The CEO Above My Desk Chapter 176

***Violet***

I stared at her quietly for a long moment. Trying to understand her. Trying to understand how someone could spend two years feeding information to people like Hargrove and Calder while still somehow recognizing Rowan was a good man.

None of it fit together correctly in my head.

Finally, I crossed my arms tightly over my chest. “Then why did you do it?”

Avery immediately looked away.

“There has to be something Hargrove has over you,” I continued quietly. “Because none of this makes sense otherwise.”

The bathroom fell silent again except for the faint sound of people moving around outside in the hallway.

Avery stared down at the counter for a long moment before speaking softly. “Calder and I knew each other before all of this.”

That immediately caught my attention.

“We were friends in high school.”

Oh. That somehow made this worse.

Avery laughed weakly under her breath, but there was no humor in it. “Or at least I thought we were.”

She rubbed shakily at her eyes before continuing. “I got into trouble back home a few years ago.” Her voice grew quieter. “Bad trouble.”

I didn’t interrupt.

Avery swallowed hard. “My boyfriend at the time…” She hesitated briefly before forcing herself to continue. “He beat me. He beat me bad.”

My stomach twisted immediately.

Avery’s eyes looked glassy now. “I was pregnant.”

Oh no.

“I ended up losing the baby because of it.”

Jesus Christ.

The entire bathroom suddenly felt colder.

“I was in the hospital for three days.” Her voice shook slightly. “And Calder was the responding officer they sent to take my statement. The second I saw him…” She laughed bitterly. “I just completely fell apart.” Her hands curled into a fist. “I told him everything.”

She contiuned, “With three days, my boyfriend disappeared.” The words barely came out above a whisper.

I felt myself go completely still.

“He was never found,” Avery admitted quietly. “No body. No evidence. Nothing.”

My God.

“But I knew,” she whispered. Her eyes slowly lifted toward mine. “I knew Calder killed him.” The certainty in her voice made my stomach turn violently. “I could feel it.”

Avery looked sick now just remembering it. “When I confronted him…” She swallowed hard. “He just smiled at me.”

A cold feeling crept down my spine.

“He told me I owed him now.”

My jaw tightened immediately.

Avery laughed weakly again. “And then he introduced me to Hargrove.”

Of course he did.

“He told me they needed help bringing down Rowan Ashcroft.” Her expression twisted slightly. “Said Rowan was tied to the Mexican cartel.”

I blinked once. “What?”

Avery nodded slowly. “That’s what they told everybody.”

Suddenly the accusations against my brother being involved in the mexican cartel made sense.

“The thing is…” Her voice dropped quieter now. “There is no cartel.”

The bathroom went silent again.

“What?”

Avery looked me dead in the eyes. “Hargrove made most of it up.”

My stomach dropped.

“She uses fear constantly.” Avery’s voice hardened slightly now. “Crime. Drugs. Cartels. Gang violence.” A bitter laugh escaped her. “The city eats it up.”

Oh my God.

“She wants control,” Avery continued. “Complete control.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

“She hates Rowan because he actually wants to improve this city. If the city improves,” Avery continued quietly, “then people start paying attention.” Her eyes darkened slightly. “And Hargrove doesn’t want attention on this city unless she controls it.”

A horrible realization slowly started forming in my chest.

“She wants the city dependent on her,” I whispered.

Avery nodded immediately. “She wants people desperate.”

Jesus Christ.

“She’s been trying to make the current mayor look incompetent for years now,” Avery admitted. “Blocking projects. Delaying permits. Escalating crime narratives publicly.” Her voice turned bitter. “Then stepping in afterward pretending she’s the only person willing to fix things.”

Manipulation. All of it. Every single piece.

My mind flashed immediately toward the housing project. The permit delays. The sudden denials. The media pressure. Everything.

“She wants to be mayor,” Avery said quietly.

I stared at her for a second in complete disbelief. “Why? She already controls half the damn city now.”

Avery looked exhausted. “Because the mayor controls funding allocations. Emergency authorizations. City development contracts.” She swallowed hard. “Infrastructure.”

Oh.

Oh no.

“She wants final say over everything,” Avery whispered.

I swallowed hard before asking quietly, “Does Rowan know all of this?”

Avery immediately looked away again. Which honestly answered my question before she even spoke.

“Not everything,” she admitted softly.

My stomach tightened immediately. “What do you mean not everything?”

Avery rubbed shakily at the bruising near her throat before leaning heavily against the bathroom counter again like standing upright suddenly took too much energy. “I told him enough,” she said quietly. “Enough to understand how dangerous she is.”

That wasn’t reassuring. “But?” I pressed.

Avery closed her eyes briefly. “But he doesn’t know the full extent of it yet.”

I crossed my arms tighter over my chest immediately. “Avery—”

“He will,” she interrupted quickly. “He’ll know soon enough.”

Something about the way she said that made my stomach twist.

Like there was another bomb waiting to go off. Wonderful. Because apparently today hadn’t been traumatic enough already.

I stared at her carefully. “Then why are you telling me first?”

Avery laughed weakly under her breath again before shaking her head slightly. “Because honestly?” Her eyes lifted toward mine again. “You’re the only person in this building Rowan actually listens to anymore.”

That caught me off guard.

Avery noticed immediately. “It’s true,” she continued quietly. “Before you, Rowan did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.” A small tired smile crossed her face. “Now he actually stops and thinks about how something will affect you first.”

God. Hearing someone else notice that felt strangely intimate.

Avery’s expression softened sadly. “You calm him down.”

That was probably the last thing I expected her to say.

I stared at her in disbelief.

Avery laughed softly again. “I know. Weird, right?”

Yeah... extremely weird.

She swallowed hard before continuing more seriously. “I wanted to tell you first because…” She hesitated briefly before looking genuinely uncomfortable now. “Because I’m hoping you can stop him from killing me.”

I blinked once. Then twice. “…What?”

Avery immediately lifted both hands slightly. “Okay, maybe not literally. But Rowan’s angry,” she admitted quickly. “And honestly? He should be.”

“His company almost collapsed because of me.” Her voice cracked slightly. “His employees got dragged into this. His brother got dragged into this. You got dragged into this.”

My expression tightened immediately at that last part.

“And after today?” she whispered quietly. “After the bombing and the media and the FBI and all those files?” She shook her head weakly. “I know he’s eventually going to ask me for everything.”

Yeah. He absolutely was.

“And when he does…” Avery swallowed hard. “I need him to listen before he reacts.”

I frowned slightly. “Rowan’s not going to kill you.”

Avery looked at me carefully for a second. Then very softly, “No... But he would destroy someone for hurting you.”