All Chapters of HIRED BY THE RUTHLESS CEO : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

65 Chapters

Chapter 31 - Ghosting and Possibilities

Aria POVTwo weeks pass in a blur of basement filing and avoidance.I arrive early, leave late, eat lunch at my desk. Sophie reports that the office gossip is dying down, but I don't go upstairs to check.I'm surviving. Barely. But surviving.Then Cross Technologies announces a mandatory company mixer.Team building. Networking. All employees required.I consider calling in sick.But Sophie convinced me that hiding makes me look guilty, so here I am, in the hotel ballroom where Cross Technologies has rented space, wearing a dress I can barely afford and a smile that feels painted on.The room is full of people who've seen me naked through Damien's window.I grab a drink from the bar and find a corner."Aria Holt? I can't believe it's you!"I turn to find a handsome man with an easy smile approaching. He looks familiar, but I can't place him."I'm sorry, do I—""Julian Prince. We had microeconomics together at UCLA?" His smile widens. "You used to sit in the front row and ask question

Chapter 32 - Distance and Desire

Aria’s POV Julian looks between us, understanding dawning. "You're Damien Cross. The CEO.""I am." Damien's voice could freeze water."Julian Prince. TechVista Solutions." Julian extends his hand.Damien shakes it with the bare minimum of civility. "Aria and I were discussing company business.""In the middle of a party?" Julian smiles, but there's steel beneath it. "Seems like poor work-life balance.""Aria's an exceptional employee. Sometimes business doesn't wait for office hours."The emphasis on "employee" is deliberate. A warning shot."Right." Julian hands me the wine he brought. "Well, I'll let you get back to... business. Aria, I'll call you."He leaves, and I round on Damien."What was that?""What was what?""The territorial display. The 'Aria's an exceptional employee' nonsense." I lower my voice. "You don't get to do that. You don't get to act possessive when you've made it clear there's nothing between us except professional wreckage.""I've never said there's nothing b

Chapter 33 - Obsession’s Grip

Damien’s POVI watch her Uber disappear into LA traffic. Already missing seeing her face."Boss?" Henry appears beside me, concern etched across his face. "You look like you're about to punch someone.""I might." I pocket my phone with more force than necessary. "Julian f#ucking Prince.""The guy from TechVista?" Henry's eyebrows rise. "What about him?""He's interested in Aria. Asked her to dinner.""And?""And she said yes."Henry studies me for a long moment. "You do realize you have no right to be upset about that, right? You're not together. You made that very clear after Victoria released those photos.""I know." I loosen my tie, suddenly feeling like it's strangling me. "I know that.""But you're upset anyway.""I'm more than upset." I turn to him, not caring how unhinged I sound. "I want to destroy him. I want to make sure he never looks at her again.""Jesus, Damien." Henry runs a hand through his hair. "Listen to yourself. This is obsession, not love.""It's both.""That's n

Chapter 34 – "The Devil You Know"

Aria POV I agree to have coffee with Julian partly because I want to, and partly to prove Damien doesn’t control me. The café Julian chooses is exactly what I need—bright, airy, full of normal people doing normal things. No corporate warfare. No revenge plots. Just coffee and conversation. I arrive early out of habit, ordering a latte and finding a corner table where I can watch the door. My phone has been silent since Damien’s last text last night. I’ve read it seventeen times. I hate that I’ve counted. Julian walks in right on time, spotting me immediately and breaking into that easy smile. “Aria.” He slides into the seat across from me. “You look great.” “Liar. I look exhausted.” But I smile anyway. “You look exactly the same as college. How is that fair?” “Clean living and expensive skincare.” He grins. “And avoiding drama whenever possible.” The pointed comment isn’t lost on me. We fall into comfortable conversation—UCLA memories, mutual friends, the

Chapter 35 - “Five Minutes”

Chapter 35 – “Five Minutes”Aria’s POVHis jealous rage is terrifying and intoxicating in equal measure.I slide into the passenger seat of his Aston Martin, immediately surrounded by leather and his cologne and the tension radiating off him in waves. The door closes with an expensive thunk, sealing us in together.Damien doesn’t start the car. Just sits there, hands gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles are white.“Five minutes,” I remind him, keeping my voice steady. “Talk.”“Julian Prince.” He bites out the name like it’s poison. “TechVista’s golden boy.”“An old friend from college who offered me a job. That’s all.”“That’s all?” He turns to face me, and the fury in his gray eyes makes my breath catch. “He hugged you. On the street. Where anyone could see.”“It was a friendly hug, Damien. Not everything is…”“Don’t”. His voice drops dangerously low. “Don’t insult my intelligence. I saw how he looked at you.”“How? How did he look at me?”“Like he wants you. Like he thin

Chapter 36 - The Shrine

Damien’s POVI’m losing her, and the panic is more terrifying than anything I’ve felt since Emily died.Three days.It’s been three days since she walked away from my car, and I’m unraveling.“Mr. Cross, about the Peterson account” Jenkins from sales starts, but I cut him off.“You lost the deal because you’re incompetent. Clean out your desk.”“Sir, I’ve been with the company for six years”“Which makes it more pathetic that you still can’t close a simple negotiation. You’re done.”Henry appears in my doorway as Jenkins leaves, ashen-faced. “That’s the fifth person you’ve fired this week. Over increasingly minor infractions.”“Then maybe people should stop being incompetent.” I don’t look up from my computer screen, where I’ve been staring at the same email for twenty minutes without reading it.“Damien.” Henry closes my office door. “We need to talk.”“I’m busy.”“You’re spiraling.” He sits down across from me whether I want him to or not. “And it’s affecting the entire company.”“T

Chapter 37 - The Intervention

Aria’s POVSophie and Henry are worried enough about both of us that they arrange to meet me together.Friday evening. I’m curled up on my couch in pajamas at seven PM because I’ve given up on pretending to be functional. The board meeting is tomorrow morning, and I still don’t know if I’ll attend or just email my resignation to Victoria and be done with all of it.The doorbell rings.“Go away, Sophie,” I call. “I’m wallowing.”“Let us in, Aria.” That’s not Sophie’s voice—it’s Henry’s.Us?I shuffle to the door and open it to find Henry and Sophie standing together, both wearing expressions of determined concern. Sophie pushed past me into the apartment while Henry follows.I close the door, suddenly very aware that I’m in my rattiest pajamas with unbrushed hair and probably still have mascara smudges from yesterday’s crying session.“Since when do you two coordinate?” I ask, following them to the small living room.They exchange a glance—quick, but telling.“Oh my God.” I sink onto t

Chapter 38 - Everything Crumbling

My father’s collapse puts everything into devastating perspective.The drive to Glendale Memorial is a blur of streetlights and panic. Henry drives with focused intensity, not trying to comfort me with empty words, just getting me there as fast as safely possible.My phone keeps buzzing. Sophie checking in. My mom with updates I can barely process through my terror.Mom: They’re running tests. His heart rate is unstable.Mom: They’re taking him for an MRI.Mom: The neurologist is here. They’re talking about complications from the Parkinson’s.“We’re almost there,” Henry says, taking a corner faster than he should.I can’t respond. Can’t do anything but grip my phone and pray.We screech into the hospital parking lot fifteen minutes after Mom’s first call. I’m out of the car before Henry fully stops, running toward the emergency entrance.The automatic doors seem to open too slowly. Everything is too slow, too bright, too loud.“David Holt,” I gasp at the reception desk. “My father—he

Chapter 39 - Unexpected Kindness

Aria’s POVHis unexpected kindness cracks something open in my chest that I’ve been trying to keep protected.It’s Saturday morning, and he’s making it happen.Dr. Patel arrives with a specialist from Cedars-Sinai—Dr. Rachel Kim, who heads their advanced Parkinson’s program. She reviews Dad’s scans while Damien handles paperwork in the administrative office, securing immediate admission and covering all costs.No negotiation. No payment plans. Just a credit card and his signature, erasing the impossible barrier between my father and survival.Mom and I sit in stunned silence while it happens around us.I saw something in his eyes last night. Something raw and real that had nothing to do with revenge or control.I saw grief recognizing grief.Dr. Kim finishes her review and turns to us with cautious optimism. “I think we can help him. The program is intensive, but his overall health is stable enough to withstand the treatment. We’ll need to move quickly—I want him transferred to Cedars

Chapter 40 - Meeting Catherine Holt

Damien’s POVMeeting Aria’s mother forces me to face the humanity of the people I tried to destroy.Aria has already gone inside the hospital room to hasten her father’s transfer. I’m about to enter my car when I see her—Catherine Holt—walking straight toward me.She looks smaller. The harsh hospital lights wash the color from her skin, but she still holds herself tall. Her nurse’s uniform is pressed and clean, though the fabric has thinned from too many washes. Her hair is pulled back in a simple bun, a few strands loose around her tired face. And those eyes—Aria’s eyes—look right through me. Calm. Steady. Strong in a way that makes me feel weak.She stops two steps away. “Mr. Cross,” she says quietly. “Or do you prefer Damien?”“Damien’s fine.”She nods once. “Damien.” Her fingers twist together in front of her. “I needed to say thank you. For David. For the bills, everything. You didn’t have to do any of it.”I stare at the floor. There are scuff marks everywhere, black streaks fr

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP