The CEO

by Shealy James

  “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” My dad’s booming voice filled the room. When I looked up, he had his arms crossed and resting on his big belly. My dad wasn’t a tall man, but he was a big man. He had a bowling ball head with brown hair that was combed into the same style he’d worn since high school, just a little shorter. Right now he was wearing his angry eyes, but it almost made me laugh, because even angry, Dad looked like the nicest guy in the world.

  My mom came rushing down the stairs. “Bill, I need your help upstairs. Right now.” She was trying to keep him from interrupting the private talk Grant and I were having in the kitchen, which was sweet, but I think he and I said all we needed to for the time being. I was sure there were a million more things we needed to work out, but right then I wanted him to get to know my family and the girl they raised, the stronger, brighter, and funnier girl than the mess who moved to Seattle.

  “It’s okay, Mom,” I said. “Dad, this is Grant. Grant, this is my dad, Bill Bryant.”

  Grant lifted me off of his lap, so he could politely stand and shake my dad’s hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

  “So this is the man I have heard so much about? Apparently you’re quite a catch, son. The women in my family have been talking about you nonstop.”

  “Daddy!”

  “I’m just teasing him, peanut,” he said to appease me, but we all saw him shake his head to tell Grant he wasn’t kidding.

  Grant smiled. “It’s all right. Eve has been the topic of conversation among my family members as well.”

  My mom looked displeased. “Yes, we’ve heard.”

  “Mom,” I warned, then turned back to Grant. “By the way, nothing in my family is a secret…ever.”

  “And that’s how it should be, Evie,” Mom said. “Grant, we’re pleased to have you as a guest in our home. Do you enjoy chicken salad?”

  “I pretty much eat anything you put in front of me.” He smiled.

  “It’s true,” I told them. “He has been eating a pizza he doesn’t like because he gives the leftovers to a homeless man.”

  My mom smiled and Dad nodded and said, “That is nice of you. Tell us more about you, Grant.”

  Grant rested his hand on my thigh. I could tell he was nervous and needed me for support. I put my hand on his as he started talking. “Well, there isn’t much to tell, truthfully. I grew up in Seattle and went to Harvard business school with my best friend, Maddox. Both of our fathers are alumni, but Maddox and I didn’t care for the elitist atmosphere that can come with Harvard, so we decided to get jobs off campus. I worked at a pizza place, which is where I found out how much homeless people like pizza.

  “After business school and giving up tossing pizzas, I moved to New York where I interned at my dad’s company under a different executive. I planned to stay there and build my own life, but my parents had other plans. It wasn’t long before I was back in Seattle and taking over the company with my father that my grandfather had left us. Then I met Eve.” He squeezed my thigh.

  I looked up at him with a smile after he summed up his life in less than a minute. “Just the highlights, huh?”

  “Why didn’t you go to Mitchell College?” my mom asked as she set down chicken salad sandwiches, a bowl of potato salad, a bowl of fruit, and a pitcher of sweet tea. We all helped ourselves, and I served Grant as he spoke.

  “Both of my sisters did, but it was written long ago in my life plan that I would follow in my dad’s footsteps and go to Harvard. I didn’t mind leaving Seattle. I had the chance to meet new people who didn’t know my parents, and I was able to go and see the world while I was away. We grew up fairly sheltered, so it was my first experience in the real world.”

  My dad swallowed his bite of chicken salad. “It’s good for you to get out there. Both my girls went away to college, but they were only a couple of hours away. Until Evie left for Seattle, they haven’t seen much outside of the southeast.”

  “That’s not true, Dad. My sorority sisters and I went with Jane and her friends down to that resort in Mexico one Spring Break.” I smiled widely knowing what was coming.

  “Getting drunk and laying out at the pool for a week does not count as seeing the world. I still can’t believe you let them go on that trip, Ellen. They could have been murdered!”

  “Oh Bill, hush. You just had to bring that up didn’t you, Evie? Just for that I might change my mind about making you barbecue chicken for dinner,” my mom threatened.

  “I was just teasing, Dad. You know Ricardo and Juan took great care of us.” I winked at my Dad, who groaned and rolled his eyes.

  My mom pointed her fork. “One more word about that trip, young lady, and I change my mind about making peach cobbler for dessert as well.”

  I pressed my lips together in an effort not to laugh.

  Grant watched my face as I took a sip of my tea. “I’m sorry to ask, but what happened on the trip?”

  I burst out laughing, and my mom threw her fork down on the plate. Dad just groaned. I turned to Grant. “My sister ended up getting really sick our first night there. We thought it was from her drinking too much, but it ended up being food poisoning. Mom and Dad flew down a couple of days later to either bring her medicine from here or take her home, but by the time they arrived, she felt better. Instead of being normal parents and going to bed at nine, they came out and partied with us that night. Dad was protective of the girls because the men in Mexico tend to stare. After a few drinks, though, he was dancing up a storm with our sorority sisters and ended up with a hellacious hangover the next day. Mom, on the other hand, was quite the rock star with her karaoke and dancing. She really enjoyed dancing with that pole, didn’t she, Dad?”

  Grant was smiling, and I was in a fit of giggles when my mom said, “That’s enough. He gets the idea.”

  Dad was laughing now too. “I don’t think he does, Ellen. Why don’t you demonstrate?” I laughed even harder and looked over and saw Grant laughing too.

  “I hate you two.” She got up and walked over to the counter to bring over the plate of brownies she had made.

  “You love us!” I called after her. “Come on, Mom. It was really funny. I think we have pictures.”

  She was back at the table with the brownies. “Since these two are so rude, would you care for a brownie, Grant?” That just made my dad and me laugh harder.

  “Sure, thank you.” He took a brownie from her plate and took a big bite of chocolaty goodness. “These are delicious. Now I know where Eve learned to bake.”

  I reached for one, and she slapped my hand. “You don’t deserve one, you little brat, but you can have one because I don’t want to save all of these for the kids.”

  “And because you love me.” She smirked. I tried to sweetly say, “Thanks, Mom,” but I was still trying not to laugh as I pictured my mother gyrating around a pole in Mexico.

  After lunch my dad left for the build site, and my mom ran to the grocery store, leaving Grant and me alone in the house. I showed him around the main floor and down into the basement where I walked him out into the backyard. My parents had built a little oasis out there with a large swimming pool surrounded by rock walls and plant life. The water feature was running, so it was very relaxing out there.

  “This is beautiful,” Grant said. “It’s hot as hell, but it’s really nice out here.”

  “I like it. This is where I spent most of my free time after college. Do you want to go change into something cooler? The less clothes the better in the south.” I gestured to my cutoffs and tank top.

  He pulled me against his body, and I swear the temperature went up even more. “I like this little outfit, but I really hope you don’t dress like this in public.”

  “Lord, no. My dad would kill me. He was probably annoyed that I was dressed like this in front of you, but they feel sorry for me, so I can get away with anything right now.”

  “Anything?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “What did you have in mind, handsome?�
�

  “Show me the rest of the house.” His green eyes sparkled, making me smile. I took his hand and guided him on the last leg of the tour, the third floor.

  My bedroom was a pretty decent size with an iron queen-sized canopy bed. White bedding and sheer white curtains hung decoratively from the corners, giving the bed an ethereal quality. My windows overlooked the pool, and I had my own en suite bathroom because Jane was already living in her own apartment when my parents built the house. I was just a freshman in college.

  “Are you going to stay here with us, or did you get a hotel?” I asked him as I started unbuttoning his shirt, revealing a white t-shirt underneath. Grant kept his arms wrapped around me.

  “I have reservations at a place called Chateau Elan, but I’ll do whatever you want to do. I was planning on taking you back to the hotel with me, but I assume you’d rather stay here.”

  “Chateau Elan is nice, but I’d much rather stay here. I miss my parents. I’m used to them being down the road or sharing the same house with them. It’s strange not being able to see them whenever I want to.”

  “Then we’ll stay here. I’m going to be wherever you are. Not another night, remember?” he said as he kissed me, tasting of chocolate from the brownies. “Plus, your parents are really great. You have the kind of parents Maddox and I used to wish for when we were kids. This is what we thought was normal life.”

  “This was my normal life, and now you’re a part of it. Let’s get your stuff. Did you bring a bathing suit?”

  “I doubt it, but Lana packed for me, so I don’t know.” We walked downstairs and out to his car to get his bags.

  “Why did Lana pack for you?”

  “I was still at your apartment when Maddox found you, so I called her on my way home. I grabbed my bag and my briefcase and drove to the airport where the plane was waiting. It took me longer to pick up the rental car here in Atlanta and drive all the way up here from the airport than it took me to get the plane ready to fly in Seattle.”

  “What about your work? I don’t know when I was planning to fly back. Originally it was tomorrow night because I was just flying down for the day, but I don’t have a job to get back to now.” Back in my bedroom, he took off his now wrinkled dress pants and his wrinkled blue shirt and threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He sat down on my bed with his back against the headboard, and I climbed up and went to curl up next to him, but that wasn’t close enough for Grant. He pulled me onto his lap, so we were in our favorite talking position.

  Once settled he said, “You’ll fly back with me whenever you are ready to go home. I can work from anywhere right now, and my dad isn’t going to challenge me on that.”

  “What happened with your parents on Saturday?” I asked, not sure I really wanted to know.

  “My mother called after I dropped you off and told me Daphne and I were going to ride with her and Dad to the party. Ian was supposedly going to be late, and Grace and Harvey were going to meet us there. I didn’t have time to check with Daphne because I got caught up in some calls after I worked out. My parents’ limo picked me up at the penthouse. I thought we were going to pick up Daphne, but sure enough, it was Katherine who joined us.

  “When we arrived at the party, I climbed out of the car and started to walk in to find you, but Katherine called my name and asked for my help, saying she was afraid to fall. I helped her out of the car, and next thing I knew her arm was linked through mine. I didn’t want to make a scene, so we walked into the crowd of people who greeted us immediately.

  “As soon as I was through the crowd, I was looking for you. Tara hadn’t seen you since she opened the doors. Dr. Clarke was watching me, though, and I caught his eye. That was when he warned me off. I knew something was wrong, because he had always been friendly to me. I started looking everywhere for you. Daphne was there, and she was helping me. That’s when Tara found me and told me she found your dress. I was on the phone with Maddox telling him to come get me when Dr. Clarke found me again. I asked him what happened, and he must have known how panicked I was, because he told me about you losing your job and what he found out from HR.”

  “Yeah, your dad had my position eliminated in a way that they wouldn’t pay unemployment or a severance, not that I had been there long enough for that anyway.”

  He nodded. “While I waited for Maddox, I confronted my dad. He blew it off like it was no big deal, like you were no big deal. I may have gotten in his face and threatened him a bit. He let me go without another word. My mother tried to stop me from getting into Maddox’s car, but I told her if she ever came near you again or put me in a situation that could hurt you again, I would take the company to the ground, effectively depleting her entire source of income, including her properties.”

  “Can you do that?” I asked, surprised by his willingness to destroy the business that his family built.

  “Yes. My dad found himself in a little trouble a few years back, which is why he isn’t the CEO. The company almost went under, but because of my contacts and negotiations, we were able to get back on track with one major change. I’m now the majority shareholder. I own sixty percent of the company, and Dad and Daphne each own twenty. He has no control. This was part of the deal. The reason he was going under was because of his ineffective business practices after my grandfather died. My mother doesn’t know this, but she doesn’t know a lot about my dad’s activities.”

  “You were willing to give up all of that for me? We have only known each other a month or so.” I mean, sure, we spent almost every day of that month together, but it was still only a month. Can you know in a month that you are meant to be with someone?

  “Have you been listening to anything I have said to you? I would move mountains to be with you, to make you happy. Baby, I felt you that first time I met you. I felt you from across the room. There is no doubt in my mind you were made for me. You make me feel for the first time ever. I lose my breath when you walk in a room. When you opened the door downstairs, I literally couldn’t breathe after not seeing you for two days. You make me laugh, and you make me crazy. There is no one else in the world who does what you do to me, and I know a lot of women.”

  “Grant!”

  “I’m just kidding about the other women.”

  “No you aren’t,” I pouted.

  He took my bottom lip between his teeth. “No woman has ever made my heart beat as fast as you do. I had never felt butterflies until I met you. I don’t know what else to do to prove I am totally, without a doubt, head over heels in love with you.” He kissed me again. “I’m out of words, Eve. I’ve told you over and over how I feel. I have chased you all over Seattle, and now across the country. What else can I do?”

  I ran my finger across the worry lines on his forehead and looked into his worried eyes that were his usual mix of colors. “There isn’t anything else you could do to show me that you love me. I never doubted our feelings for each other. When it is just the two of us like this, I forget about everything else in my life. This is happiness right here, but unfortunately, we can’t spend all day, every day like this. The outside world has a way of creeping in, and for whatever reason, I’m still so weak. Knowing what you were willing to risk for me makes me want to try harder, though. Knowing you think I’m worth all of that makes me kind of believe it too. You are a wonderful man, and I’m just the lucky one who happens to own the heart that was meant to connect with yours.”

  He smiled before his lips found mine. He rolled me onto my back and kissed me with everything he had. I felt his love pouring into me, and I could only hope he felt mine. I had been such a fool to think I could do anything without him by my side. When I put back the pieces of myself, I knew I was missing a few. I always thought Mark was holding onto the missing pieces, because he was the one who tore me apart, but he never had the piece that mattered. I had never given my heart away, but I did right there on my bed in my parents’ house. I finally gave my heart away to someone who I trusted to take good care o
f it.

  Chapter 24

  Lana turned out to be an excellent bag packer. She happened to throw in a little of everything into Grant’s bag. He told her he didn’t know how long he’d be gone, so she planned for everything. Because of Lana’s expert packing and my mother interrupting our love fest, we were in the pool when my sister arrived.

  I was lounging on a float Grant was pushing around the pool, discussing my mediation I had to face in the morning, when we heard the three little monsters come running through the house. I was about to warn him when all three kids jumped in the pool without any regard for anyone they were splashing. Grant and I both laughed, but my sister came out and yelled at them, then introduced herself to Grant. The kids wisely hid behind the float.

  Once Jane had stepped inside because Elle needed to be fed, the kids started crawling all over me like they always did.

  “Aunt Evie! We missed you,” Ava told me as she beat her brothers to the top of the float. Being the smallest had its perks.

  “I missed you too. I want you to meet someone. Ava, Fitz, and Campbell, this is Grant. Grant, this is Ava the beauty, Fitz the hero, and that is Campbell, the best swimmer in the southeast.”

  “Hi, guys,” Grant said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Like what?” Campbell asked suspiciously.

  Grant laughed. “Like you and Ava can jump off the diving board, but I can’t remember who your Aunt Evie said was better.”

  “Me!” they both shouted in unison.

  “I think you’ll have to show me,” Grant said. They started swimming over to the ladder. “Fitz, I heard you’re quite the soccer player. You get that from beating up the other kids?” he asked, pointing to his broken arm in its blue waterproof cast.