The CEO Above My Desk Chapter 136

**Violet**

Jackson clears his throat carefully. “They were… forceful.” He quickly added before we could walk away.

Every head turns.

Devin’s voice drops lower. “Explain.”

“They did not strike him,” Jackson says quickly. “But they were unnecessarily aggressive in their tone. Mr. Ashcroft remained calm.”

Of course he did.

Something hot and protective surges through me so suddenly it almost shocks me.

“They touched him?” I ask before I can stop myself.

All four of them look at me.

I feel my cheeks warm.

“That’s what we’re focusing on?” Theo asks.

“Yes,” I snap.

Camille smiles faintly. “That’s our girl.”

Devin is already moving again. “We’re leaving now.” He points at Jackson. “I want every second of lobby footage exported and sent to my secure email in the next ten minutes.”

Jackson nods once. “Already in progress.”

Good man.

Devin points at Theo next. “You drive behind me.”

“I thought you were driving us.”

“I’m not waiting for you to argue with traffic laws.”

Theo opens his mouth.

Devin lifts one finger.

Theo shuts it.

Then Devin turns to me. “Violet.”

The sharpness softens slightly.

“When we get there, you do not speak unless I tell you to. You do not volunteer information. You do not panic if Rowan is angry.”

I blink. “Why would he be angry?”

“Because they outmaneuvered him,” Devin says simply. “And men like Rowan hate that more than anything.”

That… feels accurate.

Camille hooks her arm through mine. “Great. Love this energy.”

We move fast through the lobby doors into the underground garage access corridor.

The city outside feels darker now. Sharper.

Like it knows blood was spilled tonight.

As we walk, Devin is already on another call.

“Yes, Judge Keller if he’s awake. I don’t care if he hates me. Wake him.” Pause. “No, I’m not joking.” Another pause. “Yes, tell him they moved Ashcroft in an unmarked.”

He disconnects.

Theo whistles low. “You’re calling judges now?”

“I’m calling everyone.”

We reach the vehicles.

Devin stops, turns, and looks at all of us.

For the first time, his composure slips enough to show exactly how furious he is.

“They made a mistake tonight.” He opens the driver’s door. “They forgot Rowan has people.”

Then he gets in.

And I realize whoever pulled my husband into that car... May have just started a war.

I’m halfway to Theo’s SUV when Devin’s window rolls down.

“Passenger seat,” he says.

No hello.

No explanation.

Just an order.

I pause. “What?”

He glances at me once, unimpressed. “Get in. I need to speak with you before we get to the station.”

Theo leans against his driver’s door, already annoyed. “Rude. She was coming with us.”

Camille pats his shoulder. “You’ll survive abandonment.”

Then she looks at me and wiggles her brows. “Go. Lawyer Daddy looks serious.”

Devin closes his eyes briefly like he regrets knowing any of us.

I hurry around the car and climb into the passenger seat.

The second the door shuts, he’s already moving.

Fast.

Too fast.

“Seat belt,” I gasp.

He’s pulling out of the garage before I even click it in.

“Then buckle faster,” he says.

I stare at him.

He doesn’t care.

The city lights blur past as we hit the street, Devin driving with one hand while the other taps through emails on the tablet propped against the center console.

“How are you alive?” I mutter.

“Discipline.”

“That doesn’t feel like the word.”

“It’s the word I chose.”

I tighten my seat belt and grip the handle above the window as he cuts through a yellow light like it insulted him.

Then he finally looks at me.

Really looks.

And whatever humor was there disappears.

“Listen carefully.”

My stomach tightens.

“Okay.”

“Tonight changes your position.”

I blink. “My… position?”

“Yes.”

He says it like it should be obvious.

“You are no longer Violet Pierce, overworked assistant who apologizes when other people are rude.”

That feels weirdly specific.

“You are now Violet Ashcroft.”

The name hits harder hearing it out loud.

He continues before I can process it.

“That means access. Authority. Protection. Visibility.”

I swallow. “I don’t know what that means.”

“It means,” he says sharply, “you now have the ability to make grown men nervous with a single sentence if you use it correctly.”

I stare at him.

He keeps going.

“I do not want to see the small, sweet librarian girl I’ve come to oddly adore and professionally respect.”

My mouth falls open slightly.

“You… what?”

“Stay focused.”

He points at me briefly, then back to the road.

“I want to see the angry wife of Rowan Ashcroft.”

My pulse jumps.

“I need to see Violet Ashcroft.”

I laugh once. Nervous. “I don’t know how to do that.”

He smirks.

Cold.

Knowing.

“That’s not true.”

“Yes it is.”

“No,” he says. “You know exactly how.”

I frown.

He changes lanes aggressively.

“You’ve spent years filtering yourself so other people stay comfortable.”

My silence answers for me.

“You soften your words. You smile when irritated. You explain instead of demand. You ask instead of tell.”

Every word feels like a personal attack.

He glances at me again.

“Well,” he says, voice flattening, “that phase of your life is over.”

Something shifts in my chest.

“What are you asking me to do?”

“I’m asking you to make people uncomfortable.”

The city streaks by outside.

The station is getting closer.

My heartbeat too loud.

“I need you blunt.” His voice hardens. “I need you disrespectful when necessary.”

My brows rise. “Disrespectful?”

“Yes.”

“That feels illegal.”

“It’s not.”

He turns into another lane.

“I need you to stop shrinking when powerful people enter a room.”

I look down at my hands.

He notices. “Stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Making yourself smaller.”

My head snaps up.

Devin exhales. “When we get there, they will test boundaries. They’ll ignore you first because they assume you’re emotional." I hate how right that sounds. “Then they’ll patronize you.”

My jaw tightens.

“Then,” he says, “if they’re stupid enough, they’ll disrespect Rowan through you.”

“What do I do then?”

For the first time, Devin smiles.

Sharp.

Mean.

“Make them regret it.”

My stomach flips. “I don’t know if I can.”

“Yes, you can.”

He taps the steering wheel once.

“I watched you walk into a loft wearing nothing but a towel and verbally dismantle Theo.”

Fair.

“That woman?” he says. “I need her.”

I think about Rowan being taken in an unmarked car.

About the doorman’s face.

About someone trying to isolate him.

About Calder dead.

About Drew dead.

About my mother.

Something hot begins to burn low in my chest.

Devin notices instantly.

“There she is.”

I glance at him. “What if I mess it up?”

“You will,” he says calmly.

I gape.

He shrugs. “Everyone does at first.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

“It wasn’t meant to be.”

He slows as the police station comes into view.

Lights.

Concrete.

Cruisers lined up outside.

He parks hard and shifts into park.

Then turns fully toward me.

“No more apologizing for taking up space.” His eyes narrow slightly. “You are Rowan Ashcroft’s wife now.”

The words still feel unreal.

“So act like someone the room has to account for.”

I inhale slowly. Then nod.

He studies me for a beat. “Good.” Then he smirks. “And if anyone annoys you, look mildly disgusted first. It sets the tone.”