From Neglected Wife to CEO’s Obsession novel Chapter 13

My heart skipped a beat and I spun around to see where the voice had come from.

It’s Elliot!

How could I have forgotten that he was staying right next door? Seriously, did he just hear every single thing I’d said to Kailynn? This was the worst.

And honestly, what kind of CEO stays up half the night eavesdropping on his employees? Get a hobby, man.

I tucked my phone away and tried to play it cool. “Oh, you caught me, boss. Just doing my part as a loyal employee, brainstorming ways to help the company crush it this year. Who knows, maybe by New Year’s I’ll have scored you a couple more Rolls-Royces.”

Elliot just shot me a look colder than a walk-in freezer, then turned and stalked off into his room like some kind of royalty.

That killed any motivation I had to keep standing there. I went back to my own room and tried to get some sleep.

Divorce isn’t the kind of thing you can sort out overnight anyway. I’d deal with it later. No need to stress.

The next night, Elliot’s room lost power out of nowhere. The hotel hustled to get the lights back on, but the water heater stayed dead. No hot water. And in Oakley Grove, it’s hot and humid. Even blasting the AC all day didn’t keep you from feeling sticky and gross. No one could sleep without a shower.

And just Elliot’s luck, the huge hotel was fully booked. No empty rooms.

Translation: Elliot had nowhere to take a proper shower.

As his loyal minion, I stuck around while he tried to negotiate with the hotel staff. But the fix wasn’t happening tonight. The staff were polite, at least. They comped his stay and offered a voucher as an apology.

Elliot barely glanced at the voucher and just complained coldly about the service, demanding to file a formal complaint.

The night manager was this sweet girl, probably fresh out of college. She looked like she was about to cry as she begged me to help smooth things over.

“So, sir, if you’d like to file a complaint about the housekeeping department, could you tell me what the problem is exactly?” she asked, voice shaky.

Elliot didn’t even blink. “A five-star hotel can’t provide hot water for a shower. Isn’t that a problem?”

Letting him use my shower was supposed to be a small favor, but somehow, it turned into a whole new mess.

At eight thirty on the dot, Cindy called me on video. Her eyes were shining as she showed off, telling me she’d won first place in her kindergarten race today.

Remy was with her, holding her close so both their faces filled my phone screen.

“Really? You are awesome! You got first place? When I get back, we’re totally celebrating.”

Remy kissed the top of Cindy’s head and smiled at me. “It was just normal exercise. No need to make a big deal. Don’t go spoiling her too much.”

He barely got the words out before his smile froze. He hugged Cindy tighter and his eyes went dark, anger flickering there.

“Avery, it’s late. Who’s in your room?”

I froze. I was about to say “no one,” but just then, Elliot appeared in the frame.