Bound to Her CEO, Freed by Love

I'S

d be merciless. I pulled my oversized cardigan tighter around my shoulders and stared at the email that had arrived in my inbox exa

Ca

have information about a story that could be bigger than anything you've ever covered. Verity Holdings isn't the charitable emp

me at the old pier warehouse, Dock 47, tomorrow at 8 PM. Com

Frie

one in Millbrook City knew about Gabriel Verity-the foster kid who'd built a multi-billion-dollar empire from nothing, the myster

ting in the silence of my converted loft. The exposed brick walls of my Arts District apartment h

story seems too good to be true, it probably is. But if it seems

ears after his funeral. Richard Carter had been the best investigative journ

hs-every article, every financial report, every public appearance Gabriel Verity

s and weekend warriors alike. Then Verity Holdings had expanded into retail partnerships, and within six months, every major supplier had dropped their contr

, but I'd felt the truth in my bones every time I'd watched my father pop

ched out below my rooftop access, Verity Holdings Tower dominating the skyline like a glass and steel monument to power. Forty-five floors of

etermination, wearing my favorite journalism school sweatshirt. I looked young, maybe too young to be taking on a

or a competitor trying to manipulate me. But what if it wasn't? What if som

rief, two years of watching my father's friends struggle as their businesses failed one by one, two years

n Notes: *Ve

a

dings. Source claims Gabriel Verity is aware of unspecified ha

esearch p

ty Holdings fi

abriel Verity

te employee

y contracts with Verit

ibune, would never approve this investigation officially. Not yet. Verity Holdings w

y best friend Emma: *Still awake?

arch project. Rain

ch. When's the last ti

gle status was somehow tragic. She didn't understand that I'd never found anyone who made me feel... anyt

ht now,* I replied. *

story with you. Don't

ed as a child, bounced through the foster care system, worked construction while attending night school, founded his first company at twenty-f

es always had

Gabriel Verity was forty-five floors above the city, probably asleep in his penthouse, completely

y father's disappointed expression every time he'd looked at another unpaid bil

Assistant

00 company. Requirements: Bachelor's degree, five years administrative experience, discretion, an

bs. It was insane. It was dange

s per

king as Gabriel Verity's assistant would give me access to information no external investigation could u

od corporate structures well enough to make me credible. Dad's old friend Dr. Richard Sterling came to mind. The retired business

the city washed clean and gleaming under the streetlights. Somewhere in that glass tower, Gabr

s while the man who'd destroyed him was celebrated as a hero. But

if the information was credible, if there was really a story worth telling, then Gabriel Verity wa

ed his hunger

E'S

chess board where I could see every piece and predict every move. I'd been standing at my office wind

ad gone cold an hour ago. Most people assumed success meant sleeping peacefully on Egyptian cotton sheets, but

reen: *Unusual activity in our network monitoring systems. Nothing actiona

ion in disguise. When you've climbed as high as I ha

he exhaustion in my gray eyes. The silver threading through my dark hair had appeared seemingly overnight, a b

ged me back to foster home number four, where Mr. Peterson had made it clear that little boys who asked too many questions received consequence

arcus: *Can't sleep either? Emerge

hree employees working out of a converted warehouse. He was the only person who remembered

typed back. *Bri

on-a privilege I granted to exactly one person in the world. He looked as t

ing directly to the bar cart

usual

me one. "Diana's been asking questions about the Henderson cont

qual measure. She'd been circling the executive suite like a shark since she'd joined eight years ago, always p

ed, settling into one of the le

ubcontractors were excluded from consideration." Marcus sat across from me, and for a mome

said, though something cold settled in

like it held answers. "It's just... she has this way of asking questions that makes y

ade even innocent people nervous. It was probably what made her so effective a

, "Elena's replacement starts interviewing candid

ned with two weeks' notice and a vague explanation about "new opportunities." I'd offered

, anticipated my needs before I'd voiced them, and maintained the kind of discretion that

candidates

down to five for first-round interviews." Marcus handed me

porting C-level executives at major corporations. Master's degree in communications, fluent in three languages, former ass

from University of Washington. Five years supporting senior executives, most recently as as

on was just a few hours north. Maybe it was that she'd worked for someone with the same last name, though that could be coincidence. Or maybe

Ve

I believe my experience supporting high-level executives, combined with my dis

naging complex schedules, and maintaining absolute confidentiality.

an interview at

cer

dra St

olding up the tablet.

eems a little young. Light on experi

entrenched habits." I finished my Scotch and stoo

checked his Rolex. "I should let you get

questions about Henderson. If she's fishing

companies that existed because Verity Holdings had chosen to build our headquarters here instead of Seattle or

ething lasting and meaningful. Every decision I made affected families, communities, entire

eacefully, unaware that tomorrow she'd be sitting across from me, trying to c

erly eager to impress me with their connections and achievements. The good ones-the rare one

fidential information, never treated her position as anything other than a sacred trust. I'd trusted her with everything-financi

arly impossible, but I had to try. Verity Holdings couldn't f

ould have access to information that could make or break the company. They'd know about board discussions before they happened

urs, the building would fill with employees who trusted me to make decisions that w

at kept Verity Holdings running. One of them would learn that Gabriel Verity the public figure was very different from Ga

few hours of sleep. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new decisions, n

as stable, my secrets were safe, and Gabriel Verity

verything m