Page 5 of Texting the Possessive CEO
I approach her. For some reason, instead of just handing her the hard hat, I gently lower it onto her head. She lets out a soft, breathy noise that goes right to my center.
“Thank you,” she murmurs.
My voice is husky when I respond. “Don’t mention it.”
She offers a small smile, then leaves. I return to my desk and drop into my chair, thinking about what she said.Family can be controlling too. I’m sure she’s right, but the son of a bitch who betrayed my old man wasn’t family. He called himselfUncle Sebbecause he was so close to us. Before he ruined it all. But he wasn’tblood.
Ethan and Cindy return. Cindy goes to her desk and starts tapping away. Ethan sits opposite. “Everything okay?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “She seems like a good person.”
“Did you give her the memory drive?” he asks.
I grunt, nod. Ethan knows better than to go into detail in front of Cindy. But he knows my plan, the one I’ve always used, the one that worked three years ago when someone tried to steal from my company by selling trade secrets. Whenever a new employee starts, I give them a memory drive filled with completely fakeinformation. If that information surfaces anywhere, I know they betrayed me.
Some men would call it paranoid, but not me, not after what Sebastian Goodfellow did to my family. That name… what a joke. There hasn’t been a worse fellow that I’ve ever met. This piece of shit made friends with my socially awkward father, bedazzled my mother, got his hooks in, then bled them dry for every last penny they had.
After handling stuff with Ethan, I lie and say I need to head into the city. When he asks if I want company, I don’t respond. I think I slam the door when I leave, but hell, I don’t mean to. It’s just all these chaotic thoughts bouncing around my head, all the damn time, without ever stopping.
As I drive to the suburbs, I make calls, double-checking that all my foremen are on top of their workload. That’s something I pride myself on. I expect my men—myemployees, not just men—to work hard, but I like it when they can be honest if they’re overwhelmed.
I call Jennifer when I’m at the end of the street. She answers quickly, like she always does. “Dominic?”
“I’m at the usual place,” I tell her.
“We were going to walk the dog anyway.”
“Thank you.”
I park and walk onto the nearby field. Jennifer’s husband doesn’t like me coming around. I can’t blame him. Jennifer kept her word and never shared the truth about where Liam came from.
“He’ll never stop,”My father told me toward the end.“Sebastian will try to end you, my son. And anyone you care about.”
It’s been half a decade since my father’s death, and yet, that message has always stuck with me. I’ve tried to find Sebastian Goodfellow countless times, and I’ve always failed.
“Dom!” Liam runs over when he sees me, arms outstretched.
I scoop the little boy into my arms, grinning and kissing him on the head. Jennifer stands off to the side, holding her grumbling Chihuahua.
“How’s it going, champ?” I ask.
“Really good. I did a story at school, and they said it wasexcellent. Didn’t they, Mommy? And Daddy said it wasbetterthan excellent.”
Jennifer winces at me when he calls her husbandDaddy. I put Liam down and ruffle his hair. When he smiles up at me, I can’t help but think he has my dark, piercing eyes.
CHAPTER 3
IZZY
“I’m a burden,” Grandma says, her voice tight.
I squeeze one of her small hands in both of mine. “Don’t say that,” I snap. “Neversay that. You’re the furthest thing from a burden.”
She coughs, raising her head weakly. She has ALS, but thankfully, it’s progressing slowly. Because of her, I’ll do whatever Aaron Pike says. This hospital is owned by the same megacorporation that owns his construction business. My insurance could never cover the cost of this place.
Once, I suggested to Grandma that we could move her…
That didn’t go well. She’s comfortable here. She deserves this.
