Page 109 of Assistant to the Billionaire CEO

Me:I’ll be over in a bit. I have something to tell you too.

Bonnie:Nothing bad, I hope?Heart emoji

Me:I hope so too. See you soon!Heart emoji

If I had to tell someone first, that person might as well be Bonnie. She was my most trusted confidant, after all. She might have advice on how to handle this mess.

My phone buzzed again. At first, I thought Bonnie had replied, but when I lifted it up, I realized it was a message from Damon.

Damon:Available for Frosty’s, usual time?

I decided not to reply. Not once had I evernotreplied to one of his messages. I loved my brother as only a sister could, but I was angry at him too. I couldn’t help but blame him for the fact that I was in this whole mess, and also that I’d broken up with Ace, so I ignored the message.

Instead, and with sweaty fingers, I dialed Ace’s number.

Tuuut. Tuuut. Tuuut. Tuuut.

Just when I was about to end the call, I heard a woman’s voice on the other line.

“Hello?” she said warmly.

“Hello? Yes! I mean…can I please talk to Ace Windsor?”

“I’m sorry, he’s on a business trip. He forgot to take his phone. He’ll be back tomorrow. Sorry, but who is this?”

“I’m Stella Copeland, his…assistant. And who is this?” I asked.

A baby cried in the background.

“Oh, sorry about that. Teddy’s been fussy all morning. Did you say you were his assistant? I think we met on the elevator the other day,” she said brightly. “Ace told me all about you!”

“Oh…” It was her.

My heart dropped. The beautiful blonde with blue eyes.

So it was true. Ace wasn’t single. He was living with her. That was why he’d never invited me home. My mind was spinning. “A-are you and Ace…I mean Mr. Windsor…”married, together, a couple,I didn’t know what word to use, “…close?”

“Close? You’re funny. Of course! Very close. Ilovehim more than anything in this world,” she said happily and laughed. “Well, most of the time. But honestly, I’m starting to feel like his secretary. He keeps leaving his things at home.” The baby continued to cry. “I’m so sorry, I’ve got to run. I’ll tell him that you called, Stella.”

She ended the call.

I gulped.

Ace was in a relationship, probably married, with a kid.

For about one minute, I tried to hold back my tears.No.You’re not going to cry. You’re not going to cry.

46

DAMON

Sunday

Stella hadn’t returned my messages or calls in days. I knew she was physically okay because she was still sharing a relentless barrage of memes on her social media pages. Unfortunately, that meant I was also cognizant of the fact she was purposely ignoring me. However, my concern peaked when she missed our plan to meet up at Frosty’s, and I’d been wondering how to approach her ever since.

I sent her another message.

Me:Hey, Chicken Little, call me.

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