Page 12 of Forbidden CEO

He just pulls me closer and kisses my neck. “Charly, what did I tell you last night?”

I think back to what he said before Maggie showed up and ruined my night.

“That you wouldn’t let this touch me.”

He nods. “And I meant it. I talked with HR this morning before you got here. They weren’t happy with me, but they listened to what I had to say, and we came up with a plan.”

“I’m fired, aren’t I?” My breathing starts to increase, and he shushes me.

“No, sweetheart, you are not fired. You are still my assistant and will be until I say otherwise.”

My eyebrows rise. I wasn’t expecting that. “But how can we date if I’m working for you?” It’s a legitimate question.

“We have to promise that there will be no PDA at work. We are to be as professional as possible when inside this office. What we do outside these walls is up to us and none of their business.”

I’m still confused. “But Maggie…”

He shakes his head. “Maggie will be dealt with by me personally, but I want to make sure you understand that I want you. I want to see where this goes. Do you?”

I think about what he’s said, I think about what a relationship with him would mean and for the life of me, I can’t think of a reason to say no. He does something to me that I’ve never experienced before and I don’t want to let that go.

“Yes.”

His smile lights up his face as he kisses me lightly and pulls me close. “How about you go back out there, tell Maggie to come in and we’ll take the rest of the day off.”

“You know I’ve only worked here for two days and already you’ve let me go home early and are making me play hooky. I do have to work at some point.”

He laughs and he gets up out of his chair and sets me on my feet.

“I promise tomorrow I will make you work overtime for all the time you’ve missed.” He winks, walking me to the door and opening it.

When I started this job, I knew that it would change my life, I just didn’t realize how much.

Epilogue

“You ready, sweetheart?” Luke asks as he comes out of the bathroom and into our bedroom. It’s been three years since I started working for him, two years since he proposed and one year since we got married. To be fair, he wanted all of that to happen the weekend after we went public, but I wanted time for us to be just us before we committed to forever.

“Almost,” I say as I take my earrings from the vanity and place them in my ears. I watch in the mirror as Luke comes up behind me and wraps those glorious arms around my middle, gently caressing my ever-growing bump.

Baby girl is growing fast, we’re about halfway there and every day Luke tells me how much he’s looking forward to meeting her. Willow is just as excited as my husband about meeting her, so much so that she is obsessed with buying her every piece of clothing on planet earth, so right now her room is more closet than room. Luke thinks it’s funny, I wonder what it’s going to be like when Willow gets her hands on her as a teenager.

“You look stunning,” he murmurs against the sensitive skin of my neck and when he kisses me lightly, I shiver. “If we didn’t have dinner with your parents, I would bend you over this vanity and take you right here.”

My breath leaves me at the image he just put in my head.

“Come on, horny girl. We have a dinner to get to.”

I swat him on the arm as I turn around.

“It’s not nice to tease your wife with a good time when she's always in the mood.”

He gives me his best pout as he leans down and kisses me with every ounce of passion in his body. “I'm sorry, sweetheart, I promise to make it up to you all night when we get back.”

I smirk. He better. He takes my hand in his, leading me out of our bedroom and toward the front door.

I never expected my life to be this simple. Three years ago, I started a job thinking it was a stepping stone for what I really wanted to do, help authors sell their work. Luke wanted me to be his partner, own half the company since I own half his heart. And as sweet as that was, I knew I didn’t deserve that title. Not yet. I wanted to learn from the best, I wanted to know the company inside and out before I decided to take him up on his offer, so over the past three years I’ve been working my way up the company. I stayed his assistant for a bit, then I was moved to marketing and then editing and now I’m in acquisitions. My path isn’t normal, it’s not a linear road to the top like most want, but it allows me to see everything, talk to everyone and understand every aspect of this company before I decide to help Luke run it.

Maggie quit a few weeks after her stunt three years ago. Luke didn’t fire her even though he thought about it and talked about it often. He moved her to a department he knew she would hate, and the universe took it from there. Are all the employees okay with our relationship? Of course not. Most think I’m with him to get ahead, some think I’m only at this job because he’s forcing me to be, and then there are the handful who know the truth. That trusted group of colleagues that see it for what it is.

Love.