At the CEO's Pleasure

by Yahrah St. John

  But marriage?

  Babies?

  Oh, hell, no!

  Ayden didn’t ever plan on getting hitched. He’d seen how married people, supposedly in love, treated each other. When the dust settled, the only ones hurt were the babies, the innocents that had been pulled into their parents’ unholy matrimony.

  No, thank you. He was content with the single life.

  Or at least he had been until Maya had come roaring back into his world with a vengeance.

  Now what was he supposed to do? Was she cutting him off entirely? Although, it would be devastating not to make love to her again, he supposed he could get through it if he buried himself in work. But what of Stewart Investments? The last time she’d left him, it hadn’t been just him, but her position. It had taken him nearly half a year to find someone. He couldn’t go through that again. He wouldn’t go through that again.

  He’d lived with his father’s betrayal all these years, accepted he would never be acknowledged as his son. But he couldn’t bear it if Maya turned her back on him, too. Because this time, it would destroy him, and Ayden wasn’t sure he’d ever recover.

  Ayden didn’t know what to do. They couldn’t go back to their working relationship. They couldn’t be lovers anymore. And he doubted she wanted his friendship. There was nothing he could offer her that would entice her to stay and that was the greatest travesty of all.

  * * *

  Maya hated the letter she’d just penned to Ayden and sent by courier. Once again, she’d resigned her position as his executive assistant. The only difference was that this time she was offering her services via virtual assistant until he could find someone permanent. She was prepared to draft his presentations, handle his schedule, make appointments and take his calls remotely. She’d thought it through and, logically speaking, they didn’t need to see each other. She could do her job without ever laying eyes on him.

  It was the best she could come up with on short notice. She knew he was working with several important clients, especially Kincaid, and she was invested in his success. So she was willing to listen to his voice over the phone giving her instructions or read an email with his name on it so long as they had no interaction face-to-face.

  She was weak when it came to Ayden. If she were in the office, he’d use every weapon in his arsenal to break down her defenses, and Maya knew herself. Knew she would crumble. So she was offering this olive branch. Either way, the signing bonus was hers free and clear according to the offer letter she’d signed.

  She wondered how he would react when he received her resignation. Would he blow his top? Or would he be thankful because she was out of his hair and he wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with her demanding any more of him?

  Maya found out when her cell phone rang nearly an hour later.

  “What the hell is this?”

  Maya knew exactly who was on the other end of the line and what he was referring to. “Ayden, you must have received my letter.”

  “Yes, I did. And I don’t accept it.”

  “C’mon, Ayden. You know it’s best if we keep our distance. As a virtual assistant, I can still assist you with the important deals on the table, giving you plenty of time to interview and find my replacement.”

  “I don’t want to replace you, Maya.”

  She sucked in a breath. “Well, those are your options. You can take them or leave them.” She held her breath as she waited for his response.

  “I will leave them. Thank you very much. If you want away from me so bad, go ahead, but I warn you, you signed a contract.”

  “An offer letter,” she corrected. “Besides, when I signed, you stated our relationship would be professional only. We crossed that line, Ayden, and no court in the land would uphold that document if they heard what went on between us in Jamaica.”

  “Damn it, Maya. Don’t do this.”

  “I’m truly sorry, but it’s the only way. We both want different things out of life. You’re content with the status quo. Me in your bed. While I, on the other hand, lose out on finding my happily-ever-after. Well, no more, Ayden. I’m going to chase after what I want until I find it. Don’t stand in my way.”

  He sighed heavily. There was silence for several long moments in which she heard his slow and controlled breathing before he said, “I will miss you.”

  “I—I’ll miss you, too.” Then Maya ended the call. She had to. It was torture to both of them if she let it continue. She would forgive Ayden the same way she had Raven and Thomas, because he was her past and she had to look toward the future. A future that included a husband and children someday. The problem was, her heart was breaking in two and only Ayden could put it back together again. But he wasn’t willing or able.

  Sixteen

  Ayden sat at his desk befuddled. He’d lost ten minutes because he’d been daydreaming about Maya. He told himself it would get better.

  But it didn’t. The ghost of Maya was everywhere. In his bed. At the office.

  He still wanted her, in his life, in his bed, but she wanted marriage and babies. Ayden couldn’t give her that. Yet he didn’t want to live his life without her. So he’d let her walk away when he didn’t want her to go. Did it mean he was in love with her? He wasn’t sure. He’d never been in love before. But if there was anyone he wanted to love, it was Maya. He thought about her day and night. And with each passing day, he missed her more and more. Nothing eased the ache in his heart. Not even work, which had been his cure-all for loneliness. The sense of loss was so acute it physically hurt to breathe.

  It had been nearly two weeks since Maya had left the mansion, calling him out on his failure to commit. They had been the worst weeks of his life since his mother passed away. Back then, he’d felt alone in the world and emotionally battered. He felt the same way now.

  And work was going horribly.

  He wished he’d taken Maya up on her virtual assistant offer, but he hadn’t. The recruiter had sent a candidate who had emailed the wrong proposals to two different clients earlier in the week. And when he’d yelled at her for the mistake, she’d left the office crying, vowing never to return. The second temp hadn’t been much better, but at least she’d lasted a few days. Could no one handle the simple requests he made of them? It was late Friday evening and he would have to muddle through on his own.

  Ayden reached for the phone on his desk and called Luke. He didn’t care what time it was in London. He needed a sounding board.

  “Do you know what time it is?” Luke said.

  “No, I didn’t look,” Ayden responded.

  “Well, it’s past midnight here,” Luke said groggily.

  “Sorry.”

  “No, you’re not. So what’s going on? I haven’t heard from you in over a month so I assumed everything was going swimmingly.”

  “It was.”

  “And now it’s not?”

  Ayden sighed heavily. “Far from it.”

  “What’s happened?”

  “Maya left me.”

  “I could have told you that was going to happen,” Luke replied. “It’s barely been a month and I bet you ran the poor girl ragged. I warned you about easing up.”

  “That’s not the reason she left.”

  Silence ensued on the other end of the line before Luke said, “Don’t tell me you shagged her again?”

  Ayden snorted. “We had a consensual and mutually gratifying relationship. But she still left me. Can you believe it?”

  “Are you daft or what, mate? The woman came back because she’s had the hots for you, probably did from the get-go, and the first thing you lead with is sex? You don’t offer her any kind of commitment other than a good shag—even though you know she’s the settling-down kind? Instead, you choose the easy way out? And for the life of me, I don’t understand why she went along with it. But go figure. Love is blind.”


  “Love? No one said anything about love.”

  “Oh, bloody hell, Ayden! The woman is in love with you. She wouldn’t have agreed to come back otherwise. Not after the way you treated her after that one-off five years ago.”

  “I offered her a lot of money, which she needed to take care of her ailing mother.”

  “And that might have played a role in her accepting the job, but you and I both know that she came back for you and only you. Because deep down she wanted to see if there was a chance for a future with you, and you blew it!”

  “Luke, you know I don’t believe in love and marriage and all that crap.”

  “That’s a real shame, Ayden, because you’re going to miss out on the best thing that ever happened to you, mate.”

  “Luke...”

  “The next time you call me in the middle of night, at least be ready to take my advice. ’Cause right now I’m telling you to sod off,” Luke growled.

  “Thanks a lot.”

  “You know I love you like an adopted brother, but I’m going back to bed. Call me tomorrow when you gain some common sense.”

  Ayden hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. He felt like all the energy had been zapped out of him. If anyone could give it to him straight and he would listen, it was Luke. With the exception of Maya, Luke was the only person Ayden implicitly trusted.

  Was he right?

  He’d spent the last fifteen years of life not only surviving, but trying to meet some expectation in his mind that if he was smart enough and rich enough, Henry Stewart would give him the time of day. He had to face facts: Henry was never going to love him. He had to stop looking back on what could have been, should have been. It was time to look at what was right in front of him.

  Maya.

  He’d kept up a shield with every other woman he’d ever been with, keeping them at arm’s length, never allowing them the chance to get close—but not with Maya. He couldn’t pretend with this woman. She saw straight through him, not just to his triumphs and successes, but to his failures. She knew he liked his coffee black with two sugars, but she also knew his deep, dark secrets, which made it impossible for him to deny that there was something between them. Something strong and powerful had been forming, but because of Ayden’s hang-ups, they were dead in the water. Like Luke, Maya had told him that he needed to resolve his past. Make peace before they could have a future.

  Maybe they both had a point.

  Ayden knew exactly what he had to do to get started.

  * * *

  Ayden arrived unannounced at Stewart Technologies. He wasn’t interested in seeing Henry Stewart, but he was determined to see his sister. After her repeated phone calls, texts and emails had gone unanswered she’d stopped contacting him. And he couldn’t blame her; he’d acted like a complete ass toward her. He couldn’t give her the financial bailout she needed, but at the very least, he owed her an apology for ignoring her.

  When he told her assistant that he was her brother, however, the woman politely said, “Nice try.” Fallon had one brother and that was international superstar Dane Stewart. But Ayden hadn’t budged from the spot until she’d finally agreed to tell his sister he was standing outside her door.

  In time, Fallon emerged from her office in an elegant red pantsuit. Her blond-streaked brown hair was flat ironed and her makeup was flawless. She was the epitome of class and sophistication. She stood in the doorway and regarded him. “I’m shocked you’ve deigned to darken my doorstep, Ayden Stewart.”

  “I deserve that,” Ayden said, walking toward her, “but I’d like to talk if you have a moment.”

  Fallon glanced at her assistant. “No interruptions, please. My brother and I have some unfinished business.”

  Ayden couldn’t resist a smirk as he passed the woman, whose mouth hung open in shock. He strode into the room, and Fallon closed the door behind him. Then she folded her arms across her chest and stood rooted to the spot.

  “I have to admit, big brother, I’m surprised you’ve come into enemy territory. Because that’s what I am to you, right? Your enemy. So what gives? Why are you here? And what’s happened to you? You look god-awful!”

  Ayden knew he looked tired and there were lines under his eyes. He hadn’t slept in the weeks since Maya left him. He answered her first question. “You’re not my enemy, Fallon.”

  She rolled her eyes upward. “You could have fooled me, Ayden. Your actions speak louder than any words. And, trust me, those were enough. I know my mother did yours wrong and you blame my family for every bad thing that happened in your life. But guess what, Ayden? I didn’t harm you. I wasn’t even born when all that went down. Yet you blame me as if I had some control over the past.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I said you’re right,” Ayden replied, raising his voice. “I was wrong to blame you, Fallon. You and Dane are innocent in this.” She nodded but didn’t speak, so he continued. “Our parents are to blame for what went down back then, and I’m sorry that I put you in the middle of that. You’ve tried to extend an olive branch to me and I’ve never wanted to take it.”

  “Because you’re angry that I got the life denied you?”

  “Yes.” Ayden was man enough to admit that. “You and Dane not only got my father—” Ayden beat his chest with his fist “—but you got the good life. The houses, the cars, the travel, the fancy clothes and schools. While I had to work my butt off for everything I’ve ever achieved.”

  “But I bet it’s all the more sweet,” Fallon replied.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I know you had a hard life,” she responded. “But my life hasn’t been a picnic, either. I admit I’ve had every material possession, but you want to know something? I’ve also had a disinterested, self-absorbed mother who couldn’t be bothered to raise the two children she had in order to keep our demanding father. And Henry Stewart? He hasn’t been an easy man to love, constantly pushing me to excel. I’ve had to bust my tail for years to prove I’m the best person to run this company. I’ve always been in Dad’s shadow, unable to run Stewart Technologies how I see fit without constant input and criticism. And right when I make it to the top, I see my whole life’s work on a weak foundation and the sand is crumbling underneath my feet.”

  Fallon walked over to the couch and sank down onto it.

  Ayden rushed over. “I had no idea how hard it’s been on you.”

  “Father wanted Dane to take over the company, but my baby brother is only interested in making movies. He’s never wanted to be a businessman, much to father’s chagrin.”

  “So he pushed you.”

  “Yes. And don’t get me wrong, I love what I do. And I love this company. It’s why I came to you for help.”

  “And I turned my back on you,” Ayden replied. “I’m sorry for that, Fallon. It’s just that...”

  She reached for his hands and grasped them. “It’s okay. I had no right coming to you. Not after what father did to you. But I felt I had no choice and was out of options. The reason I called was to let you know I’d had it out with my mother and she admitted to ensnaring father. I only wanted to say that I was sorry.”

  “Thank you for that,” Ayden said. Hearing that Nora had admitted to part of the blame was something, but what about Fallon? “What are you going to do about the company? If you really need the money, I could loan it to you. Not to the company directly, but as a personal loan with a good interest rate.”

  “Ayden, that’s very generous of you considering the circumstances, but I could never accept, not knowing how Daddy treated you and your mother. This isn’t your cross to bear. It’s mine.”

  “But you’re my sister.”

  “And I will find a way and might already have. Anyway, the fact that you’ve come here today—” her voice caught in her throat “—you have no
idea how much this means to me.”

  “It means a lot to me, too, Fallon. I’ve been alone for a long time. Hell, since before my mother even passed. And, well, I’ve felt adrift without a family, but if you and Dane are willing... I’d like to try to have a relationship with you both.” He was never going to forgive Henry for abandoning him or his mother, but he could try to forge a bond with his siblings.

  A warm smile spread across her lips. “Ya know, I wouldn’t mind having a big brother. Someone I could look up to. Maybe even call for advice?”

  Ayden returned her grin. “I’d like that. I’d like that very much.”

  Fallon glanced down at her watch. “Now I have to get to a meeting, so let’s plan on having dinner sometime soon, okay? I won’t push. We can do this in baby steps.”

  “Baby steps.” Ayden laughed. He opened his arms and, after several seconds, Fallon came into his embrace, returning his hug. It was a small gesture, but meant everything to Ayden.

  After leaving Stewart Technologies, Ayden felt a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Clearing the air with Fallon and agreeing to start anew as a family was one the best decisions he’d made in a long time. He hadn’t realized just how much the hatred and anger was eating him up inside and taking up room in his heart. To acknowledge that he needed Fallon and Dane was a big step for him. He was used to being on his own, staying in control, feeling nothing, but being with Maya had changed him.

  He’d been pretending for years that Maya was just an assistant, a friend, even a lover, but she was more than that. She was everything to him. He had to talk to her. Tell her that he was a fool. Tell her that he loved her. Tell her she was his other half, his soul mate, and pray that she would take him back. He was prepared to lay down every vestige of his pride, do anything, if she’d just give him another chance.

  * * *

  It was essential that Maya keep her mind occupied. It was time she got settled and moved on with her life. It had taken a couple of weeks, but she’d found a permanent apartment in an area of Austin she liked and given up her short-term rental. Callie had driven from San Antonio to help her unpack her belongings from storage over the weekend so it would feel like home.