Share
82 - Traps and Techniques
It was a bad sign that Jia felt like an intruder in the backseat of William's car now. Obviously, she had become way too dependent on the comfort of riding to work with Atlas, holding hands and talking about whatever came to mind. Now she folded her hands in her lap and missed him fiercely in the silence, doing her best not to count down the hours to Friday.
It was only the second day since he had left unexpectedly for Atlanta, and Lydia had of course gone with him. Jia now understood more than ever what Dolly had meant when she had explained that Atlas preferred devoted 'career women' as his assistants; how many people could get up in the middle of the night and leave within an hour to rush to the airport for a business trip? That was hardly enough time to give notice to family or friends, and she would have to appropriately cancel or reschedule all of Atlas's and her own appointments this week.
Lydia worked so hard. Atlas was in good hands, and despite wishing
Related chapters
In the Shadow of the CEO 83 - Outside Opinions
Dolly had a point about one thing and one thing exactly: Jia needed to learn to make friends. It was true that the closest thing she had to a friend was Dolly herself, the alcoholic VIP guest who had dropped by for a few days before going AWOL. Oh, and Lydia, but she wasn't quite sure if Lydia liked her or not anymore or was simply tolerating her for politeness's sake.Everything else had been wrong, though, or so she hoped. It was depressing to think that men could be so shallow and disgusting that they would trade women purely for more sexual gratification. Sure, there might be some women who pursued that too, but it couldn't be that every man was that way. What kind of standards were those?"Thank you," she said as she picked up her coffee from the counter. She'd developed a taste for it in the past couple of weeks, yet another way that her job had changed her, but she was still sticking to the black coffee instead of the fancy luxe options on the menu. She
In the Shadow of the CEO 84 - Uncomfortable
Jia shuffled her foot against the stiff, speckled carpet a few times, grinding the toe of her shoe into it harder and harder with each passing minute. This was uncomfortable. She had come wearing her most relaxed clothing, a plain blue T-shirt and a pair of worn jeans, because she'd already guessed that she would be horribly unsettled when she came here.It didn't matter that this place had soothing pale blue wallpaper and that everything in this waiting area seemed to have been softened with throws and oil paintings and canvas prints on the wall, or that the receptionist was smiling at her every few seconds in an encouraging manner even though she was on the phone with some other patient. She really didn't want to be here. At all. The only reason she had even come in the first place was because of the last uneasy conversation she and Erica had had before parting yesterday.And now it was the next day, Thursday night, seven o' clock. She shouldn't have done th
In the Shadow of the CEO 85 - Reunions
"So? Did you do it yet? What'd he say? Come on -"She shouldn't have answered the FaceTime call, thought Jia. Why? Why had she done this, knowing exactly what Dolly was going to ask about the instant she started talking?...Or maybe that was exactly why she had answered in the first place. She had a plan today. A big one, though not necessarily well thought out, and it was the most daring thing Jia would ever do to date. She needed something to rattle her nerves and amp her up, make her brave. And only Dolly could make her feel so reckless -"He's not here yet," she said, and she placed the tablet on a stand so that she could pick up the napkins she had brought up to the office with her and continue dabbing at the damp spot on the collar of her metallic blue silk blouse. "His flight touches down a bit before noon.""What! You should have said that instead of just telling he was going to be back today. And you're wiping at your shirt, I thought for sure you were maybe cleaning off some
In the Shadow of the CEO 86 - Wanting
What he wasn't expecting was for Jia to tug him to a stop when he dragged her over toward his desk. He had been about to go around behind it and rifle around for the condoms stored in his bottom drawer; as desperate as he was to have her right now, he was still self-aware enough to want her to know they were always an option. But now she exhibited the first display of force he had ever seen from her - at least when it came to sex. He turned to look at her in surprise, pausing in his tracks and yielding to her little pull."W - wait."Wait? Was she having second thoughts? He was disappointed, but he wouldn't push her for anything she didn't want to give. What they had was still fragile and uncertain to her, he knew, and no doubt there would be times when she was more reluctant. He understood that. So long as she let him hold her, he could wait.Except that wasn't what it was. For the first time in a long, long time, Atlas was struck speechless as she guided
In the Shadow of the CEO 87 - Experimenting
Atlas straightened again, easing his weight off of Jia's back - just in time to deliver another sharp slap of his palm to her buttock. Once again, he groped it with a flex of his fingers, admiring the warmth that was starting to rise from her skin there, and he leaned back to look down and inspect it while she panted on the desk and let out a small, trailing moan at his rough handling.Her hands were still bound behind her back with his tie, and he couldn't remember ever seeing anything so tempting, so divine. Her blouse was almost all the way off, hanging around her arms and bunched around her elbows and forearms. Her bra was somewhere in there, too, no doubt tangled in all the silk. If only he could flip her over and look at her from the front, see his come smeared over her chest and marking her as his, that alone might be enough to send him over the edge a second time.He looked down when his cock twitched in renewed interest, and he was reminded that he was still o
In the Shadow of the CEO 88 - Agreements, Amended
It was telling that Jia didn't even ask where Lydia was. She was exhausted, after all, and rightfully so. Atlas's mouth quirked up in a satisfied smirk when she began digging into a canvas bag with extra changes of clothes inside. She had brought into her office before they took their shared shower, complaining that he had ruined not only her clothes but her underwear as well.Well, if she hadn't wanted him to put tears in it, maybe she shouldn't have deliberately worn lace panties to welcome him back with. He made sure to voice his opinion with a lingering stare that traced down the line of her body, and she had blushed anew at his provocative words."Well," she had struggled to say, "I didn't think you would ruin them! They were expensive.""I'll make sure to buy you more. A lot more...enough to ruin some and still leave you a few intact."She had refused to rise to his bait after that, stubbornly ignoring him even when he teased her with hot touc
In the Shadow of the CEO 89 - Concealed
Jia blinked and stared, not entirely certain that she had heard Atlas correctly. She couldn't have. It was only because she had been thinking hard about how to approach the topic of Ava tonight that she thought she'd just heard him say the name, that was all. She tried to step around Atlas and move closer to Erica to give her a proper greet since they hadn't seen each other since this morning for a cup of coffee (and water), but when she peeked around his shoulder, she found the woman staring straight at Atlas's face instead.It hadn't occurred to her how tall Erica was until now, as she watched them square off in an apparent staring contest. Or was it because she was standing up straight and squaring her shoulders, revealing her true height instead of carrying a moderate slouch when last they had met?In fact, everything about Erica was different now. Her appearance was the same, but her eyes were sharper and colder, and the way she tilted her head slightly at A
In the Shadow of the CEO 90 - Idyllic
Itwas nearly ten. Jia had begun to wonder if perhaps he would show up at all an hour ago, a stray thought that she could feel ballooning into another episode now that she knew what to look for. Knowing the enemy made it easier to fight, so she had spent a little time reorganizing the kitchen to take her mind off of Atlas and Ava and whatever they were talking about for the past five hours.When he did show up, she didn't even answer his call. She simply toed on her sneakers and shuffled out in a hurry with the shoes only half on her feet.He was standing outside his car and leaning against the passenger door. When he saw her appear, a faint smile turned up the corners of his mouth, and he opened it so that it could slide upward to let her in. She was already in a long, worn out white T-shirt and a pair of loose training pants, both of which had seen better days and absolutely did not suit the glamor of the car or the man who owned it -Stop, she told herse
Latest chapter
- 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
