The CEO Above My Desk (Mckenzie Shinabery) novel Chapter 152

The CEO Above My Desk

Chapter 152

“Listen carefully.”

My stomach tightens.

“Okay.”

“Tonight changes your position.”

I blink. “My… position?”

“Yes.”

He says it like it should be obvious.

“You are no longer Violet Pierce, overworked assistant who apologizes when other people are rude.”

That feels weirdly specific.

“You are now Violet Ashcroft.”

The name hits harder hearing it out loud.

He continues before I can process it.

“That means access. Authority. Protection. Visibility.”

I swallow. “I don’t know what that means.”

“It means,” he says sharply, “you now have the ability to make grown men nervous with a single sentence if you

use it correctly.”

I stare at him.

He keeps going.

“I do not want to see the small, sweet librarian girl I’ve come to oddly adore and professionally respect.”

My mouth falls open slightly.

“You… what?”

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“Stay focused.”

He points at me briefly, then back to the road.

“I want to see the angry wife of Rowan Ashcroft.”

My pulse jumps.

“I need to see Violet Ashcroft.”

I laugh once. Nervous. “I don’t know how to do that.”

He smirks.

Cold.

Knowing.

“That’s not true.”

“Yes it is.”

“No,” he says. “You know exactly how.”

I frown.

He changes lanes aggressively.

“You’ve spent years filtering yourself so other people stay comfortable.”

My silence answers for me.

“You soften your words. You smile when irritated. You explain instead of demand. You ask instead of tell.”

Every word feels like a personal attack.

He glances at me again.

“Well,” he says, voice flattening, “that phase of your life is over.”

Something shifts in my chest

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Chapter 152

“What are you asking me to do?”

“I’m asking you to make people uncomfortable.”

The city streaks by outside.

The station is getting closer.

My heartbeat too loud.

“I need you blunt.” His voice hardens. “I need you disrespectful when necessary.”

My brows rise. “Disrespectful?”

“Yes.”

“That feels illegal.”

“It’s not.”

He turns into another lane.

“I need you to stop shrinking when powerful people enter a room.”

I look down at my hands.

He notices. “Stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Making yourself smaller.”

My head snaps up.

Devin exhales. “When we get there, they will test boundaries. They’ll ignore you first because they assume you’re

emotional. I hate how right that sounds. “Then they’ll patronize you.”

My jaw tightens.

“Then,” he says, “if they’re stupid enough, they’ll disrespect Rowan through you.

“What do I do then?”

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For the first time, Devin smiles.

Sharp.

Mean.

“Make them regret it.”

My stomach flips. “I don’t know if I can.”

“Yes, you can.”

He taps the steering wheel once.

“I watched you walk into a loft wearing nothing but a towel and verbally dismantle Theo.”

Fair

“That woman?” he says. “I need her.”

I think about Rowan being taken in an unmarked car.

About the doorman’s face.

About someone trying to isolate him.

About Calder dead.

About Drew dead.

About my mother.

Something hot begins to burn low in my chest.

Devin notices instantly.

“There she is.”

I glance at him, “What if I mess it up?”

“You will,” he says calmly.

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I gape.

He shrugs. “Everyone does at first.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

“It wasn’t meant to be.”

He slows as the police station comes into view.

Lights.

Concrete.

Cruisers lined up outside.

He parks hard and shifts into park.

Then turns fully toward me.

“No more apologizing for taking up space.” His eyes narrow slightly. “You are Rowan Ashcroft’s wife now.”

The words still feel unreal.

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“So act like someone the room has to account for.”

I inhale slowly. Then nod.

He studies me for a beat. “Good.” Then he smirks. “And if anyone annoys you, look mildly disgusted first. It sets

the tone.”

Comments

Katie Martinec

that was one hell of a peptalk! love it!!!

/ days ago

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