Chapter 23
THE CEO
DANTE
Chloe wearing pantsuits was supposed to solve a problem, not make her even sexier and turn every workday into an unbearable exercise in suffering for me.
It was bad enough that her sarcasm matched mine almost perfectly, and I actually enjoyed her being around me all day. But worse was that we were only a couple weeks into our deal, and I was already dreading it coming to an end.
I barely know this woman. I sighed. “What the hell is wrong with me?”
“I can make you a list.” She smiled from my front seat. “If you’re willing to change some things, it might help you with The Holden even more.”
“I’ll pass, thank you.” I stepped out and opened her car door. “Until tomorrow.”
“Well, wait,” she said, looking around. “The jackhammering has been pretty unbearable this week. Do you mind if I grab a few things and you take me to The Four Seasons tonight?”
“Of course not.”
“I’m bringing some company along, if that’s okay.”
“As long as you’re referring to your friend Marie…”
“It’s a new guy in the building I like.”
“Then you no longer have access to my hotel suite.”
“I was kidding.”
“I know.”
She laughed and stepped onto the sidewalk.
“We’ll be down in fifteen minutes.”
“Noted.” I watched her walk up the steps and mentally weighed the pros and cons of firing her after her first full month.
Or maybe extending her deal for another two years…
As I was considering my options, my security director’s number flashed across my screen for a video call.
“Yes, Jameson?” I answered.
“A homeless family was caught squatting outside one of your properties, sir.” He shook his head. “They’ve been living there for about three weeks.”
“Which property was it?”
“The Hearst.”
“I see…” I paused. “Ages of the family members?”
“Thirty-four-year-old male, twenty-nine-year-old female, and three minors.” He clicked his pen. “A resident saw them setting up a tent in the garden. They even tried to start a little bonfire.”
I held back a sigh.
“We’re temporarily detaining them in the leasing office, but we can’t do much without your move,” he said. “Would you like to press charges?”
“No.”
“Huh?” He arched a brow. “I didn’t quite catch that.”
“I said no.” I kept my voice firm. “I don’t want to press charges against them.”
“Okay, then… Have a good night then, sir.”
“Wait,” I said. “Is my executive assistant there with you now?”
“She is, sir,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind that I called her first.”
“I don’t. Give her the phone.”
Moments later, Sarah’s soothing voice joined the line.
“I’m impressed,” she said. “You’re showing signs of being a human being.”
“Thanks. I need you to look into the family’s background and tell me if the guy was working.”
“He was. He worked twenty years for the city’s bus line before he got laid off last month.”
“And his wife?”
“She was laid off over a year ago. Their old house was foreclosed on, and it’s already been sold.”
A sharp pang hit my chest.
My parents used to hide overdue notices in kitchen drawers the same way this family probably did.
“Can you help them out for me?” I asked. “Get them into a hotel with a food allowance and such?”
“Of course. Six or twelve months of assistance for them?”
“Eighteen,” I said. “And make sure no one knows a damn thing about me being involved.”
“Always, sir,” she said. “Always.”
I ended the call right as Chloe and her friend were heading down the steps.
For some odd reason, I didn’t immediately take them to The Four Seasons. I insisted on treating them to dinner at my favorite five-star restaurant first.