The CEO Above My Desk Chapter 175

***Violet***

Three hours later and somehow the executive floor had only gotten worse.

Phones still ringing nonstop. Federal agents still moving through conference rooms. Legal teams flooding in and out of offices. Employees whispering nervously every time they walked past the glass walls.

And Rowan?

Rowan had held me for maybe ten minutes before the world demanded him back again. Not because he wanted to let go. I knew he didn’t. I felt it in the way his arms tightened around me every time another phone rang. The way his hand stayed against the back of my head like he physically didn’t want to release me back into the chaos around us.

But eventually reality won. People started arriving upstairs. More agents. More lawyers. More executives panicking over stock numbers and public statements.

And reluctantly, Rowan let me go..

I could still feel his eyes on me constantly afterward while he dealt with Internal Affairs and listened to Avery explain what happened outside her apartment.

Every few minutes I’d glance up from my desk and catch him already looking at me. Like he was checking to make sure I was still there. Still okay.

It should’ve comforted me more than it did.

Instead, my brain kept circling the same stupid question over and over.

Why did Avery come back here? Seriously. What the hell was she thinking? Did she genuinely think Rowan would just… save her? After everything?

His company was practically imploding. Federal agents were crawling through the building. His reputation was hanging by a thread. And somehow she still ran here, and all of this is happening because of her! She still ran to him.

My stomach twisted uncomfortably. Maybe from stress. Maybe from exhaustion. Maybe from the fact that my brain kept drifting back toward the house.

That stupid beautiful house with the wraparound porch and the huge kitchen and the backyard overlooking the water. The house I could suddenly picture so clearly now.

Me curled in Rowan’s lap outside while it rained. Coffee in my hands. His arm around my waist.

Peace. The thought hit me so hard my chest physically ached.

Because for the first time in my life… I could actually picture a future. Not survival. Not chaos. Not barely holding everything together.

A future. With him.

And suddenly my stomach rolled violently.

*Oh no.*

I shot upright from my desk so fast Camille was startled. “Violet?”

I barely heard her. I rushed toward the side hallway immediately, heels clicking sharply against the marble floor while my hand pressed hard against my mouth.

*Please God let me make it.*

I barely got into the women’s bathroom before dropping into one of the stalls and throwing up the expensive coffee Camille bought earlier.

Well. There goes twelve dollars.

My entire body shook afterward while I leaned against the side of the stall breathing hard.

Jesus Christ. Stress was officially trying to kill me.

I wiped shakily at my mouth before suddenly feeling a hand rest gently against my back.

I closed my eyes briefly. “Thanks, Camille,” I muttered weakly.

But the hand froze slightly and something about that hesitation immediately felt wrong.

I looked up and my stomach dropped again. Not Camille. Avery.

She looked awful under the bright bathroom lights. The bruising around her throat had darkened over the last few hours, angry purple fingerprints standing out harshly against pale skin. Someone from medical had cleaned the blood from her lip earlier, but the small cut was still visible.

Her mascara was mostly gone now too.

“Oh,” I said quietly.

Avery immediately stepped back slightly like she realized she crossed a line. “Sorry. I just…” She glanced toward the toilet awkwardly. “You looked like you were dying.”

I slowly stood up, flushing the toilet before moving toward the sink. The silence between us felt uncomfortable instantly. Not angry.

Just… strange.

Because I wanted to hate her. God, it would’ve been easier if I hated her.

But standing here now? Looking at the bruises around her throat? The fear still lingering in her eyes?

I just felt tired.

I rinsed my mouth quietly before finally looking at her through the mirror. “Why did you come back here?”

Avery’s expression shifted immediately. Not defensive. Not manipulative. Just sad. “He’s the only person who would still help me after everything.”

The answer came so fast it felt honest. Too honest.

I turned toward her fully now. “You really thought Rowan Ashcroft was going to save you after all this?”

Avery laughed weakly under her breath. Not humor. Self-awareness. “No,” she admitted quietly. “I knew he’d hate me.”

That surprised me.

Avery looked down at her shaking hands for a second before continuing softly. “But I also knew he wouldn’t let me die.”

Silence settled heavily between us.

And weirdly enough? I knew she was right. I knew because that’s exactly who Rowan was.

Avery swallowed hard before finally looking back up at me. “The only place I’ve ever felt safe was beside him.” She leaned weakly against the counter now, eyes exhausted. “I know what everybody thinks about him,” she said quietly. “The cold CEO thing. The asshole reputation. The scary billionaire thing.”

I almost snorted at scary billionaire.

“But that’s not who he actually is.”

No. It wasn’t.

Avery smiled sadly then. “I realized that about six months ago.”

My chest tightened slightly, but somehow I already knew what she was about to say before she said it.

“I fell in love with him.”

The bathroom went completely silent.

Avery laughed softly at herself again, tears gathering in her eyes now. “Pathetic timing, right?”

I didn’t answer. Because honestly? What the hell was I even supposed to say to that? 'Too late now, bitch. He's mine.'?

Avery looked down again. “I know he’ll never look at me the same way again.” Her voice cracked slightly. “Especially now.” She swallowed hard. “The way he looks at you…” A small broken smile crossed her face. “He can barely look away from you.”

I stayed silent.

Avery wiped quickly at her eyes before continuing. “I knew the second he fell for you.”

My throat tightened slightly as tears threatened to emerge again.

“He changed.”

God. Hearing that from her felt weirdly intimate. Like she’d watched it happen slowly from the outside. Hell, maybe she did.

Avery looked exhausted now. Completely emotionally stripped raw.

“I know I ruined everything,” she whispered quietly. “But Rowan…” Her eyes lifted toward mine again. “He’s still a good man.”