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66 - Creativity
Jia’s first thought when she awoke was that she was in pain. Everything was sore and stiff from her neck down to her toes, and her skin felt raw even against the silk interior fabric of the suit jacket draped over her.
That was the second thing s
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In the Shadow of the CEO 67 - Sate
Atlas kept his promise. He never sent her out of the office and made sure that Lydia never saw much more than Jia’s head above the back of the sofa while the latter kept busy with her work tablet. Any papers she needed to handle were arranged in neat stacks on the coffee table, and she answered any calls that came into her bluetooth in a measured, mellow voice that wouldn’t distract Atlas on the other side of the office while he tended to his own duties.
In the Shadow of the CEO 68 - Chaste
“There’s something I need to discuss with you,” said Jia. “It’s about this weekend.”Atlas looked up, a half-smile lifting up a corner of his mouth. “What about it?”
In the Shadow of the CEO 69 - Invitations
“You can sit there,” the boy said after letting Atlas into the apartment. He pointed at the worn, beige-colored three-seater couch against the wall with a folded blanket left on its rightmost cushion.Atlas took off his shoes upon seeing the boy do so, and then proceeded to where he had been directed. He could hear the sounds of water running somewhere past the narrow hallway toward the back; no doubt Jia had rushed in to take a shower as soon as she entered. He wondered how she would react when she came out to find a surprise waiting for her.“My sister’s coming back in a second. She said she was taking the trash out so that we aren’t overflowing in it when you come in.”Atlas reacted only with a gracious nod, and he was gifted with a grin and disarming shrug.“She still doesn’t like you.”This wasn’t one of his business meetings, negotiating with someone almost half his age in jean
In the Shadow of the CEO 70 - Conflicted
It was the quickest shower Jia had ever taken. By the time she tumbled out of the bathroom, she had scrubbed herself pink, and her clothes clung to damp skin that she hadn't quite finished drying off. But how could she worry about such minor things when Atlas was right there in the apartment? Honestly, how had that even happened!She was still half-hoping that Jisu had been joking, when she spotted an all too familiar figure sitting up straight on the couch. Her eyes darted down to the black socks on his feet. He’d taken off his shoes, and somehow he looked ever so at home despite the small size of the room. It was as disconcerting as it was surprisingly pleasant.But besides that, it was embarrassing to wonder what he must be thinking about the place. His penthouse unit was easily twice as large. As a matter of fact, the entirety of the apartment could fit in his spacious office at headquarters, too. With the four of them all congregated in the tiny space,
In the Shadow of the CEO 71 - Kept Secrets
“Jini, can we talk?”The ceiling light was still on even though the girl lay in her bed under the covers. She wasn’t planning on sleeping yet, it seemed: lying down was just her way of coping with unpleasantness.
In the Shadow of the CEO 72 - Discretion
When Lydia didn’t return in time for lunch to arrive at twelve sharp, Jia sighed and decided to put it out of her mind. She was a professional at being anxious, but this was something that was too hopeless even for her. Worrying about it would only remind her with increasing urgency that rumors were bound to tear all over Pandora Lights about her burgeoning relationship with the CEO, and she was simply not equipped to deal with such a personal issue.Not when the paperwork was piling and it was all she could do to keep it manageable while working at top speed.So she shelved that fight for a later time and escorted the caterer to Atlas’s inner office. With a knock and a gentle call, she let herself in and directed the man to the table by the wall before escorting him back out.After a few kind words of gratitude and some exchanging of pleasantries, she saw the caterer off and closed the glass doors behind him. With a sigh, she turned ar
In the Shadow of the CEO 73 - Responsibility
The words that Jia had been planning to say evaporated like dust motes in the sun when she met Daniel’s gaze. There was no judgment in it behind his glasses, nothing that should make her feel ashamed or victimized, but maybe the perfect, neutral expression he wore was even worse. Because - she knew that he wasn’t neutral about what he had seen, knew that his opinion of her had to have shifted the instant that he saw her tangled with Atlas against the glass. He had warned her about it, after all. She remembered the conversation only too well.
In the Shadow of the CEO 74 - Rejection
"I have to go somewhere," she told Atlas when she returned to the office. He had been waiting for her with a smile, half-sitting back on her desk with those eyes that were so blue that her resolve had nearly crumbled in the first instant. But Daniel's words were still burning in her mind hours later, and this was something she had to do."I'll take you there."She smiled back but shook her head. "It's personal. I need to go alone."At his silence, she paused to wonder if she had been too cold. She hadn't meant to be, and she was sure that none of her anxiety had slipped out in her tone, but maybe the words themselves had been too brusque. She came closer and stopped only when she stood directly in front of him, nearly touching his knees."But I'll see you in the morning if you like," she added. "If you still want to pick me up?"Maybe he wouldn't want to, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. She tried to stamp it out since there was no
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