Page 1 of My CEO Neighbor
Chapter One
Ted
Ted's phone buzzed against the nightstand just before his alarm.He was already awake, staring at the ceiling and running through his presentation for the hundredth time.Dexter Capital didn't invest in startups run by insomniacs who second-guessed every slide transition, but they didn't need to know that part.
The shower scalded his shoulders while he mentally rehearsed his opening.CloudSync represents the future of data integration.No, too vague.In eighteen months, we've captured twelve percent of the enterprise market.Better.Numbers spoke louder than buzzwords, especially to vultures like Gavin Dexter.
Ted pulled on his charcoal Tom Ford suit.Image mattered in these meetings.Confidence was a performance, and he'd been perfecting this role for three years.
His reflection looked sharp enough to cut glass, but the dark circles under his eyes betrayed his exhaustion.When was the last time he'd slept more than four hours?Tuesday?Last month?
He moved to the kitchen for coffee, muscle memory guiding him through the routine while his mind catalogued the day's critical tasks.Outside his window, movement on the neighboring fire escape caught his attention.
A woman in fitted black leggings and a sports bra was doing what looked like yoga poses, her body moving with easily in the early morning light.Dark hair caught the sunrise as she bent forward, the curve of her spine creating a perfect arch that made Ted's coffee mug pause halfway to his lips.
Monica Tyson, 12B.The yoga instructor who'd been complaining about his conference calls.
Ted found himself watching as she transitioned into what he vaguely recognized as warrior pose, her legs long and lean, arms extended with unconscious elegance.She moved like water, like someone completely at peace with her body and the world around her.The morning light caught the sheen of sweat on her skin, and Ted realized he was staring.
She was beautiful.More than beautiful, she was magnetic in a way that made him forget about quarterly projections for a dangerous moment.
Focus.Ted forced himself to turn away from the window, but the image lingered—Monica's body moving with that hypnotic grace, the way her leggings hugged every curve, the serene expression on her face that suggested she'd never experienced a moment of anxiety in her life.
What would it be like to have that kind of peace?That kind of presence in your own skin?
The thought was ridiculous.Ted didn't have time for philosophical questions about presence.He had a company to save.
The elevator ride to the parking garage passed in blessed silence.Ted's building attracted young professionals who kept reasonable hours, unlike him.He'd moved to the Dexter Towers for the convenience: walking distance to three excellent coffee shops, fiber internet that could handle his ridiculous bandwidth needs, and neighbors who minded their own business.
Well, most of them minded their own business.
His Porsche purred to life, and Ted allowed himself a moment to appreciate the sound.Some guys collected watches or vintage wines.He collected horsepower and quarterly reports that made investors weep with joy.
The drive to CyberHub was quick at this hour, before Seattle's traffic arteries clogged with commuters.Inside, his keycard chirped against the scanner, and he stepped into the darkened office that had become more familiar than his apartment.
The cleaning crew had left everything spotless.Ted's corner office overlooked Elliott Bay, though he rarely noticed the view anymore.Sunrise was just another transition from coffee cup one to coffee cup three.
His assistant wouldn't arrive until eight, but Ted had already burned through forty-seven emails by the time the espresso machine finished its morning warm-up cycle.Protein bar for breakfast—chocolate chip, because he wasn't completely dead inside—and then straight into the presentation deck.
Slide seventeen still bothered him.The user acquisition metrics looked too aggressive, even though they were conservative estimates based on current growth trajectories.Dexter would spot any hint of artificial inflation from across the conference table.
Adjusting projections, he tightened the language until each bullet point could survive a hostile audit.This wasn't just another funding round.This wasthefunding round, the one that would launch CloudSync into the stratosphere or crater his reputation permanently.Without this funding, they'd be out of money in four months.He'd have to lay off thirty employees who'd believed in his vision, trusted him with their careers.DataFlow was circling like sharks, poaching clients and top talent with their inflated war chest.
This meeting wasn't just about growth—it was about survival.
His phone rang.Wes, his CTO, was calling from London.
"Please tell me you're not at the office," Wes said without preamble.
"It's five-thirty in the morning."
"Exactly my point.When did you leave last night?"
Ted couldn't remember.After the marketing review, before the server maintenance window."Doesn't matter.How's the European rollout?"
"Smooth as your ability to avoid direct questions.Ted, when was the last time you took a weekend off?"
"Weekends are when our competitors gain ground."Ted pulled up the latest market analysis, numbers that would make Dexter's pupils dilate with greed."Speaking of which, did you see TechCrunch's piece on DataFlow's new funding?Twenty-two million for technology that barely qualifies as beta.They're already trying to poach Sarah from our development team."
