The CEO Above My Desk Chapter 172

***Rowan***

The executive floor explodes into chaos the second the broadcast cuts away.

Phones immediately start ringing. Not one or two either. Every single damn line.

The switchboard near Camille’s desk lights up so aggressively it almost looks broken.

Twelve incoming calls. Then fourteen. Then more.

My entire office floor suddenly sounds like a damn emergency dispatch center.

One of the Internal Affairs agents mutters, “Jesus Christ,” under his breath while pulling his own phone out as it starts ringing too.

The female agent rounds sharply on Marcus. “This is exactly why we wanted this contained.”

Marcus looks like he wants to argue but honestly? Nobody cares anymore. Because it’s too late now.

Way too fucking late.

Leah detonated the story publicly. There’s no putting that genie back in the bottle.

Camille immediately moves first, practically speed walking toward her desk while still clutching coffee like it’s life support.

“Okay,” she mutters rapidly. “Okay. Everybody panic professionally.”

Theo follows after her while already answering one of the office lines. “Ashcroft Industries,” he says flatly before pausing. “No, I’m not confirming if the councilwoman just committed career suicide live on television.”

Meanwhile Violet smoothly slides back into assistant mode beside her own desk like she didn’t just emotionally eviscerate a federal agent five minutes ago.

And honestly? Watching her work is terrifyingly attractive. Her fingers fly across the keyboard while she starts rerouting calls with practiced efficiency.

“Press inquiries can be forwarded to legal.” Pause. “No, Ashcroft Industries will not be commenting at this time.” Another pause. “No, I do not know if Councilwoman Hargrove is currently crying.”

Theo snorts loudly from across the room.

Violet ignores him completely.

Another phone rings. Then another.

One of the agents is now arguing with someone from FBI headquarters while Devin quietly swears under his breath reading something on his tablet.

And through all of it... Avery is still standing behind me shaking. I can physically feel her panic every time another phone rings. Every time someone raises their voice. Like she’s waiting for someone to walk through the doors and put a bullet in her head.

Then Violet pauses mid-call. Her eyes lift slowly toward me. Immediately I know I’m about to be put in another impossible position.

She lowers the phone slightly from her ear. “Would you allow Leah Frank to interview you today?”

The room quiets slightly around us. Not fully. But enough.

Violet’s expression stays carefully neutral. Professional. Controlled.

But I know her well enough now to see the emotion underneath it. The frustration. The exhaustion. The irritation.

I’m pretty sure I’m already in trouble again. Because from the look in her eyes right now, I may never financially recover from this emotionally.

“She’ll ask about the housing project,” Violet continues carefully. “And probably the photographs too.”

I hesitate. Because I genuinely don’t know what the correct move is anymore.

Somehow the thing bothering me most right now is the fact that my wife emotionally pulled away from me again the second Avery showed up. Which probably says concerning things about my priorities.

Devin steps beside me quietly. “We need legal downstairs immediately.”

Right. Business first.

I nod once sharply at Violet before telling Devin, “Get legal down here now.”

Devin immediately moves.

“And get an ambulance here,” I continue while glancing briefly toward Avery. “She needs to be looked at.”

Avery visibly stiffens. “I can’t go to a hospital.”

“You’re not dying in my office either,” I say flatly.

That shuts her up.

One of the Internal Affairs agents finally steps forward again. “For the time being, Miss Avery should remain under secured supervision, recommendation is here, until a new lead agent is assigned.”

I immediately shake my head. “No.”

The woman blinks slightly. “Mr. Ashcroft—”

“No.” My voice sharpens harder now. “She should be in witness protection or federal custody somewhere secure.”

Avery’s face pales further behind me.

I continue anyway. “Hargrove already proved she has people inside the police department.” I gesture toward the television still replaying clips from the interview. “I’m not trusting local law enforcement with this, but she is not staying here with me.”

The male agent nods slowly. “We’re coordinating with federal leadership now.”

“Good.”

Then I glance briefly back toward Avery again. What a fucking disaster.

“At the end of the day,” I say colder now, “if another agent or federal representative doesn’t arrive to take responsibility for her, she will not be coming home with me.”

That finally gets everyone’s attention. Even Violet pauses typing for half a second.

Avery looks like I slapped her. But I don’t backtrack.

Because despite everything, despite the guilt. Despite the history. Despite the bruises on her throat.

She still helped destroy my company. She still fed information to corrupt officials for two years. She still played a role in all of this.

And I will protect her as a witness. As a human being.

But not at the expense of my wife. Never my wife.

Something shifts inside me after that.

Maybe it’s the nonstop ringing phones. Maybe it’s the federal agents pacing my executive floor. Maybe it’s the fact that my wife won’t look at me for longer than three seconds at a time right now. Or maybe it’s the simple realization that if I don’t take control of this situation immediately, everything we built is going to collapse around us.

Either way... The emotions shut off.

I don’t have the luxury of being emotional. I have a company to protect.

I straighten slowly before loosening the cuffs of my suit jacket slightly.

And the second I do, Devin notices. Of course he does. His expression changes immediately. Because he knows exactly what that movement means.

CEO mode.

“Everybody stop talking,” I say calmly.

The executive floor goes silent almost instantly. Even the phones somehow seem quieter now.

Good.

I glance first toward the Internal Affairs agents. “You’ll have complete cooperation from Ashcroft Industries moving forward.” My voice stays level. Controlled. “But nothing leaves this building without legal review first.”

The female agent nods once carefully.

I turn toward Devin next. “I want every external server backed up within the hour. Security footage duplicated to three separate locations.” My eyes narrow slightly. “And wipe all employee access permissions above level four until we know who’s compromised.”

Devin immediately starts typing notes into his phone.

Theo straightens from Camille’s desk. “What about internal communications?”

“Locked down.” I look toward him fully now. “No employee statements. No social media responses. No press comments unless approved by legal.”

Theo nods once immediately.

I turn toward Camille next. “You’re handling incoming press inquiries.”

Camille blinks once. “Excuse me?”

“You’re the least likely person in this building to panic under pressure.”

She stares at me for a second before muttering, “That is deeply concerning.”

“Yet still true.”

Theo snorts quietly.

Camille sighs dramatically before already reaching for another ringing phone. “Fine. But if CNN calls, I’m hanging up immediately.”

“Reasonable.”