in her sleep, and I turned to see her slide a hand under her cheek. Something stirred in my gut, and for once it wasn’t my dick. Sutton was gorgeous. There was no doubt about it. But she also has something more, an intrinsic quality that I couldn’t describe. Don’t get me wrong. I still wanted to fuck her into next week. However, the desire to protect her was almost just as strong, if not more.

Knowing that this wasn’t getting me anywhere, I sank down on one of the white leather chairs in the small bedroom and watched her. The last thing I wanted was for her to get sick in her sleep.

The hours passed rather quickly. Amanda knocked on the bedroom door to alert us that they were preparing for landing. It was then that she awoke. Those eyes, blurry with sleep, were so trusting. Nobody had ever looked at me like that before. It felt like a punch to the gut.

Floundering, I said something inane and reached for some water. I watched the delicate bones in her neck expand and contract as she drank. Fuck, even that was mesmerizing. I needed a drink, something far stronger than champagne. I was fucking screwed.

Sutton sat up against the top of the bed, and I joined her so that our legs were splayed out before us. She was all silky thighs and adorable toes, even with the chipped nail polish. We couldn’t have been more different—like chalk and cheese.

“Are we almost there?” Her voice was raspy from being unused.

“We are preparing for landing. It shouldn’t be long now. Once the plane touches down, Amanda volunteered a pair of her own yoga pants so that you don’t need to leave the plane in my boxers.”

Sutton flushed. “You do realize that if I had been allowed to bring my own clothing, this never would have happened.”

I pursed my lips. Sutton didn’t own anything that wasn’t short, ripped, or tie-dyed. She couldn’t go around that way. No one would take her seriously.

“Sutton, you are a very wealthy woman now. You have to look the part. It is imperative that people see you for who you are.”

She bit her lower lip, and I threatened my dick that he might never see action again if he so much as twitched.

“I don’t think there is anything wrong with who I am now.”

The hurt in her voice cut me like a knife.

“You don’t understand,” I said, trying to explain myself better. “People in the city, they would eat you for breakfast. You’re too nice. They don’t call it the corporate jungle for nothing, Sutton. If you want others to respect you, then you have to start with yourself. I have booked the next two days for you to go to the spa. My personal shopper, Nico, will be waiting to gather your sizes and color preferences. He will know what’s appropriate. Nico can be a bit demanding, but he is also the best in the city.”

Sutton blinked in confusion. “What could I possibly need to do at a spa for two days?”

Don’t think about her naked.

Don’t think about her naked.

Fuck, now all I could think about was naked Sutton getting massaged, waxed, teased, and pampered. “Plenty,” I said shortly.

The plane’s wheels touched down, and Amanda brought Sutton a pair of her leggings from her personal luggage. I had offered Amanda five hundred dollars for the leggings, but the girl had refused. She said that she was more than happy to help Miss Landry. Maybe there was something to her southern charm after all.

After donning the leggings and slipping on her flip-flops, we exited the plane and entered the town car that was waiting for our arrival. It didn’t take long until we were on our way to my apartment. I lived in a penthouse suite overlooking Central Park.

I knew that Sutton would need to find her own place eventually. But for now, I would put her up in my guest bedroom.

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