Broken CEO Read online

  Broken CEO

  Victoria Pinder

  Contents

  Series information

  Join Victoria Pinder

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Also by Victoria Pinder

  About Victoria Pinder

  Series information

  DECADANT DAWES

  Broken Boss

  Broken CEO

  Broken Ex-Boyfriend

  Broken Daddy

  Broken Bully Coming Soon

  Join Victoria Pinder

  Victoria Pinder wants to hear from you! If you’re on social media, please friend her.

  Join Victoria’s Bold and Foxy Street Team

  You can also find her here:

  Sign up for her newsletter and get a FREE novella.

  Follow on Facebook

  Follow on Twitter

  Chapter 1

  Abby

  Zane Dawes, the first and only man I’d ever loved—not that he knew that—had an office right behind my desk. I worked for him now. We were near the top of a high-rise overlooking San Francisco, where rents were crazy.

  Most of my friends were in college, as their parents were still alive and paying for them. I’d been jealous until I set foot into the office suite and laid eyes on the man of my dreams.

  When he came close, I went weak in the knees. His nearness filled a gap and made me yearn for more. After my parents died two years ago, the college dream had ended, and I’d needed to figure out a way to make ends meet. That plan had landed me a twenty-day temp job with the Dawes Corporation, and the agency was working to get me a permanent position there. I hoped it would work out. I’d never met anybody like him. He had more power than God himself, but he still brought me coffee every morning and gave money away to charities like it was candy.

  If I stayed, the pay raise would mean I could pay some of the back rent, and my sister and I might be okay. And I could live out my fantasies, at least in my head.

  Everyone else hated him. I got it. The place was serious and bound by hard rules. But Zane was so sexy and hot that it didn’t matter. That muscular man in a suit talked a mean game, but he had the power to change the world. And for a man, he noticed everything.

  I spent hours in my chair, wishing I was his as I worked. I bet his kiss would burn through me. I sighed and worked on a report. Then my phone rang. My sister, Annie, knew better than to call me at work, as personal calls were cause for termination.

  I covered my Bluetooth with my hair and looked down at the desk.

  “We have thirty days to vacate. There is a notice on the door,” she said.

  My heart pounded. My fourteen-year-old sister was thriving in the high school I’d hated. Blood pounded in my head. Moving would mean leaving the district. I sighed. “Are you kidding?”

  “No, sis.”

  The elevator opened, and Zane appeared. I didn’t want to get fired, so I quickly said, “I’ll deal with it. See you soon.”

  I typed faster and tossed my Bluetooth toward my bag, but it tumbled onto the floor.

  My skin prickled as he came closer, and I put my high-heeled foot over it so he wouldn’t see as I continued to type.

  At my desk, he stopped, left me a latte, and stared at me. I swear he glanced at my sweetheart neckline, and heat rushed through me.

  He didn’t move, and I glanced at the black pants and gray button-down shirt covering his muscular body. He crossed his arms and said, “Were you on a personal call?”

  Eviction was a big enough problem. I tensed. Across the room, I saw Vanessa, who thought she was my boss but also looked out for me, but even she glanced down at her desk.

  Damn, I hadn’t meant to break rules. Inside, I trembled, but I just grabbed a pen and paper as if I would take notes. I refused to get fired. Adrenaline coursed through me as I stepped out of my spot and said, “Yes, sir. And I need your help.”

  His eyes widened, but he lowered his arms. “Excuse me?”

  I passed him, and my hair stood on end. I opened his door. I didn’t need an audience if he fired me.

  He followed me into his office, and once I heard the door click, I said, “I’m out of options.”

  “Very well.” I knew he was staring at my ass. He passed me and sat at his desk. I shivered as I stood above him, but he settled into his seat, the master of his domain. With a flick of his head, he gave me permission to speak.

  My heart was in my throat, but I was about to lose my one-bedroom apartment. “I saw you looking at me when I came in.”

  His jaw tightened, and I realized that it sounded like a threat.

  “I knew you’d seen that I was on the phone.”

  The tension melted from around his mouth, and he nodded at me. “You know it’s against company policy to accept personal calls on our time.”

  I put my pen and paper on his desk and ignored the voice in my head that told me to stop and run. For weeks now, I’d ached to be his, but if I lost my job, I would lose the apartment and everything else.

  Yet if I did nothing, I would still lose. My face burned with shame. Why did my parents have to die? How am I supposed to do everything? My skin grew goose bumps. “I need money, and I’ll do anything to get it.”

  His gaze narrowed, but I lowered my head.

  He would fire me. I’d been stupid. Tears formed in my eyes, and I couldn’t stop them. I swallowed my pride and said, “I’ve never asked for anything before. I probably sound like a prostitute, but I’m on my last dime.”

  He sat back in his chair. As he opened his lips, I cringed and expected to be reprimanded, but he asked, “What was the phone call?”

  I closed my eyes. It was the only way I could speak. “My sister. She’s fourteen and my responsibility.”

  “How?”

  His deep voice sent a shockwave through me that made me wish I was somehow his, even though he was my boss. I swallowed. “She’s my responsibility. After our parents died, all we had were bills. She said she can drop out and get a job, but she’s only fourteen. What can she do? She babysits, and that helps, but the rent is high, and we don’t make enough. She called to tell me that they put an eviction notice on the door today. We have thirty days to figure it out.” I blinked hard to push down the tears.

  He rubbed his chin. “I see.”

  I sucked on my bottom lip and dared to glance at him. His deep brown eyes seemed to see into my soul. If how I felt about him was branded on my face, I was screwed. I knew if I didn’t ask, he would never be mine. I took a breath. “I need a break and am a good employee who needs money. Please help.”

  He studied me. For a moment, my heart leapt—this might happen—but then as seconds ticked past, I assumed I was toast.

  My knees knocked when he sipped the water I’d put on his desk earlier. “I need to get some things in order. Come back in two hours,” he said.

  My eyes widened. Two weeks before, I’d seen him tell Barry to pack his bags for taking personal calls at work, but I also knew that Zane had a soft spot, as charities emailed him all the time with updates, success stories, and requests.

  I assumed most billionaires didn’t care about the details of charitable giving.

  My skin zipped with energy, and I nodded. “I will.”

  I pivoted to leave, but then he called behind me, “When you said you’d do anything, what exactly did you mean?”

  My stomach flipped, and I turned back to face him. “I meant I’ll do anything to keep my sister off the streets.”

  He assessed me for a long minute. “Okay. Then leave your bra.”

  “What?” My skin prickled, and
I stepped back toward him. He licked his lips, and my body pulsed with desire. “You want my bra?”

  “I want more than your bra, Abby. But we’ll start with that.”

  “Okay.” I stood in front of him, so close I could smell his cologne. “How do we do this?”

  “I’ll draw up an agreement, a set of rules to protect ourselves from misunderstandings. But for now, I’ll keep your bra.”

  I walked to his desk and pretended to reach for my paper and pen. I wished for a second that I could tell him how I felt about him. He stared at me, but meeting his dare was the only way now. So I reached behind me and unhooked my bra, knowing he could see my hard nipples as I slid it out of my short-sleeved shirt.

  His lips curved into a smile as I set the bra on the desk. “Okay. See you in two hours.”

  I walked away with a shake of my hips and headed right to the ladies’ room, where no one would see me. I needed to breathe. This was my only choice, but I needed to ensure I never told him how much I already loved him. If he knew, he would never feel the same, and my life would end in disaster. Whatever he said the rules were didn’t matter.

  I would do anything he said if he saved my ass. I had no other choice.

  Chapter 2

  Zane

  Abby had been on my mind since she’d stepped into my office. I’d fantasized about her face and body for weeks, but work was work.

  I had a food-distribution empire to run for my family, and I had never touched an employee. Or a temp.

  She made poverty wages, yet her innocent nearness made my dick hard.

  Her predicament and her apparent willingness to do anything to solve it fulfilled my desire. I’d imagined locking my office door and taking the young beauty. I’d stopped myself from investigating her. I’d wanted to keep things professional, but my cock was ready to fuck her brains out.

  If we crossed that line, we needed a contract, and I needed information on the pretty brunette.

  After she disappeared, I pressed a button and called Vanessa in.

  Two minutes later, the woman my age with a diamond on her left hand appeared.

  I nodded. “Finish the hiring of Abby Armstrong today. I need the papers on my desk in an hour?”

  Vanessa smiled. “You’re not firing her for being on the phone?”

  She had no right to ask my opinion. I lifted my eyebrow and hoped I didn’t need to fire her today. “No. She explained her call to me.”

  She let out a relieved-sounding breath. “Good. She’s a sweet kid, and she’ll be thrilled to have a steady gig.”

  Kid. The word pricked at my skin. Abby was young, but she was legal. Her offer was on the table, and I needed all the information in the file. I snapped my fingers. “Send her temp file and background check to me at once.”

  “Yes, sir.” She fled my office.

  I’d learned that fear kept everyone in check. I ran the oldest division of Dawes, which my grandfather had started to launder money. We had gone legitimate, but some of the old ways remained.

  I got an email notification then read about her twenty-seven assignments this past year, working at different locations for short periods of time.

  No education beyond high school, from which she’d graduated two years ago. She was twenty at most, ten years my junior. “Interesting,” I muttered. Her background check revealed an address in a suburb not far from one of my townhomes.

  Then I tried to work. We were acquiring Goodness, a local grocery store, to compete in the organic sector. The paperwork was tedious.

  Two hours later, I checked my clock and made her wait an extra ten minutes as I printed out the hiring paperwork and the personal contract to be my exclusive girlfriend. I put everything on my desk, stood, and pressed the button for my assistant to come running. “Abby, time to come in.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  At least she bounced. Fuck, her body in that too-big-for-her business suit was probably better than I expected.

  She took a seat on my desk, which turned me on.

  I tapped the contracts beside me. “I have two folders here. One is your permanent employee status. I’ve just paid the temp agency their fee, and this is your employment and benefit information.”

  Her face pinkened, and I wondered if her body would do the same when I touched her. She wiped her face. “Thank you.” She opened the folder.

  “I’ve upped your pay to $85,000 a year.”

  Her eyes widened. “Really?”

  I nodded. “I expect you to work long hours and be at my beck and call professionally.” While she was mine, she would keep her apartment. She would never sleep without heat or air conditioning.

  She nodded and sucked on her bottom lip. “Absolutely.”

  My muscles tensed. I hadn’t expected to be nervous near her, but I was as I handed her the second folder. “The second file is the contract we discussed. I will supply you with an extra year’s salary paid in full for you to pay all your outstanding debts, but you need to sign this contract and fulfill my every whim.”

  She froze as if frightened, hugging the folder to her chest. “Can I read it?”

  I watched her breasts as she breathed. If she signed, I would see her naked soon. “Of course.”

  She read the first page, which was about exclusivity, and then got to the specifics. Her lips thinned. “Do nipple clamps hurt?”

  I nodded. “Pain and pleasure can be mixed, but the list is negotiable.”

  She traced her neckline then flinched as she read. “You want to beat my ass red?”

  She would be beautiful that way. I nodded, and she beamed goodness that I wanted to taste.

  “You want me like this?” He smile was quixotic, a flutter before her teeth took her bottom lip and hid it from view.

  I held my desk. “Absolutely.”

  She closed her eyes as if she feared her own words. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

  I would never do what she didn’t agree to. I stood and returned to my chair. Then I pointed. “There is the door, then.”

  She jumped out of her seat. “Am I fired, then?”

  I picked up the work on the Goodness takeover. “No. Take your bra from my desk and get back to work.”

  She came over and took my wrist. “Wait.”

  If she stayed, she’d learned her place. We both would. “Yes?”

  She rocked on her feet. “I need to do some math and research. Can we talk at five?”

  Time and math were normal. Online research wouldn’t reveal anything about me, though. I nodded. “Yes.”

  “Thank you.” She ran out the door and went right to her desk.

  Her touch a minute ago still burned on my skin. If she agreed, we would have fun. But the ball was completely in her court.

  Chapter 3

  Abby

  I had three hours. Zane was generous, but I needed to think of my future. Security would be nice. So I spent the time quickly researching condos or homes. I needed a place to live where no one would kick us out. Buying was better than back rent, but the cheapest place to live was Oakland, across the bay, and even inexpensive housing was $400,000.

  I wasn’t sure how to fix up a house or two-bedroom condo. Maybe that was an impossible dream, but a place of my own would mean security. The $85,000 he’d offered would help.

  I also researched pain play, and my stomach tightened.

  Whips. Clamps. None of it seemed normal at all. Granted, I’d never had sex, so maybe what I saw portrayed real life and wasn’t just some joke.

  I glanced at the clock. Time was up. I swallowed, and my heart raced.

  Maybe I dared too much, but Zane already had me, if he wanted, though he had no idea.

  I knocked and went in when he didn’t respond. I held the contract in my hand. “You said these items were negotiable.”

  He was on speakerphone. My face heated, but he motioned toward a chair. “Sit. You’re two minutes early.”

  “Yes, sir,” I said out of habit.

&nbsp
; He took himself off mute. “I’ve reviewed the files in the merger. We’ll need to fire the general manager of that store on Elm.”

  “Will do,” the other person on the line said.

  I held my tongue. I wanted to ask what the GM might have done at the store for the CEO to want him gone, but it wasn’t my place. I wasn’t anything to him.

  He finally hung up the phone and motioned for me to bring my chair closer. Then he stood and sat on the desk, so I looked up at him. Once he was settled, he said, “Speak, Abby.”

  It was time for my gamble. “Look, I want to own my place, and I did research. The cheapest place to buy around here is Oakland, but that’s still half a million. So I want to know if some of these items are negotiable.”

  His gaze narrowed as he stared at me. “What’s your hope?”

  I traced my neckline and ignored the rush of adrenaline in my body. “You promised $85,000 up front, but I figure that’s for exclusivity and… normal sex.” Tension rocked through me.

  He got off the desk and took the chair beside me. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

  I shook my head. “No. That’s not a problem.”

  He stared at me.

  Heat rushed through me. I hugged my waist. “I researched pain play, and I don’t really like being in pain much, but I’m willing to try. But—”

  “Let’s not nickel-and-dime this.” He brushed against my hand.

  The spark electrified me, but he quickly let go as if the moment was a mistake for him.

  “I’ll give you $85,000 and a two-bedroom condo in one of my buildings or townhomes in the city with your name on it for everything on the list, but you’re mine until I end things.”

  My head spun. It was more than I expected. I knew he had a heart, but it seemed to be mixed with sex. I swallowed. “Okay.”