The CEO Above My Desk Chapter 163

***Violet***

By the time Camille and I make it back to the penthouse, I feel like somebody scraped my nervous system raw with a cheese grater.

I’m exhausted. Not cute exhausted either. Not sleepy exhausted. I mean emotionally violent exhausted. The kind where one more inconvenience might genuinely turn me into a supervillain.

Rain slams against the windshield while I pull Theo’s 4Runner into the underground garage, my hands gripping the steering wheel tighter than necessary.

Everything tonight feels wrong. Twisted. Like somebody dumped gasoline over my life and then handed everybody matches.

Camille sits beside me in silence most of the drive home, one hand resting over her stomach while she stares blankly out the passenger window.

Every once in a while she mutters things like “I hate men. Or “If Theo breathes wrong tonight, I’ll bite him.”

Honestly? Fair.

By the time we park, I don’t even want to go upstairs anymore. I want to disappear into the woods for six months and live in a cottage with twelve goats and zero emotionally constipated billionaires.

Camille exhales heavily beside me before unbuckling her seatbelt. “I genuinely cannot deal with them right now.”

“Neither can I.”

And honestly? That’s the problem. Because I’m too emotionally fried to pretend to be pleasant anymore.

We step into the private elevator together while silence settles heavily between us again. The ride upward feels like an execution march. Floor after floor after floor. And with every second, my irritation builds stronger. Because I already know exactly what’s waiting upstairs.

Three panicking men. Three angry men. Three men who somehow managed to share one woman like a weird emotionally damaged corporate sisterhood and apparently thought nobody would ever notice.

The elevator doors finally slide open. And there they are. Rowan. Theo. Devin.

Standing in the kitchen, arguing. The second they see us, everything stops. Relief crashes across Rowan’s face so hard it almost physically hurts to look at. Theo visibly sags like somebody cut invisible strings holding him upright. Devin closes his eyes briefly like he just avoided a felony charge.

Then Rowan starts moving toward me immediately. Fast. Terrified. Furious. “What the fuck were you think—”

I launch Theo’s keys onto the kitchen island so hard they slam against the marble with a crack that echoes through the penthouse.

“No.” My voice cuts through the room like a knife.

Rowan stops instantly. All three men stare at me.

I point directly at Rowan. “No. You don’t get to talk right now.”

His jaw tightens immediately. “Violet—”

“No,” I snap louder. “I’m talking.”

Dead silence.

Camille quietly drags herself toward one of the stools at the island looking emotionally exhausted while I stand there trying not to completely lose my fucking mind.

Tonight has been the single most psychologically damaging day of my entire life.

Corrupt politicians. Dead people. Explosions. Blackmail. Surveillance.

And now apparently every powerful man in my life decided Avery was a community activity.

I drag both hands down my face roughly before looking back at them again. “I am exhausted,” I say flatly. “Emotionally. Mentally. Physically. Spiritually. Probably medically at this point.”

Nobody interrupts.

“Tonight has been horrifying and confusing and honestly?” I laugh once under my breath. “I genuinely do not know what fresh circle of hell I walked into anymore.” My eyes flick toward three of them “Especially after those pictures.”

The tension in the kitchen immediately spikes again.

Theo groans quietly under his breath.

Devin suddenly becomes deeply fascinated with the marble countertop.

And Rowan?

Rowan just looks tired now.

I gesture wildly between all of them. “What the fuck were you guys thinking?”

Nobody answers. Which honestly just pisses me off more.

“You all shared the same woman?” I ask incredulously. “Your assistant?”

Theo immediately lifts a hand. “Okay, first of all—”

“Nope.” I point sharply at him. “Nope. I don't want to hear it from you.”

His mouth snaps closed instantly.

I stare between all of them in absolute disbelief.

“Like genuinely,” I continue, “I need somebody to explain the thought process here because right now it looks like Ashcroft Industries accidentally started its own emotionally unstable boy band.”

Camille chokes on a laugh behind me.

Devin mutters, “Jesus Christ.”

“No seriously,” I continue. “What was this? Some weird billionaire punch card system? Sleep with Avery five times and get a free coffee?”

Theo drags both hands down his face violently. “Violet, it wasn’t—”

“I said ZIP IT.” My voice cracks loudly enough that even Rowan goes still. I point at Theo again. “I do not want to hear it tonight.” Then toward Devin. “Not from you either.” Then finally Rowan. “And definitely not from Mr. ‘I hired the corporate spy and then married me instead.’”

Rowan’s eyes narrow slightly. “That’s not fair.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I say sharply. “Would you prefer fairness tonight? Because personally I would’ve preferred not discovering that your assistant somehow collected powerful men like Pokémon cards.”

Camille outright laughs now. “Right?” she says.

I point dramatically toward her without looking away from the men. “THANK YOU.”

Theo groans again. “It was before Camille—”

“And yet somehow still embarrassing.”

“Violet.”

“No,” I snap immediately. “Actually no. I’m trying very hard to process this rationally, but every time I think about it, it gets worse.”

I look directly at Devin now. “You too?”

Devin looks genuinely offended somehow. “I was single.”

“That is not helping your case.”

“I didn’t know Theo—”

“Oh my God,” I interrupt dramatically, throwing both hands into the air. “You guys accidentally formed a trauma bond through one woman.”

Theo mutters something under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“Fantastic.”

Rowan suddenly steps forward again, voice sharper this time. “You disappeared in the middle of an active threat situation.”

“And somehow that STILL isn’t the craziest part of tonight,” I fire back instantly.

That shuts him up for approximately half a second. “You should have told me where you were going.”

“And you should’ve noticed your assistant was apparently running a city-wide corruption side quest while sleeping her way through your inner circle.”

Absolute silence slams into the kitchen.

I’m not feeling compassionate anymore.

I shake my head slowly before turning away slightly. “I cannot emotionally survive another conversation tonight.”

The anger inside me suddenly feels too heavy to carry anymore.

Underneath it though? I’m hurt. Confused. Terrified. And so unbelievably tired.

“I’m taking care of Camille,” I say quietly now. “Then I’m going to bed.”

I continue before any of them can interrupt.

“All of you have work tomorrow.” I narrow my eyes slightly. “So figure your weird emotionally damaged bullshit out before morning.”

I point directly at Rowan. “Sorry,” I say flatly. “You’re sleeping alone tonight.”

The man actually blinks. As if this outcome somehow surprises him.

Then I slowly turn toward Theo. “And you,” I say sweetly enough to sound threatening, “are sleeping on the couch.”

Theo stares at me in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious.”

I grab Camille’s hand gently before leading her toward the hallway.

Behind us, Rowan finally snaps out of his shock enough to speak again. “Violet.”

I don’t even turn around.

“Goodnight, Rowan.”