Page 45 of Handling the CEO

When I got kissed like he hasn't seen me in a month and all I could do was hold on to my dear life. Unexpectedly, holding on to his strong arms, feeling my man owning me, is all I could have wanted.

He drops her off at her school and me at my house as he has to go into McAv for the final hangar inspection, and I need to change to meet a real estate agent to look at some office space for my company.

Both my team and I loved staying in the IT department bunker, so I am in two minds on just asking Jon to rent the area from him—though he doesn’t need the money, I want to think he enjoys having me around as well. Well, I know some parts of being there are mutually satisfactory to both of us. I smile inwardly.

The minute I get in my house, I realize how little time I have spent here in the past month—it’s as if I am in a hotel. I still haven’t unpacked everything. All austere and cold, only my home office with papers everywhere and my unmade bed next door.

But there is no smell of burned toast in the air, no Xbox remotes to trip over in the living room. No Greek god reading on his kindle—probably trying to find more big words—on an Adirondack chair with a beer at his side on his deck.

As I shower and change, I keep thinking about the enormity of my feelings for Jon. Feelings I didn’t want to admit, with my failed marriage’s shadow looming over me. I also know for certain I never loved Richard, not like this. We were just together and then married and then… just there. Catching him with Janine triggered my anger, yes, but the hurt was because of the lying, the cheating. Not because of something fundamental breaking within my heart, no tears or sadness, only hollowness.

When I think of my caveman, I smile without realizing. I miss him at random times and wish he was here now. As he fills my soul every time that dimple shows up and he chuckles from deep within his chest. And seeing him with Tae… makes me think of other futures for us, some I never pictured for myself. Of family dinners and… more.

I hear the doorbell and hurry to the door, but it is too early for my agent. When I spot who it is on my camera, I stop dead right holding the handle, and I think for a second to just leave him hanging. But he wouldn’t be here without a reason, and even for a bad reason, I want to know why.

So, I take a deep breath, square my shoulders, and open the door to hear what my ex-husband wants today.

“Well, DJ, long time no see,” he grins at me, forgetting we are not best friends. “Aren’t you going to invite me in? Maybe offer me a drink?” He grabs my hand but I yank it back, shocked at his gall.

What the actual fuck? There are no better words to be said.

“What the actual fuck, Richard? You are not getting in here and the only drink you are getting from me is in your face. What are you doing here?”

“Ah, I see how it is.” He waffles, leaning on my door frame, a foot in the doorway so I can’t shut him out. “Well, I think you may want to hear my offer. It's really… too good to pass up.”

“Offer?”

“Yep,” he continues with a mad look in his eyes, “offer you the chance to give me the full ‘Zephyr’ software, of course!”

“What the actual fuck—AGAIN. Why would I give you that? You got your half exactly as written in the court order.” I am beginning to think the man is going insane, and lucky for me, I can see some dog walkers and people in cars in front of my house.

“That bullshit code you got away with giving me?” he asks, angrier now. “When you realize what damage I can do, you will just give me the ‘Zephyr’. I hear you are almost done with it, ready for testing.”

“You are here to blackmail me?” I laugh. “With what? You have nothing on me!” I wonder how he knows where I am with the software. When Anya left, I wasn’t so close, so how does he know?

“Ah yes, the perfect Dahlia Jara, nothing can touch her!” he mocks waving his hands about, again touching me, picking up a lock of my hair. I bat his hand.

“If your limb gets anywhere near my vicinity again, you lose it!” I warn him, but he just chuckles, putting his hands in his pockets. He came dressed for a date, in an elegant white shirt contrasting his dark hair and eyes, but none of it does anything for me. All I can think of is... yuk.

“Ah baby, you used to love it when I had my hands on you,” my ex teases and I cringe, “but regardless, there is something that you have to lose now.”

I add nothing, just look at him. He is so confident, to show up at my house, threatening something obscure. I don’t know what it can be, and I dread it.

“Nothing to say? That’s unusual for you, DJ. You always liked to have the last word. How about you let me in, or the whole block will hear the audio of a very interesting video of your new man?” His words sucker punch me and I look around for neighbors who could be within hearing distance—I didn’t expect it to be about Jon, and definitely I never thought Richard would be the one to bring it up.

“If you need more motivation, you can either hear me out, or this recording gets straight to a judge, and trust me, this one is admissible.”

The toad of a man got me—I can’t afford to let him go without seeing what lies they manufactured now.

“Fine, come in the hallway only. But I am leaving the door open,” I say as I wave him in begrudgingly.

“Whatever you need, baby, won’t make the end of the conversation any different.” He struts in and smiles at me in his asshole way. I sit at the back of the entrance, ready to bolt if he attempts to close the door.

He pulls out his phone and presses play.

The video shows a house party with several folk dancing in the background, and discarded alcohol bottles everywhere. I spot Nathan pouring himself a drink as he yells,

“Yo! We got a wannabe YouTube director here! Man, no need to film Jon getting pissed. It’s a common occurrence!”

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