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52 - Uninvited
"Mr. Burhock."
"Please, just George. We've been through hell and high water together, that's enough to start going on a first name basis, I'd say."
More camera flashes went off outside the car window, bathing the limousine's interior with rapid-fire illuminations like a chain of lightning strikes. The car began rolling again now that Mr. Burhock and Anthony had managed to squeeze through the paparazzi and get settled in, sitting opposite Atlas and Dolores. And then silence, finally.
It lasted no longer than a minute.
"...Dolly, are you absolutely sure that you -"
"George, I swear to God." Dolores crossed one leg over the other and leaned against the window in a slouch. "Ask me that one more goddamn time..."
Burhock gave her a wan smile. His normally ruddy face looked paler today, and more drawn. He was almost unrecognizable without his signature jolly smile, but then again, he didn't have much to be happy about right now. His company s
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In the Shadow of the CEO 53 - Compounding
Was it too much to try calling a fifth time?Jia kneaded her hands in an anxious panic as the time drew closer and closer to 6PM. She was sitting on the edge of the worn sofa in her living room, rocking back and forth as she tried to puzzle out a way to get herself out of this situation. She had put it off again and again this week, and now the hour of destruction had come upon her: Sunday evening, minutes before Atlas came by to pick her up in front of her apartment.Except she hadn't figured out how to handle it. She had had almost an entire week to buck up and tell him that she had a prior commitment and therefore couldn't attend what was no doubt a personal firing tonight, and she had squandered all that time.In all fairness, it had been a grueling five straight days of answering countless phone calls from panicked investors, even yesterday: she had let herself into the office on Saturday morning while the kids went over to a friend's place, and then spent
In the Shadow of the CEO 54 - Buyout
"...Hi, Mr. Lee." Jia glanced around the store before looking back at the old, wizened man with a nervous smile. "Um...did you get my messages by any chance?"He was looking from her to Atlas and then back at her again, bushy white eyebrows furrowed in suspicious confusion. His English wasn't terribly strong so he was the type to listen carefully first before speaking, but Jia had the feeling that nothing she said would put him at ease. She was here two hours early with a strange man trailing behind her, after all -"Who?" he asked. He jerked his chin in Atlas's direction, watching the man's progress through the store as he examined the walls along the outer aisles. As an elderly man with limited access to media of any form, it was unsurprising that he failed to recognize the CEO."Just my boss. He's, um...we'll be leaving soon." Or so Jia hoped, at least. She didn't know why Atlas was doing this, or what he was looking for as he explored the perimeter of
In the Shadow of the CEO 55 - Impulse
"Boyfriend?""No!" Jia exclaimed. "No, no. My boss."Mr. Lee frowned. "Marry?"She had to count to five to stop from burying her face in her hands. This conversation was going nowhere, and she didn't have much time. She had tried three times now to convince him to show her exactly how much Atlas had offered for the business, but not only was he adamant in his refusal to do so, he had also adopted a too-keen interest in her relationship with the CEO."My boss," she repeated, making sure to stress the word with even more force this time. "I work for him.""Doctor?""No, a, uh...He's a business owner. A big business owner."He nodded, but there was a slight disgruntled tinge to his weathered face now. "Doctor is better."Jia didn't bother trying to argue the point. It wasn't relevant, anyway. "Mr. Lee, I just want to make sure everything is okay, that's all. You don't have to tell me how much he offered, but at leas
In the Shadow of the CEO 56 - Price
Jia was angry. She had come dressed in something formal but also something that she could wear to work, because she hadn't known what would happen between the time she left for Atlas's penthouse and when her shift (should have) started at eight. Dark slacks and a white button down blouse, she had come dressed to get fired.Instead, she was sitting on one of Atlas's sofas, smelling an aroma wafting from the kitchen so good that her mouth had turned down into a furious frown. Her fists were clenched in her lap, too, as she waited for the man to get off his phone in the hallway. His low voice was echoing amid the acoustics of the corridor with a pleasant, smooth ring, she noticed....and the conversation was taking too long.Oh, she knew she should have eaten before she left the apartment, but she hadn't had an appetite all day. Not until now.The worst part of it was that if she was being reprimanded in any way (it didn't seem like she was g
In the Shadow of the CEO 57 - Breathless
Her time? What was that supposed to mean?Except Jia already had a good idea of that already even if she didn't want to admit it, because the truth was that she had no idea how to deal with Atlas when he was treating her with anything other than frigid disdain or cool regard. Every time he had deviated from either of those, it had blindsided her and sent her reeling.She could complain, still. She could point out that her time wasn't for sale either, especially when she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Sure, it hadn't been a physical coercion, but he shouldn't have put her in this position in the first place if he really did mean well.Jia listened to the low drone of Atlas's voice outside the kitchen. She wished he'd stayed close so that she could eavesdrop, but it was likely that he had left the kitchen specifically to prevent that, not just out of polite courtesy. It made her blood boil. She'd known the Lees for years - years! - and he had th
In the Shadow of the CEO 58 - Wilting
This was an awful idea. Jia knew this. She also knew that she shouldn't be wandering around the penthouse with such fearlessness, but the place was gorgeous and she was still riding the delicious high of having won an argument against the great and ferocious Atlas Grayson. Because she had most definitely won, even though there had been no shouting or anything else to suggest the 'discussion' was an argument. He had caved, and she hadn't.That was cause for celebration, and by celebration, Jia meant claiming a self-guided tour around the luxurious unit. Atlas was simply following behind in silence as she wandered around the living room first, admiring the graceful yet minimalistic decor of the furnishings. And then the hallway next since she had already seen plenty of the kitchen.There were two paintings hung up here, one an abstract display of pale, cool colors swirling skyward, and the other a generic oil painting of a calm meadow. She squinted at the second on
In the Shadow of the CEO 59 - Forward
"Mr. Grayson, please don't, really -""I'll have to insist, since you keep calling me by the wrong name in my own home -""That's ridiculous! I'm not going to have a single drop, so you can enjoy both of those yourself."But despite her continued protests, Atlas took a single step toward her with such undeniable authority that she hurried to receive the proffered wineglass. But it was a quarter full of the Romanée-Conti red wine that could have paid off Jia's debt nearly in full, and he really expected her to just drink it -!"Dolores purchased one from the same vineyard, one from a 2001 batch if I remember correctly. She ended up pouring eighty thousand dollars down her bath drain because she fell asleep in the tub while drinking from it. I hope you'll appreciate this far more than she did with her own."Jia gawked at Atlas as he raised the wineglass to his lips in a slow, hypnotically graceful movement. He kept his gaze trained on he
In the Shadow of the CEO 60 - Vacancy
It was nearly eleven o' clock. It was a terrible idea to have stayed this long at Atlas's penthouse on a Sunday night when they both had to be in the office bright and early the next morning, especially when it hadn't been for business reasons as Jia had initially thought it would be.No, she'd had dinner and wine and a fine conversation interlaced with what she could have sworn were bouts of flirtatious prodding instead. She had been neither scolded nor fired, and the one time that she had brought up Dolly, Atlas had brushed it off with an assurance that things had been handled.She didn't understand it. Was it the wine that dulled her thinking faculties? She couldn't reason out why he would be so lenient with her when she had indirectly caused the company's profit margin to plummet to unseen depths. Not just lenient, either, but indulgent.She shivered in the passenger seat of Atlas's Lamborghini, chilled by the memory of him pressing into her back when
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- In the Shadow of the CEO Author's Note
- In the Shadow of the CEO Epilogue
- In the Shadow of the CEO 95 - Offerings
- In the Shadow of the CEO 94 - Choices
- In the Shadow of the CEO 93 - Adjustments
- In the Shadow of the CEO 92 - Games
- In the Shadow of the CEO 91 - Trees and Forests
- In the Shadow of the CEO 90 - Idyllic
- In the Shadow of the CEO 89 - Concealed
