The CEO’s Unspoken Love (Eleanor and Derek) novel Chapter 39

Chapter 39

As the meeting adjourned, I overheard my assistant whispering to Thomas in the hallway.

The boss has been absolutely brutal lately. Do you think there’s trouble with his marriage? Maybe?”

I stepped into the doorway, making them both freeze. “Did I leave a Post-it on my back that says ‘Please discuss my personal life?”

Thomas tried to defuse the situation. “Hey, Derek, people are just concerned.”

A cold-blooded bastard like me isn’t exactly a rare treasure worth concerning yourself over,” I shot back. “Unless you’d like to take

over running Frontier Capital?”

Thomas sighed. “That’s not what anyone’s saying.”

“Save your concern for someone who needs it,” I said, my voice like ice. “I just need accurate financial reports.”

I retreated to my office, closing the door firmly behind me. The fact that my staff was speculating about my marriage was almost as

irritating as my own inability to shake off yesterday’s scene at the flower shop.

In the evening, I met my father at the Boston Club, a sanctuary of old money and whispered deals. A server handed me my usual

Scotch as I entered the private dining room where my father waited, looking every inch the banking patriarch he was.

“Let’s skip the pleasantries,” I said, taking a seat. “What did you want to discuss?”

My father studied me with calculating eyes. “The board is interested in your proposal to merge Frontier Capital with Atlantic

Securities.

I pulled out my tablet and showed him the financial models I’d prepared. “Atlantic’s third-quarter trading volume dropped seventeen

percent while their operating costs rose twenty-three. It’s a sinking ship, only kept afloat by the Wells name.”

“And your solution?” he asked, though we both knew he’d already read my proposal.

“Alexander works at Frontier under my leadership. I’ll restructure the entire team and cut the dead weight-all those useless

relatives hired as favors.”

I outlined my plan for tax restructuring that would benefit both companies while minimizing our exposure. My father nodded, impressed despite himself.

“Sometimes I forget how frighteningly talented you are with finance,” he conceded. ‘Do whatever you think best.”

Work was solid ground, the one place where emotions didn’t interfere with clarity.

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Chapter 39

After the main course was served and the servers had departed, my father turned to more personal matters.

“About you and Eleanor-how are the lawyers progressing?”

My hand tightened around my glass. “Father, can we not discuss Eleanor tonight?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Trouble in paradise? I thought you two maintained a perfectly civil facade.”

“Just some… misunderstandings,” I said, avoiding his gaze. The last thing I needed was my fathers scrutiny of my inexplicable reaction to Eleanor’s words.

“You know,” he said in an unusually gentle tone, though this marriage was arranged, Eleanor is a good girl. Her father was once my most trusted associate.”

I shifted the conversation. “I’ve been too busy to deal with the paperwork.” A convenient excuse, and one that didn’t require me to examine why the thought of divorce papers suddenly seemed less appealing than it had for the past three years.

“The three-year term is almost up,” he reminded me. “Give her a decent settlement, and you should part amicably.”

“Grandmother won’t accept it,” I said, the excuse sounding hollow even to my own ears.

“Margaret’s health has improved considerably, my father replied. “When the time comes, find a respectable reason to end the

marriage. I doubt she’ll object anymore.”

I nodded absently, uncomfortable with the conversation. It was strange-for years I’d counted down to the end of our arrangement,

and now that it was within reach, I found myself reluctant to discuss it.

Where to tonight, Mr. Wells?” my driver asked as he held the car door open.

“Where do you think I should go?” I found myself asking.

He hesitated. “You stayed at the hotel last night. Would you like to go to the lakeside house?”

I stared at my phone screen, at Eleanor’s latest message asking if I’d be home for dinner. After a long moment, I made my decision.

“Take me to the Beacon Hill apartment.

As we drove through the night, I closed my eyes, telling myself I wasn’t going home because I missed her or because I wasn’t angry anymore. I was going because it was my home, after all. Nothing more.

Yet Eleanor’s face filled my thoughts all the way there.

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The CEO’s Unspoken Love