The CEO Above My Desk (Mckenzie Shinabery) novel Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Rowan

Theo stares at me like he’s seeing something new. Or something he wishes he wasn’t.

“Jesus,” he mutters.

1 barely register it.

All of my attention is on Violet.

She’s standing there with her shoulders squared, chin lifted, trying to look steady while everything inside her is coming apart. Camille steps closer to her, hand brushing her arm, grounding her.

“Vi, are you okay?”

Violet doesn’t hesitate. “No,” she says. Honest. Raw. “But I will be.”

That answer does something to me. It shouldn’t. It’s not strategic. It’s not useful. It just… lands. Hard.

I straighten, already pulling my phone from my pocket. There’s no hesitation now. No weighing of outcomes. She didn’t ask me to save her. She asked me to fix something that should never have been broken.

And in doing that, she handed me permission.

“Devin,” I say.

“Yes,” he answers immediately.

“Call both funeral homes,” I tell him. “They’re consolidating services. Today.”

Devin nods once. No questions. He turns away, already dialing.

I shift my attention. “Theo.”

He’s already pulling his phone out. “Calder’s supervisor. On it.”

Good.

Then I look back at Violet.

She’s watching me like she’s trying to read my face, trying to understand how this is happening so fast. How the world is

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Chapter 71

bending around her for once instead of crushing her.

“You are not doing anything else today,” I tell her. Calm. Even. “You are not making calls. You are not negotiating.”

She opens her mouth. Of course she does.

“I can-”

“No,” I cut in, firm enough that she stops. “This is not your burden to carry alone.”

Her throat works as she swallows. “You don’t have to do this.”

That’s the thing. She still thinks this is about obligation.

“Yes,” I reply. “I do.”

I hold her gaze, let my voice drop just enough to matter. “No one gets to tear your family apart and walk away.”

Something in her finally gives. I see it in the way her shoulders sag just a fraction, in the sharp nod she gives like she’s afraid she’ll fall apart if she moves too slowly.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

It’s not gratitude that hits me.

It’s ownership.

She didn’t mean to offer it. She doesn’t even know she did. But in that moment, standing there looking at me like I’m the only thing holding the ground steady beneath her feet, something locks into place inside my chest.

Mine.

I don’t touch her. I don’t say it out loud. I don’t need to.

I turn away before I do something reckless and start issuing orders.

“Camille,” I say.

She looks up immediately.

I pull one of my private cards from my wallet and hold it out to her. “Take her. Distract her. Food, spa, movies, shopping, whatever she wants. Take a driver. Theo goes with you.”

Camille blinks. “All of that?”

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Chapter 71

“Yes.”

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She takes the card slowly. “You sure?”

I look back at Violet. “Very.”

Theo glances between us, suspicion flickering across his face, but he doesn’t argue.

“Keep her busy,” I add. “I don’t want her thinking.”

Camille nods. “I can do that.”

Good.

I turn toward the stairs, already lining up calls in my head, already mapping pressure points. Calder made a mistake. A fatal one. And he doesn’t even know it yet.

I take two steps.

Violet grabs my shirt sleeve.

The contact is light. Barely there. But it stops me cold.

I turn back.

She’s staring up at me, eyes intense, searching my face like she’s afraid of what she might find there.

“Please be careful,” she says quietly. “Calder is after you. I need you to stay out of prison.”

The concern in her voice is real. Sharp. Earnest.

It twists something in my chest.

I smirk, just a little. Enough to keep her from seeing what this actually costs me. “That’s what Devin is for, sweetheart.”

Her breath catches at the word.

I lean in just enough that only she hears me. “I’ll be fine. Relax today. Let me handle it.”

She hesitates, then nods.

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