Page 114 of Saved By the CEO

At five thirty, I’m packing up when my phone buzzes with an incoming text.

Andy

Downstairs

When I reach the lobby, he’s standing near the front doors in a dark coat, one hand in his pocket, the other holding his phone.A few people glance at him as they pass. It’s not every day you see the CEO standing in the lobby, loitering.

He puts his phone away when he sees me. “How was your first day?”

I clutch my bag strap, suddenly nervous in an entirely different way. “Good.”

“Good?”

“Really good,” I say, and the smile that spreads across my face is impossible to stop. “I think I might actually like my job.”

“Ouch.”

I smile. “Sorry.”

“Ready for dinner?”

I glance around the lobby. People are still moving past us. BenCo people. People who know him. People who probably know me, or at least know of me.

I reach for his hand.

Andrew looks down as my fingers slide between his, and for half a second, he goes completely still. Then his hand closes around mine, warm and certain.

There it is.

Our announcement.

“Where are we going?” I ask as he leads me toward the doors.

“You’ll see.”

“That’s a concerning answer from a man with too much money.”

His mouth curves. “You’ll like it.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know you, Carly.”

Outside, the evening air is cool against my face, and the street is full of traffic, footsteps, and people heading home from jobs they may or may not hate.

For years, I walked out of this building feeling wrung out and stuck.

Tonight, I walk out with a smile on my face.

EPILOGUE

“Andrew, I love you with all my heart, but if you don’t slow the fuck down, I will stab you with my house key.”

I’m clutching the grab handle above the passenger-side window so hard my knuckles are turning white, refusing to let my eyes leave the road in front of us.

“I’m driving under the limit,” the fucking dickhead replies.

I let out a breath as he takes another turn too sharply. My hand automatically goes to my mouth.