The CEO Above My Desk (Mckenzie Shinabery) novel Chapter 122

Chapter 122

“I just want a normal life again,” she whispers. “I want to worry about bills. Rent. Whether I locked my front door. What

I’m making for lunch tomorrow.”

Her eyes shine now.

“Not this,” she says hoarsely. “Not conspiracies and corrupt cops and blackmail and contracts and-”

I move before she can finish.

My hand closes around her wrist and pulls her toward me.

She barely has time to inhale before my mouth crashes against hers.

The kiss is rough.

Possessive.

All the anger and fear and frustration of the night pours into it as I hold her against me, my hand sliding into her hair to

keep her there while my other arm locks around her waist.

For a second she stiffens.

Then her hands clutch the front of my shirt and she kisses me back just as fiercely.

When I finally pull away, both of us are breathing harder.

A tear slips down her cheek.

I wipe it away with my thumb.

“Listen to me,” I say quietly.

She looks up at me.

“This ends,” I tell her. “Every piece of it. Calder. Hargrove. Whoever else is hiding inside that police department.”

“How?” she asks weakly.

“By doing exactly what I told you earlier.”

Her eyes narrow slightly. “The contract…”

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Chapter 122

“Yes.”

She shakes her head faintly.

“You think marrying you fixes this?”

“No.”

I tilt her chin upward so she has to look at me. “But it gives me the power to destroy it.”

She goes still.

“If you become my wife,” I continue, my voice colder now, steadier, “they can’t isolate you.”

Her brow furrows.

“They can’t freeze your accounts. They can’t drag you into interrogations without my attorneys. They can’t twist your testimony without fighting my legal team every step of the way.”

I brush my thumb along her cheek again. “And anyone who tries to come after you,” I say softly, “comes through me first.”

She stares at me. “You’re asking me to marry you because it’s strategically convenient.”

“I’m telling you it’s necessary.”

Silence hangs between us. Then I say the part I’ve been avoiding.

“I can’t do this without you.”

Her expression shifts.

“You think this entire operation runs without you?” I continue quietly. “You hold that office together. You hold me

together.”

My hand tightens slightly at her waist.

“You’re the only person who can stand next to me and not be afraid of what I am.”

Her lips part.

“You challenge me,” I say. “You argue with me. You push back when everyone else just nods.”

I lean closer, lowering my voice.

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Chapter 122

“You’re the only one who can keep my world turning.”

Inside the company. Outside of it.

My forehead rests briefly against hers.

“When you become my wife,” I continue, “your life changes.”

Her breathing catches.

“No more worrying about money. No more wondering whether your accounts will disappear overnight. No more being

alone when people like Calder decide you’re a problem.”

I brush another tear from her face.

“You’ll have my name,” I tell her. “My protection. My resources.”

She watches me carefully.

“You won’t even have to work if you don’t want to.”

That makes her blink.

“You could walk away from that office tomorrow,” I say. “I’d hire someone else.” I pause. “But no one would ever be as

good as you.”

Silence settles between us again. Then I say the truth I’ve been holding back since this whole disaster started.

“I need you in my life.”

Not just in the office. Not just for strategy. For everything.

“And the only way I can protect you the way I need to,” I finish quietly, “is if you become my wife.”

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The CEO Above My Desk