The CEO Above My Desk Chapter 169

***Violet***

Rowan catches her automatically. Instinctively. His hands grab her shoulders to steady her before she nearly collapses against him completely.

Camille’s eyebrows shoot so high they almost leave her forehead.

Theo looks deeply uncomfortable.

And me? I’m one emotional inconvenience away from setting something on fire.

Avery clutches the front of Rowan’s suit jacket hard enough her knuckles turn white while panicked tears stream down her face.

“They know,” she keeps repeating breathlessly. “They know I talked—they know I was here—”

Rowan’s entire body goes rigid. Not comforting. Not emotional. Just shocked.

“What happened to you?” he asks sharply.

Avery shakes violently against him. “I tried to leave.” Her voice cracks hard enough it barely sounds human anymore. “I tried to go home and there were people there waiting for me.”

The room instantly changes. Every ounce of humor disappears.

Theo straightens immediately from the couch while Camille slowly lowers her coffee. Even Rowan’s expression hardens dangerously.

Avery’s breathing turns ragged now, panic spiraling visibly through her body. “They pulled me out of my car,” she whispers. “They said I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

My stomach twists violently.

Avery finally pulls back enough for us to fully see the bruising around her throat. Finger-shaped bruises. Fresh. Angry red and purple marks spreading across pale skin.

Camille quietly mutters, “Holy shit.”

Avery looks back up at Rowan with completely shattered eyes. “They’re going to kill me.”

Everything changes after that. Not slowly either. Instantly.

Rowan’s entire demeanor shifts so fast it’s almost frightening to watch. The shock disappears first. Then the confusion. Then whatever complicated emotions might’ve existed between them once upon a time.

What’s left behind is cold. Sharp. Controlled. CEO Rowan. Dangerous Rowan.

His hands move from Avery’s shoulders immediately, not holding her close but steadying her enough to keep her upright while his eyes scan the bruising around her throat again.

“Who?” he asks flatly.

Avery shakes violently. “I—I don’t know. They came out of nowhere.”

“Did they follow you?”

“I don’t know!” Her voice cracks hard enough it echoes through the office.

Theo immediately moves toward the windows while Rowan’s expression darkens further.

“Lock this floor down,” Rowan snaps.

The command hits the room like a gunshot. Theo moves instantly, pulling his phone out while barking orders at security before he’s even fully across the office.

Camille slowly sets her coffee down on the desk. “Jesus Christ.”

“Get Devin upstairs,” Rowan continues sharply. “Nobody in or out without clearance.”

Avery starts crying harder now, panic visibly overtaking her again. “They said I should’ve kept my mouth shut. They knew about the emails. They knew I came here—”

“Sit down,” Rowan orders.

Not gently. Not cruelly either. Just controlled. Strategic.

Like he’s already five steps ahead mentally. And for some horrible reason... It still twists something ugly inside my chest.

Because he reacted automatically. Instinctively. Protectively.

I know why. Logically, I know exactly why.

She’s terrified. She’s injured. She’s potentially a witness in a corruption case that somehow keeps getting bloodier by the hour.

But emotionally? I still hate watching her cling to him. Hate watching him immediately take control for her.

And the worst part? I feel guilty for feeling that way. Because she genuinely looks terrified.

I stare at the bruises around her throat again. Finger marks.

Someone actually put their hands on her. Someone wanted her scared. And somehow that still doesn’t stop the jealousy crawling up my spine like poison.

God. I hate this.

So I do the only thing I know how to do when my emotions get too loud.

I shut them off.

Personal assistant Violet activates immediately. Not Mrs. Violet Ashcroft. Not emotional Violet. Not jealous wife Violet. Just Violet Pierce. Professional. Controlled. Useful.

I quietly grab Rowan’s tablet off the desk before turning toward the office door.

Nobody notices me leave. Except Rowan.

Of course he notices.

His eyes flick toward me for half a second while Avery keeps talking frantically beside him. And something in his expression shifts slightly when he realizes where I’m going.

Too bad.

I keep walking anyway.

Work is controllable. Emotions are not.

I sit down at my desk immediately and start reopening schedules and security reports like the world isn’t currently imploding around us.

My fingers move quickly across the keyboard. Emails. Calls. Meeting cancellations. Anything to keep my brain occupied.

Camille appears maybe five minutes later. She studies me quietly for a second. “You okay?”

No. Absolutely not.

Instead I keep typing. “Work comes first right now.”

Camille sighs softly. “Violet—”

“I’m serious.” My voice comes out flatter than intended. “There’s too much happening right now to spiral emotionally.”

Camille leans lightly against the doorway. “You know he’s not protecting her because he wants her.”

I finally look up at her then. “I know,” I say quietly.

Camille’s expression softens slightly. “But?”

I stare back at my computer screen. “But I still hate it.”

That answer seems honest enough.

Before Camille can respond, the elevator doors suddenly open down the hallway.

Heavy footsteps immediately follow. Multiple people. Voices.

Devin appears around the corner looking stressed enough to qualify as a medical emergency.

And beside him... Marcus. Along with four people I don’t recognize. Two men. Two women. Dark suits. Government posture.

Internal Affairs badges clipped near their waists.

Oh.

*Oh that’s not good.*

Marcus notices me immediately. “Where’s Rowan?”

Before I can answer, Rowan’s office door opens behind them. His eyes land on the agents instantly. And suddenly his entire expression hardens.

“Violet,” he says sharply.

Every person in the hallway looks toward him.

“Stall them.”

Marcus immediately frowns. “Rowan—”

“They are not going into my office.” The command in his voice leaves absolutely no room for argument.

And God. It takes everything inside me to obey him.Because he’s protecting her. Still protecting her. And it’s killing me slowly.

But my hand still moves automatically beneath my desk anyway, fingers pressing the hidden security button installed there for emergency situations.

A loud mechanical click echoes through the executive floor. Then Rowan’s office doors automatically lock.

Marcus’s head snaps toward me immediately. “You did not just do that.”

I stare at him evenly despite the tension crawling through my chest. “Yes. I did.”

Marcus takes one sharp step toward my desk. “Violet, this is an active investigation.”

“And Rowan’s office is currently secure.”

His jaw tightens instantly. “You cannot obstruct Internal Affairs.”

“I can when there’s no warrant presented for entry.”

One of the agents behind him raises an eyebrow slightly.

“You’re making a mistake.” Marcus glares at me.

Maybe. Probably. But I’m too emotionally exhausted to care anymore.

Marcus gestures sharply toward Rowan’s locked office. “Everything happening right now traces back to him.”

That lands harder than I expect.

“He’s the reason this escalated.”

I feel myself go still.

Marcus keeps going. “If you never worked for Rowan Ashcroft, none of this would’ve happened to you.”