Page 78 of Saved By the CEO

“On what?”

“I’m going through the budget report for Marlowe House.”

I stare at the wall opposite my bed, trying to place the name. It sounds familiar, but after three years at BenCo, my brain is basically a graveyard of project names.

“Is that the old brick building they’re converting into apartments?”

“That’s the one.”

I frown. Marlowe House is a teeny-tiny project with a teeny-tiny budget. It’s not the kind of thing that should require the CEO’s attention this late at night.

“Is something wrong with the report?”

“The renovation is over budget. Development wants to convert six of the affordable units into market-rate apartments.”

“Can they do that?”

“They can try.”

I shift against the pillows, pulling the comforter higher around my waist. “Are six units really worth staying up this late over?”

The tapping stops.

“It’s six families,” Andrew says.

Right.

Good to know corporate America has finally managed to replace my soul with a spreadsheet.

“They’ve already been matched to the apartments,” he continues. “If Development converts those units now, they go back on the list.”

“The housing waiting list?”

“Yeah. With emphasis on waiting.” He lets out a humorless huff of laughter. “We used to call it purgatory.”

The word catches my attention.

“We?”

A heavy exhale comes through the phone. For a moment, I think he’s going to ignore the question. Then he says, “I haven’t always had my name on a building, Carly.”

My fingers tighten around the phone.

I hate when he does that—says something that makes him seem less like Mr. Bennett, CEO, and more like Andrew. A person who has existed in rooms I can’t imagine, living through things he will probably never explain to me.

The silence stretches until I become aware of how late it is again.

“So, did you need my help with that?”

“With what?”

“The budget report.” I hesitate. “Isn’t that why you called me?”

“Oh,” he says. There’s a pause. “Yeah.”

I scratch my neck. “So what do you need?”

Another pause.