Page 27 of Grumpy CEO

Rhys

A fter a weekend that passed in an array of bliss, I stretch languidly, the sheets a tangled testament to the hours spent in pursuit of pleasure with the woman I love.

Yes, I’m in love with Jade. We’ve spent the last few days in and out of bed, and so many times I came close to telling her. But something in me still worries that admission will frighten her, make her run. Soon, I’m going to have to, though. I need to let her know where this is headed for me.

As I bask in the morning’s glow, my mind jumps to the text I received from Gage late Friday night. After their remote examination, Clear Security’s IT team couldn’t find anything suspicious on my laptop. They’ve reconfigured the firewall, but if the person doing this works for EnergiFusion, they’re already inside it anyway. I wish I knew how much longer we were going to be here in Colorado. It seems silly to hide. There’s been no other incident in San Francisco. When we’re together in Montana in a couple weeks, we need to figure out a plan for going forward.

I push the thoughts aside and slide out of bed, padding to the kitchen. My hands move on autopilot, preparing the espresso maker. Minutes later, the rich aroma fills the air, and once it’s ready, I down the double shot right away. It sears a path down my throat, kick-starting my senses as I immediately start another.

Mackenzie will be calling soon, I remember as I glance at the clock. Briefings, updates—my CEO life beckoning. But first, a moment of peace. I wander toward the office, the dim pre-dawn light filtering through the windows. To the east, a hint of blue teases the horizon, a promise of the day ahead. In this half-light, I let myself drift, caught between night and day, between Jade’s world and mine.

I settle into my leather chair, the soft creak a familiar comfort as I flip open my laptop. The screen blinks to life, and once I log into the video chat, Mackenzie’s face appears, all business-like efficiency despite the early hour.

“Morning, Rhys,” she greets me. “We’ve got a situation brewing. A few of our clients are getting antsy.”

I nod, feeling the weight of responsibility settling back on my shoulders. “What’s going on?”

“Well, I’m getting pushback from some of our clients. Wade Williams wants to meet with you before the board meeting, and I have a fight going on between Crystal and Matthew—”

“Who’s Matthew?” I ask.

“He works with her in comms, and he’s struggling to do something she thinks should be easy.”

“All right, pencil me in for the office on Thursday and Friday of this week. Jade and I have been playing with that idea, anyway. I’ll come in before we go to Montana for the board retreat, and I’ll meet with everyone who needs to see me face to face.”

Her eyebrows hike up. “As long as it’s okay with Jim. But I warn you, it’ll be a packed schedule. I’ll set up meals with those who’ll need more hand holding and time with the department heads too. They’re all clamoring for you, as are some of the management team.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Mackenzie. I know you’ll get it organized.” I trust her judgment, and she knows who needs the face time most.

“Will do.” She shuffles some papers on her desk. “That’s really all I have. Your day is tight with several back-to-back video calls.”

“Exactly,” I tell her, shaking my head. “I don’t know why a video call isn’t enough for everyone. We’re a new world. People don’t have to meet in person.”

“Because you’re special,” Mackenzie says.

I raise an eyebrow. I’m not sure how much sarcasm there is in her comment.

“Have a good day,” she says. “I’ll be here on instant messaging if you need me.” She waves goodbye and our call ends.

The digital clock ticks over, signaling the start of my next call. Theo’s face replaces Mackenzie’s as I connect to our video chat, the palm trees in his background a stark contrast to my mountain view. “Hey, Theo. How’s Florida treating you?” I ask, trying not to let envy color my voice at his sun-soaked setting. A woman walks behind him, wearing one of his shirts. It’s not Crystal. Not that I expected it to be, but he went there with her. Guess he has more privacy than expected.

Theo grins. “It’s good. Hot and humid, though. That I could do without.”

I grimace. That was summer in Kansas City. I don’t miss it. “How is Crystal? How’s her mom holding up?”

“Honestly, I still haven’t seen much of Crystal. She’s staying at her parents’ and spends most of her time with her mom. I get the impression it’s not good. She said there’s no way she can make the Montana trip.”

“That’s awful. Let her know we’re thinking about her. Do you think we should send some meals over or something?”

“That’s a great idea.” Theo nods.

“Have you heard anything from Justin?” I ask. I’m sure he would have told me if he had, but I can’t seem to help myself. I’ve emailed him twice since his message on Friday and haven’t had any response.

“No. Nothing new,” he replies, tapping a pen against his notepad. “You? Any news on the photo and email from last week?”

I shake my head. “Nothing from Justin, and no news on who might have sent the email.” I sigh. “I guess it’s going to take some time.”

With that, Theo and I run through the list of work topics we need to cover, and I let him know what Mackenzie told me this morning. “I think I’m heading into the office at the end of this week to clear some of the backlog before I go to Montana,” I explain. “I haven’t run it by Jim yet, but for some reason, people want to see this handsome mug in person.”

Theo laughs. “That’s because you hold all the power in your chair.”

I look down at the chair I’m sitting in. “I mean, the leather’s nice, but I’m not sure about all that,” I jest.

He rolls his eyes. “Listen, can you do me a favor while you’re back in the office? Can you make sure Mackenzie takes some time for herself? She’s been juggling grenades, and I don’t want her burning out.”

I nod. Theo is ever the voice of wisdom. He’s always looking out for the people he cares about. We’ve all agreed that Mackenzie has saved us since Justin’s departure. Without her soft touch and discipline, we would have sunk. “Will do,” I promise. We agree to regroup in a few days, then disconnect with a click.

From there, I’m off to the races, moving from one call to the next with barely a moment to go to the bathroom, let alone get any nourishment. I manage to get myself into real clothes—at least from the waist up—and move into my office before my next call begins, but after that, I don’t go anywhere for many hours. Thankfully, Jade takes good care of me and brings me a sandwich, which I eat while talking to Deborah in human resources.

After four meetings in the afternoon, the sun is moving toward setting, and I’ve been sitting in my chair for nearly nine hours. My ass is numb. Rising, I stretch my back, hearing it pop, and my stomach growls, a not-so-subtle reminder that today’s checklist is done, and it’s time to focus on something else. The work will be waiting for me tomorrow.

That evening, a fire crackles, the living room warm and still. Jade sits cross-legged on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, her fingers curled around a mug of tea. She laughs at something on her phone, and I smile. In spite of everything happening around us, I feel…calm. Like I want to hold on to this moment a little longer.

Then my phone buzzes on the coffee table. I see the name on the screen and already know the peace is over.

“Jim, what’s going on?” I say in greeting.

“We’ve got a problem,” he says, his voice clipped and urgent. “There’s been a breach in EnergiFusion’s servers. Someone accessed the lithium-sodium integration files.”

These are the documents that explain how to pull lithium batteries and use our sodium-ion batteries instead. They’re proprietary and only available to our customers.

I stand, my pulse spiking. “What do you mean, accessed? Did they take them? Plant anything?”

“Gage and his team are still running diagnostics,” Jim says. “But it looks bad. Whoever it was got in deep, and they were pulling data when we caught them. But that’s not the worst part.”

“Of course it isn’t,” I mutter, pacing to the window. My reflection stares back at me in the glass, jaw tight, eyes hard. “Tell me.”

“The IP traced back to San Francisco,” Jim explains. “It’s a location South of Market, not too far from Clear Security’s offices, and they were using Justin’s credentials.”

I stop dead. “Do you think it could be him?”

“We don’t know,” Jim says. “But listen to this—we intercepted a message sent from the same IP to Crystal’s private email. It was a photo of a note, and the handwriting matches Justin’s.”

“Is Crystal okay?” I ask, my heart racing.

“She’s fine. She’s still with her mother. And she didn’t see the note. We got to it first.”

My chest tightens. “What did it say?”

“Just one line. Rhys is next.”

I can’t breathe for a second. My grip tightens on the phone. “Jesus. Do you think it’s real?” I think I might be having a panic attack. How can he be so calm?

Jim hesitates. “We’re taking it seriously. And, uh, we also found a contract posted on the dark web that had a ten-million-dollar bounty on your head.”

Wait, what? Unlike vague insinuations and cryptic notes that feel like a game, a contract on my life, backed by actual money, seems very real. My blood runs cold, and I fight the urge to run screaming around the house and draw all the curtains. Or lock myself in the basement. Is there a basement here? Suddenly, I feel terribly vulnerable. Exposed.

“What the hell am I supposed to do?” I demand, trying to keep the shriek out of my voice.

Jade looks up at me in alarm. I turn so I’m not facing her.

“You’re still safe,” Jim assures me. Though how he can know that, I have no idea. “I’d like to bring you back to San Francisco as we unravel this. Now. We’re hoping to pull the contract down before anyone can accept it, but I’d prefer to have you closer to Clear’s main facility and resources, just in case.”

My voice dies in my throat. I don’t even know what to do with myself. How can this be happening? And what about the others? “Do Austin, Crystal, and Theo need to move, too? Are they at risk?”

“They weren’t named and don’t seem to have been targeted. You’re the face of the company as CEO, so we think the bullseye is on you right now. You’re our focus for the time being.”

“Okay…” I guess that should make me feel better, but it doesn’t. If there’s a target on my back, nowhere seems safe.

“I’ve alerted Scott, and I can have a plane at Eagle Airport to get you back to San Francisco in less than an hour,” Jim continues. “Will Jade come with you?”

I turn to look back over at Jade. She’s watching me, her head tilted, brows drawn in concern. I probably seem like a crazy person. That’s certainly how I feel. She’s going to have questions. Questions I don’t want to answer… If I’m toxic right now, she needs to be as far away from me as possible. Why is Jim even asking if I’d continue to put her in the line of fire?

“No!” I practically yell. “That doesn’t seem like a good idea at all.”

“Well, I know this is shocking, but there’s no reason to believe you’re in imminent danger,” Jim says. “If you want to stay together, there’s no reason—”

“Listen, all I know is what you’ve told me, but it seems dumb to take any extra risks,” I interrupt. “Let’s just get the changes you want taken care of.”

Jim is quiet for a long moment, but he doesn’t try to persuade me further. “Okay, work with Scott as you’re packing up, and we’ll have Lee and Matt stay with Jade. Scott will keep me updated. When you get back, we’ll put you up at the Fairmont on a private floor.”

“Okay,” I say, forcing myself to breathe. “I’ll see you when I get there.” I hang up before Jim can say anything else.

I rake a hand through my hair, trying to think, trying to plan, but everything inside me is locked up tight. Someone has put up a lot of money to make sure I end up dead. It’s just too much. I need to move. To act. To get away from Jade. To get myself somewhere safe.

“Rhys?” Jade’s voice sounds strained. “What’s happened? What’s wrong?”

I can’t look at her. Not yet. I love her, and I can’t put her in any danger. This is what I have to remember, what has to guide me. “That was Jim. I have to go back to San Francisco.”

“What? Now?” She sets her mug down and stands, moving closer. “I thought we were supposed to leave in a few days.”

“Uh, this is something else,” I stammer. Everything in me revolts at the idea of telling her the truth. How can I possibly make her understand? “There’s been a breach at EnergiFusion, a bad one that puts the company at risk, and Clear Security also intercepted a, um, a threat to me. I need to be there to deal with the work stuff, and Jim wants me closer to the main security office.”

Her eyes soften. “I’m sorry, Rhys. This is all so stressful. But I know it’s going to be okay. I’ll pack my things and get ready,” she says. “Are you leaving right away? It will take me a minute to get the mugs together, but I’ll work as fast as I can.”

“No.” The word stabs sharply into the space between us. “You’re safer here. There’s no reason for you to go. It’s not your fight, Jade.”

Her eyes narrow. “Not my fight? Whatever’s happening, I can be there to help, to support you. You don’t have to do this alone.”

I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “Don’t you see? I can’t drag you any further into this mess. I’m radioactive, Jade. It’s not safe.” My voice breaks, and I know I’m sounding hysterical. I force myself to take a deep breath. “The people behind this, whoever they are, won’t hesitate to hurt you to get to me. No. You’re staying here with Lee and Matt.”

“You’re not dragging me into anything!” she snaps. “I’m standing right here, Rhys, because I want to. I’m not leaving you.”

“You don’t get it.” My voice hardens as my panic rises. I have to keep her safe, no matter what. “You can’t come. Stay here. Focus on your pottery, your life.” As she opens her mouth to speak again, I blurt, “Whatever this is between us, it can’t survive what’s waiting for me back there.”

Her face falls, and for a second, I hate myself more than I ever have. “You’re really doing this?” she asks. “Pushing me away because you’re scared I might actually matter to you?”

“You do matter,” I bite out, my voice breaking again. “That’s why you need to stay here. Please. Do your work. When this situation has resolved—if it resolves—Jim and his team will get you back home. But forget about me. Please. I can’t handle this right now.” Inside my heart cracks in two.

Her jaw tightens, her eyes wet but fierce. “I know you must be scared, but this is ridiculous. If you walk out that door without me, don’t expect me to take you back. This isn’t how I operate.”

I don’t answer. I can’t. I turn away just in time to see Scott appear in the doorway. He nods. I rush to the bedroom and dump my things in a suitcase as Scott packs up my office. Within twenty minutes, there is nothing left to show I was ever here with Jade.