Five Years Too Late (The CEO's Curvy Goddess #7)

Chapter 1

Katie

“Bye Mommy”. My baby waved at me as he walked away from me, and into his school. He’s four now, and I still can’t believe it sometimes. Time flies, huh.

It feels like yesterday that I was panicking about being a single mom with an unstable career.

It’s the same story as many women in the country, I guess.

I was completely charmed by a man. I thought he was my everything.

I thought we were soulmates. Then one day, he proved me wrong.

He left me, just like that, and the very next day, he moved on with his life.

He was the man of my dreams, and he was looking right at me.

I couldn’t believe someone like him would be interested in someone like me.

But then he walked over, and as they say, the rest is history.

We danced the night away, and when we were too tired to stand upright any longer, we stumbled back to my apartment and had the most mind-blowing sex of my life.

It was a night to remember, and the next day, I woke up expecting him to be gone.

Guys like him didn’t do relationships, did they?

I mean, why would he, with his perfect looks, and obvious wealth?

But he proved me wrong. He didn’t leave.

In fact, he made me breakfast. Eggs, pancakes and bacon, cooked to perfection. They tasted amazing, and I was a goner.

We started dating and it was, for lack of a better phrase, THE best two years of my life. I was in love. And I thought he was too. I mean, we never said it to each other, but I thought we’d reached a point in our relationship where we didn’t need words to explain how we felt.

I wasn’t exactly waiting for a marriage proposal.

We were both too young to get married, so I was willing to wait for a few more years.

And wait I did, only to be presented with a pair of diamond earrings right before he dumped me.

I still remember the day, sitting opposite each other at the restaurant like we’ve done a hundred times in the past two years, me making googly eyes at him.

God, I’m still embarrassed to think about how utterly na?ve I was back then.

I can still feel my heart breaking into a million pieces when I realized that we weren’t at one of our regular night outs.

Oh no. We were there for a breakup, and I didn’t even know.

He even had a whole speech prepared about how things were moving too fast, and how overwhelmed he was, and how it was not my fault…

blah blah blah. All lies. Bullshit. That fucker!

He didn’t want to commit to a relationship, so he bailed. It was as simple as that.

I just got up and walked out of there without looking back.

I didn’t utter a single word. Some days, I regret not shouting at him.

I should have at least thrown that damn earring box at his face.

But then…on other days, I feel proud of myself for my dignified exit.

He didn’t give me the dignity of talking to me like an adult before springing a breakup on me.

At least, I gave myself the dignity of walking away without begging for a relationship that had obviously run its course, at least on his side.

I changed my number and never looked back.

That was, until 2 months later, when I realized I was pregnant.

I was 25 and pregnant by a man who had just dumped me.

I didn’t have a steady job. I was living paycheck to paycheck, and I couldn’t afford to take a break right then.

I was panicking, and that’s when my parents gave me a much-needed helping hand.

I thought they would be disappointed, but they weren’t.

“You’re going to give us a grandchild Katie.

How could we be disappointed at that? We’ll help you out.

That’s what parents are for. Stay with us for as long as you want to while you get back on your feet.

You can do this kiddo”, my dad said, and I’ll never forget those gentle words or his kind eyes, devoid of the pity so many people had when they realized my predicament.

He literally saved me that day, him and my mom.

So, I worked hard throughout my pregnancy, and afterward.

Once Connor was born, I worked from home while taking care of him.

Of course, my parents did the heavy lifting during those early months, what with my work and everything.

I started freelancing, taking every job that came my way, and once Connor was a little older, I set up an office.

I just had two employees when I started, but now, four years later, I have 20.

We take corporate projects that make us millions with 6-7 figure retainers.

I’m not rich, not yet, but I’ve made enough to provide Connor with a good life.

He started pre-school this year, and I was able to get him into a prestigious private school, thanks to the money I make at my business.

We don’t live with my parents anymore, but thanks to me, they’re retired now, and enjoying their golden years.

Sometimes, I feel like I’m missing something in my life.

It’s probably because I haven’t dated in 5 years.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve had flings and one-night stands.

I’m still a woman in my prime, and I have needs.

But I never let things get too far. I never bring men home either.

Connor doesn’t need that kind of instability in his life.

I worked too hard to make sure that he doesn’t feel the hole his father left in our lives when he left me, and I’m not going to mess that up with a parade of men coming and going out of his life.

So yes, even though I feel lonely sometimes, I suck it up and put a smile on my face because my son deserves it.

Work keeps me busy anyway. My business has gotten big enough to get the attention of Fortune 500 companies.

In fact, we were approached by one of the giants a few weeks ago.

It’s a huge project. They want their entire website, mobile application, and everything in between redesigned, reconfigured and optimized for speed.

They also want us to create a couple of heavy-duty software to automate their workflow.

It’ll take at least 6 months to get everything done.

We stand to make tens of millions from the project, and the retainer is going to be at least a million dollars.

This project is going to be a game changer for us.

I have a meeting with the CEO of the company in an hour, and I can’t afford to let thoughts about Richard mess with my concentration.

Buck up, Katie. You’ve got work to do. It’s been too long since I’ve thought about him.

Why is he invading my thoughts today of all days?

Before I knew it, I arrived at the mammoth building that housed one of the sister companies of Cartright Inc.

Ah right, maybe that’s why I was reminded of Richard.

His last name is Cartright, so my mind obviously went to him.

That’s ridiculous. I mean, Richard was rich, sure, but not THAT rich.

Cartright Inc. is a massive corporation that owns multibillion-dollar companies across practically every industry there is.

The company I’m working with, for instance, makes mining vehicles that sell for millions of dollars apiece.

Richard couldn’t possibly be the heir to a corporation like that.

His apartment, though fancy, had been modest. With my mind finally put at ease, I walked into the building and toward the elevators.

I took a deep breath before pressing the button for the CEO’s floor. Game on, Katie.

The woman who greeted me when I got off the elevator could only be described as drop dead gorgeous. A face to die for and curves in all the right places. What she was doing outside of a runway show was anyone’s guess.

“Hello Ms. Moore. We’ve talked on the phone. I’m Joyce Grant. I’m the marketing director here.”

She held out her hand with a welcoming smile.

“Hello Ms. Grant. Glad to finally meet you,” I responded with a smile of my own, holding my hand out to meet hers.

“Mr. Cartright is waiting for you. Shall we?”

“Sure”.

That name again. Why is my heart beating so fast?

Stop it, Katie. You’re being paranoid. It’s not Richard.

It can’t be. There’s no way…ahh, stop it!

You’ve got work to do. Think of Connor, of your parents.

It’s been so long since you let Richard screw up your mind like this. Why are you letting this happen now?

I clenched my fists and discreetly shook my head, hoping I could shake myself out of my delusion.

Thank God Ms. Grant was walking before me.

If she saw me behaving like an absolute idiot, I’d lose the project before I’d said a word.

I need to be at my best here. This project will make or break my business.

It’s the growth we desperately need. This will be the difference between remaining a small business and going to the next level. I can’t lose this project.

With that thought firmly in my mind, I followed Ms. Grant through the huge, ornate doors that obviously housed the CEO’s office.

Ooof, too fancy. This entire place is too fancy.

How much money do these guys even have? I looked around, taking in the huge glass windows and the desk at the far end of the room.

But then I stopped. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no.

This can’t be happening. This is a nightmare. Yes, that’s what this is, because there’s no way this is real. There’s no way Richard Cartright is sitting behind that giant desk like he owns the place…which he probably does, I realized in horror.

I almost turned around and just left, to hell with the contract and my plans for growth.

My family, my happiness, and my son’s stability in life are more important than a million-dollar net worth.

But that voice…that voice that was so beloved once, that voice that had haunted my dreams for the past 5 years, stopped me in my tracks.

“Katie?”, that voice called out, surprise evident in every syllable, and I just stopped and looked straight into those green eyes I’d once loved so much.

They held so many emotions now, ones I could barely decipher, and I couldn’t look away.

“You know each other”, came another surprised voice, this one pleasantly surprised rather than horrified, and I finally tore my gaze away from Richard’s to look at Ms. Grant. I’d completely forgotten that she was there.

“Thank you Ms. Grant. I can take it from here”, Richard said.

She was obviously shocked to hear that. Huh.

Looks like that wasn’t the plan. But like a good little minion, she didn’t talk back to her boss and bid us a hasty goodbye and left before we could blink.

Poor woman. I wonder what kind of a monster this man is to his employees that they’re so afraid of him.

And why did he send his marketing director away anyway?

Does he want to do the firing himself? I mean, there’s no way Richard would want to work with me, right?

Not after the cruel way he dumped me all those years back.

He wouldn’t want that kind of baggage following him around. Not good for business, and all that.

So, when he motioned for me to take the seat opposite his, I sat down with a heavy heart. Who could have thought the man who dumped me 5 years ago would be the one to set fire to my dreams 5 years later? I hate this guy!