Page 37 of Handling the CEO

Jon

Ihitthefloorlike a sack of potatoes as Nathan’s left hook blindsides me. I hear his laughter over the stars I see on the ceiling of the gym.

“You OK down there, big man? Should I fetch you a pillow? You have heard of this novelty technique of keeping your guard up when you are you know… boxing?” My friend removes his mouthguard and asks three rhetorical questions which, if I wasn’t almost out of it, would normally make me deck him.

He takes his glove off and offers me a hand up, which I accept, then I take off my gloves and headgear myself.

“Your head’s just not in the match today, Jon. Is this your brunette making you all gooey?”

“No, Nate, DJ and I are fine. More than fine actually—the past few weeks have been amazing; I don't recall feeling so at ease with a woman before,” I tell him, but I admit more to myself—she still pushes my buttons and can’t not have the last word most of the time.

And hogs the bed. And beats me at most video games except randomly WII tennis, which makes her huff until I tackle her on the living room carpet and kiss her until we both are breathless. And she laughs loudly in the middle of restaurants when I say something she thinks it’s funny. Nothing makes me feel as if I can conquer the world, as making this woman laugh does.

“Then what’s wrong?” my friend inquires as we get some water before packing up our kit.

“It’s work actually—you know the fax we discovered? The cameras still haven’t caught anyone using it. Also, I haven’t seen any more movements from Miranda, no more stealing suppliers or anything—and after the bad press she got after the charity thing, there have also not been any more announcements on their software. The PI is staking out the convenience store, which has been receiving the faxes, but no movement either. Literally nobody requested the use of that machine in weeks, the owner said.”

“Hmm,” Nathan looks pensive. “I am surprised as it has been a few weeks now since your girlfriend installed them—has anything changed in the office since then? Has anyone left?”

I stop and think about what changed recently… I haven’t modified my routine, except maybe having lunch a few days a week with Dahlia. Even Anya—who is still there for some unknown reason, despite Mike’s promise to find a replacement—hasn’t fucked up anything major. What has changed… My girlfriend?

“Shit!” I exclaim, realizing the reason. “It’s DJ!”

“What? She is sending the faxes?” He startles.

“No, you idiot—she wasn’t even there when the tire supplier left. DJ and some of her team members have been coming in a lot more—I think today is the first day she actually worked from home in the past two weeks. She says they like the ‘bunker’ as she calls it. The IT department is just on top of the storage room the fax is in. Which may make our spy apprehensive to sneak in when someone is there as they can only get there using the stairs… which pass right by her desk.”

“Interesting—so why don’t they go after hours? Or on Friday afternoons? Everyone in Kerrington must know you fix your plane then, and you said you now have your own feisty electrician going with you.” Nathan makes some valid points, but unfortunately, I can answer them all.

“I have been checking timestamps versus card accesses and everybody knows it after catching some folks leaving hours early every day. We only went to the hangar once in the past couple weeks—and we went during the weekend—as they had an inspection for the Aviation Authority to prep and we were in the way. And you haven’t seen how much DJ works. I work a ten-twelve-hour day most days, but I have to get her when I leave so the security guard doesn’t catch her in the sweep. Or worse, to stop her from going in the parking lot at night by herself!” I shake my head, thinking about how I found a bigger workaholic than me.

One who grumbles when I tell her it’s time to go home, so I just have to pick her up and carry her to her car or mine.

With that, I have another ‘I am such a dummy’ moment—she’s faking being upset! She revels in me going all ‘caveman’ on her. Argh that woman! Someone is getting a smacked bottom tonight!

“That makes sense,” my mate admits and stops my reverie. “But that also means that they may try something today, when you are here with me at lunch getting your ass kicked and your missus is at home.”

Without touching the ‘missus’ comment I just him push out of the way which makes him laugh at me, then I find my phone in my gym bag to call my woman, but I notice a text from her already

The cameras got activated, I’ll meet you in your office at 2 pm so you can see the video. Also, I hope you didn’t get too beat up at boxing. I do not own a nurse’s outfit #wink.

I hop into the shower quickly, obviously not imagining DJ in a short white dress with a stethoscope around her neck and her glasses on. Perhaps white a garter belt.

DJ

It’sobviouslythesameday when my sister came to psychoanalyze me a ping on my phone comes through to let me know that the cameras have been triggered. I hurry to McAv’s headquarters after getting dressed in something less ‘couch potato’, only to find Jon already behind his desk when I arrive into his office. Luckily, his EA wasn’t at her post.

He sits at his massive wooden desk like a king, with a crisp white shirt, as always, without a tie, deep in thought over something on his computer. His muscles strained against the fabric, hair glowing in the sun. Jon’s scowl transforms into a dazzling smile when he sees me there, and I swoon when I find him so happy to see me. The man makes my knees weak when he gets up to greet me and drags me in for a kiss, slightly fondling my ass and fisting the ponytail I now wear just to mess with him.

“Hey Avril.”

“Hey caveman.”

He releases his grasp of my hair—he loves to run his fingers through my hair as I do through his—and pecks my nose.

“Before we begin, let me call Mike in. I want her involved now that we have a culprit.”

“Sure thing, I’ll just set my laptop up.” I agree and start plugging in, when the VP walks in, as dapper as always in a black dress, with a shiny necklace matching her short silver hair.

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