Nights with My CEO novel · Chapter 6 of 24

Chapter 6: The Office

Merrill's old office was on the thirty-fourth floor, at the corner, with a view of the harbor and a carpet the color of money.

Reed sat behind the desk with his jacket on.

The door clicked shut behind his assistant.

For one long second, neither of us said anything.

"Close the blinds," I said.

He pressed a button, and the glass wall went from clear to frosted.

His shoulders came down an inch.

"Sit," he said. "Please. I'm sorry. I didn't know how to do this in any way that wasn't terrible."

"You were great out there."

"I was awful. I shook his hand."

"You were supposed to."

"I shook the hand of the man who just fired you."

He stopped, because the sentence had come out wrong.

On the desk in front of him lay a single sheet of paper with a signature line at the bottom.

I could read it upside down.

Termination of employment. Joanna Brandvold. Effective Monday. Reason: role elimination.

Underneath, Colby's signature.

And a blank line for Reed's.

"HR gave me this at seven forty this morning," Reed said. "It needs my name. I haven't signed it."

"Why not?"

"Because I looked at the name on top, and I thought, I know that woman's middle name. It's Marie. And I know she sleeps on the left side and hates tomatoes, and that she grew up in Duluth. And I can't sign a thing like that about someone I care about."

He stopped again, and I watched him push the word down.

"Someone you're sleeping with," I said.

"Someone I know."

"Reed."

"I don't fire people I'm sleeping with. I also don't keep them because of it. I realized this morning I have no clean way out of this room." He rubbed his face. "So I'm going to ask you the only question I'm allowed, and then you're going to tell me to shut up."

← Chapter 5 · All chapters · Chapter 7 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend