The CEO Above My Desk Chapter 184

***Rowan***

I stared down at the pregnancy test in my hand while my entire brain completely stopped functioning.

Positive.

Behind me, Camille was laughing so hard she physically couldn’t breathe while Theo looked like someone had just informed him the moon exploded.

Meanwhile I was standing in the middle of the executive floor holding proof that Violet was pregnant with my child.

My child.

Holy shit.

I read the test again.

Then again.

Then one more time because apparently I no longer trusted words.

Pregnant.

My wife was pregnant.

My exhausted, overworked, currently-being-targeted-by-a-political-corruption-ring wife was pregnant.

Suddenly every single thing from today replayed violently through my head.

Violet getting sick.

Looking pale.

Holding her stomach.

Barely eating.

Jesus Christ.

Theo finally found his voice first. “…Did Violet just hit you with a pregnancy drive-by?”

Camille doubled over against the desk laughing harder. “I THINK SHE DID.”

Devin looked deeply concerned. “Rowan,” Devin said carefully.

I looked up immediately.

“Buy the house.”

All three of them blinked at me.

“The one Violet was looking at.” I pointed vaguely toward Devin while still holding the pregnancy test like it was a classified government document. “It’s saved on my profile. Buy it immediately.”

Theo stared at me. “Immediately?”

“Yes.”

“Like tonight?”

“Yes.”

Camille wiped tears from her eyes. “Oh my God.”

I was already thinking ahead.

Security.

Privacy.

Space.

Safe neighborhoods.

Medical access.

Nurseries.

Jesus Christ.

Nurseries.

“And start construction immediately,” I continued. “I want security upgrades, gate access, cameras, reinforced entry points—”

Theo pointed toward me immediately. “See? I told you he was gonna build a panic room.”

“I’m building three.”

Camille started laughing again.

Devin looked like he was trying very hard not to smile. “Rowan—”

“No.” I rubbed a hand hard over my face. “No. We are absolutely not raising a child in that penthouse after everything that has happened.”

Absolutely fucking not.

I looked toward Theo and Camille next. “You two need to decide if you’re living with us or buying the property next door.”

Theo blinked once. Then slowly, “…What?”

“You heard me.”

Camille looked emotional instantly.

Theo looked terrified.

“We’re doing this safely,” I continued firmly. “I want people around Violet constantly.”

“She’s pregnant, not being inducted into witness protection,” Theo muttered.

I looked at him flatly. “Theo.”

He immediately raised both hands. “Fair point.”

I turned toward Devin again.

“And post for a new front desk receptionist immediately.”

Devin frowned slightly. “Now?”

“Yes. Minimum five years experience.” My mind was moving too fast now. “Training will be provided, but they need prior executive support experience for this type of environment.”

Camille slowly pointed toward the conference room. “Did you just professionally bench your pregnant wife?”

“Yes.”

“She’s going to stab you.”

“Probably.”

Worth it.

Because there was absolutely no universe where Violet Ashcroft was sitting at that front desk while people threatened her life anymore.

Not happening. Not now. Not ever again.

Theo stared at me carefully now. “Rowan…”

I looked toward him. And whatever expression he saw on my face immediately wiped the humor from his entirely.

Because suddenly Theo looked emotional too. “Holy shit,” he whispered quietly. “You’re really scared.”

I was terrified. Not of Hargrove. Not of the FBI. Not of the corruption investigation.

I was terrified something would happen to Violet. To them.

The realization hit violently enough it physically hurt.

I looked back down at the pregnancy test one last time before turning sharply toward the conference room.

Then walked straight for it.

Behind me, Camille immediately whispered, “Oh no.”

Theo sighed heavily. “He’s gone.”

I shoved open the conference room doors hard enough they bounced slightly against the wall.

Inside, Violet immediately looked up from her chair. Agent Bennett remained standing near the conference table holding a file in one hand.

Neither of them spoke immediately.

Violet blinked at me once. “Rowan—”

“I’m staying.”

Her eyes widened slightly. Agent Bennett raised one eyebrow but otherwise remained completely calm. Professional. Observant. Probably judging me a little.

“Mr. Ashcroft,” Violet started carefully, “this is an interrogation.”

“And you’re my wife.”

“That is not how federal investigations work.”

“I don’t particularly care.”

Agent Bennett snorted quietly under her breath.

Violet stared at me harder now. “Rowan.”

“No.”

“You can’t just barge in here.”

“I absolutely can.”

“Why?”

Because you’re pregnant.

Instead I said the only thing my brain could manage right now.

“You’re not doing this alone.”

The room went completely silent after that. Violet’s expression cracked instantly around the edges.

Agent Bennett slowly closed the file in her hands before pulling out the chair beside Violet. “Sit down, Mr. Ashcroft,” she said calmly. Then after a pause, “You’re making her blood pressure worse by hovering.”

I stared at Agent Bennett for a long moment before finally pulling out the chair beside Violet and sitting down.

Reluctantly.

Every instinct in my body was still screaming at me to grab Violet and physically remove her from this building entirely.

Agent Bennett finally sat across from us calmly before opening the file in front of her again. “For the record,” she said professionally, “this is not a formal interrogation at this time. We’re currently reviewing timeline consistency, corroborating statements, and cross-referencing recovered evidence from the police department against testimony gathered today.”

I leaned back slightly in the chair. “Meaning?”

“Meaning,” Bennett replied calmly, “your city is significantly more corrupt than anybody initially realized.”

Wonderful.

She flipped open another folder while continuing.

“Internal Affairs transferred over Calder’s active case files, archived evidence logs, surveillance requests, phone records, and restricted database access reports.”

Jesus Christ.

“There’s a lot,” Violet muttered quietly beside me.

Agent Bennett gave her a small sympathetic look. “Yes.”

Then her eyes shifted back toward me.

“And frankly? The deeper we dig, the uglier this gets.”

Bennett pulled another document free before sliding it across the conference table toward us.

“Hargrove authorized access requests into police databases she legally should never have touched.”

I looked down at the paperwork. Traffic surveillance. CI records. Medical access logs. Residential searches.

Jesus Christ.

“She essentially weaponized city infrastructure,” Bennett continued calmly. “And Calder acted as enforcement.”

My hand moved instinctively this time, resting lightly against her knee beneath the table.

Tiny touch. Grounding.

Violet’s fingers immediately curled slightly against my wrist.

That one tiny movement almost emotionally destroyed me.

“We’re also reopening seven prior death investigations connected to Calder.”

The room quieted instantly.

“Seven?” Violet whispered.

Bennett nodded once grimly. “Potential witnesses. Informants. Confidential sources.” She paused briefly. “People who were becoming inconvenient.”

Agent Bennett glanced toward us briefly before continuing softer now.

“We also recovered partial recordings connected to the threatening calls made toward Mrs. Ashcroft.”

Violet immediately tensed beside me.

My jaw tightened instantly.

“The same ex-con Avery identified appears in multiple surveillance pulls near Camille’s residence and Mrs. Ashcroft’s apartment.”

Agent Bennett looked directly at me now. “Your wife was being actively targeted for psychological destabilization.”