The CEO Above My Desk (Mckenzie Shinabery) novel Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Rowan

The door is closed.

That alone should tell me this isn’t a normal lunch.

Theo sits across from me, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, holding his sandwich like he doesn’t trust it. The PI’s voice crackles

through the speakerphone between us, the line secure, encrypted, paranoid in a way I usually respect.

I take a bite.

Chew.

Stop.

I stare down at the sandwich in my hand like it personally offended me.

Theo notices immediately. Of course he does. “What’s wrong?”

“She got it right,” I say.

Theo blinks. “The-what?”

“My order.” I lift the sandwich slightly. “The tomatoes. The pickles. Extra sharp cheddar, not American. No mayo. The

bread toasted but not burned. Latte at exactly the right temperature.”

Theo snorts. “You’re mad… because your lunch is perfect?”

“I didn’t write it down,” I say flatly. “I listed it once.”

The PI chuckles through the speaker. Low. Knowing. “People like her are hard to come by.”

I look at the phone. “Explain.”

There’s a pause. Paper rustles on the other end, like he’s choosing his words carefully.

“Violet Pierce,” the PI says, “is extremely diligent with her life.”

Theo leans back, interested now.

“She budgets everything. Tracks her finances to the dollar. Plans three steps ahead while everyone around her is moving

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Chapter 39

five steps backward. She anticipates problems before they exist.”

I take another bite without tasting it.

“She doesn’t waste energy,” he continues. “Not emotionally. Not financially. Not mentally. If something matters to her

stability-she protects it.”

Theo glances at me, smirking. “You hearing this, boss?”

The PI doesn’t miss a beat. “You are important to her stability.”

That lands heavier than it should.

“Which means,” he adds, “you could be the pickiest, most impossible person alive-and she’d still get you exactly what you

want without complaint. Because your satisfaction keeps her world from tipping.”

Theo laughs under his breath. “Jesus. That’s you to a T.”

I mutter, “Everything is going wrong.”

Theo tilts his head. “Then ask him for the update before you spiral.”

I don’t look away from the sandwich. “Update.”

The PI exhales. “I’ve found things.”

My jaw tightens. “That’s not an update.”

“They don’t make sense yet.”

I slam the sandwich down onto the plate. “When you open your mouth next time, it better be with some fucking

information. I’m paying you, not funding a mystery podcast.”

Silence.

Then, careful and deliberate, he speaks. “I dug into Drew Pierce.”

Theo stills.

“Asked around the docks,” the PI continues. “Quietly. Not officially.”

My stomach twists.

“It looks like Drew was involved with the Mexican cartel.”

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Theo curses softly. “Fuck.”

“They’re trying to push drugs and guns through dock territory,” the PI says. “Drew wasn’t a dealer. He was a runner.

Delivered messages. Cash payments. No paper trail.”

1 grip the edge of the desk.

“That’s why he paid in cash,” Theo murmurs. “The rehab. Weekly.”

“Exactly,” the Pl says. “But that’s not the worst part.”

I already know it will be.

“It looks like Drew may have been a CI.”

I choke.

Actually choke.

Theo lunges forward, slapping my back once. “Jesus, Rowan-”

“A CI?” I snap. “You’re telling me he was a confidential informant?”

“Vice brought him in more than once,” the PI confirms. “Cleared petty theft off his record. Let things slide. Used him to get closer to higher-ups.”

Theo rubs his face. “So he was playing both sides.”

“Or trying to survive,” the PI says.

Theo looks at me. “Is that what Calder is after?”

“No,” I say immediately. “Violet has nothing to do with that.”

There’s a beat.

Then the PI cuts in. “She does.”

My blood goes cold.

“Not knowingly,” he adds. “But she’s involved whether she likes it or not. People saw them together. Connected them. Family is leverage.”

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The CEO Above My Desk