My CEO and ME

Chapter 3

Under the Surface

"You ought to have listened to me, Sophie."

The words were icy, but there was a clear indication of something else—something that made me shudder down my spine.

Carter's voice sliced over our conflict like a razor, and I could see the storm building in his eyes.

I looked up at him, trying not to feel the irresistible draw every time he came too near. His sculpted features were harshly shadowed by the low light in his office; his jaw was tense, his posture stiff.

Now that I could feel the heat radiating off him, he was standing so near to me; the energy in the air almost seemed tangible.

"I did listen, Carter," I shot back, my voice more quivering than I would have wanted. That does not mean you have any power over me, though. Alternatively, this scenario.

His lips curved slightly into a tight, austere smile. "You think this is a situation you control?" he questioned, moving forward. "You are no longer free of choice. None of us do either.

I detested the way that felt. I detested his proper approach. I could not, however, back down. not now. Not when everything inside me cried out for responses.

Though I wanted to break away and flee, his presence seemed like a force field I was unable to pass. His gaze fixed me in place, calling me to challenge him, to dispute.

Every time he spoke, it seemed like I was on a tightrope—one misstep could bring everything down.

Every second that went by, the air in the room thickened and my breath accelerated.

The unresolved questions ate at me, and although I was trying so hard to keep my cool, everything inside me was quivering.

"I don't know what you want from me, Carter," I said, my voice almost audible, a mix of frustration and something else I couldn't describe.

He did not reply straight away. Rather, his eyes softened for a fleeting second; a flutter of something buried under the CEO's mask. Then it vanished, replaced by the cold, deliberate stare he was so adept at masking behind.

"Sophie, I want you to grasp. Right now, everything hangs on a line. And you find yourself midway through it.

Heart beating in my chest, I stepped back. This was too much. Too hurried. His comments felt like bricks, and the weight of them smushed me down with the understanding that I was deeper than I had ever thought.

I desire not to participate in this. I never registered for this; I spat and shook my hands tightly at my sides. "You're dragging me into something Carter, I don't even grasp. I'm going out.

His eyes darkened, and for a second I felt as though I saw something raw—something real. But it disappeared just as fast as it first showed, replaced by his customary understated manner.

"You don't get to walk away from this," he snarled, his voice sharpened by each clipped word. " None of us today enjoy such privilege. Whether you like it or not, Sophie, you are in this.

"Maybe you don't understand," I said, my resentment mounting. "Perhaps I desire not to be your game's pawn. Among your staff are not me.

Though I could not stop myself, the words tasted harsh on my tongue. Our conflict was a maelstrom neither of us knew how to negotiate, and our tension was electric.

He moved forward, and I could feel his body's heat close by. Every second the tension between us was rising.

"You are one of my staff," he whispered, his voice low and sending shivers across me. But you also represent something more. And that is why this is much more perilous.

I retreated to another step, my mind whirling. "What is that even meant to imply?"

He said nothing. Rather, his eyes narrowed and a flutter of something menacing emerged in them. Then his eyes strayed toward the door.

There was obvious tension in the air. We seemed to be poised on the brink of something, something I wasn't sure I could manage. Though every nerve in my body was ablaze, he had an irresistible appeal. No matter how hard I tried, this pull would not go away.

I took great wrath at him. Furious at his dragging of me into this mess. Angry at his belief he could underlie me.

Underneath it all, though, was something else—a flaw I would not want to own. I wanted to hide the way my heart skipped when he glanced at me or the fact I couldn't breathe when he stood too close.

"Don't do this, Sophie," he whispered abruptly, his voice almost audible above a whisper, dark eyes devoid of something readable. You don't want to push me too far.

Though strangely it felt more, it was the closest he had come to a warning. I sensed the unsaid words between us, the strain neither of us could release.

Again, my voice faltered and the uncertainty in my chest threatened to overtake me. "I don't know what you want from me." "I simply seek responses."

"You want answers?" he replied, his voice low and almost menacing. "Your response is entwined with something much larger than you could possibly imagine. And the worse it will grow for both of us the more you fight it.

The air appeared to move around us when the office door cracked open. My head turned toward it and I froze. Alex stood in the gateway, his face gloomy and his eyes dark with an urgency I had not seen before.

Alex continued, his voice low and clipped, "Carter, we have a problem."

Carter's face became tighter. "what is it?"

Alex was not slow at all. You must see this.

For just a second, Carter turned to me, his eyes lingering on me with something like regret—or perhaps something more. "Stay here," he said, his voice sharp, his eyes steely once more as though the walls were rising. "I will be back.

He left me alone in the austere solitude of his office before I could react. My head spun, ideas crashing like a tempest. Whose behavior was this?

Someone was following us. And why did I get the disturbing sense that everything I knew was about to fall apart?

My thoughts whirling, I didn't know how long I remained there, but then I heard a faint click followed by the sound of a message being sent.

I turned to face the desk, my eyes pulled to the phone left there. I took it up without thinking. A fresh message had showered in. The words stopped my heart cold.

"*You are too deep, Sophie." There is nowhere to escape. And Carter's no hero; he is your **captor.**

My breath hung in my throat. Every syllable sank further and deeper, the message seeming as a blade to the heart.

Still, there was something else, worse. I understood the quantity. It was known, also somewhat familiar.

The door opened suddenly, and Carter was back. But I held up the phone, my voice quivering, "Carter, who is this?" before he could talk.

His eyes widened for a split second before he came under control. "Putting that down, Sophie."

Nevertheless, it was too late. The truth was there in front of each of us.

The quiet that came after Carter's arrival was stifling. His gaze fixed on the phone in my hand, his whole stance changed right away, the earlier stiffness transforming into something deeper, more fierce. The weight of the silent threat was almost tangible in the air.

"Sophie, put the phone down," he whispered, his voice low and dangerously calm but the keen edge of desperation was impossible to ignore.

My pulse beating as the message on the screen seemed to mock both of us, I held the phone slightly higher. "Who are you?" I asked once more, my voice trembling even with my best attempts to sound assured.

He moved toward me, his face a mask of barely subdued rage, his eyes never leaving the phone. I said, then put it down.

I nearly gave in for a moment—his presence, the intensity of his stare, it was almost sufficient to cause me to drop the phone, to trust him. But I failed as well.

The truth that was squarely in front of me would not be ignored.

This was not a merely haphazard threat. It was a warning, one I was too entwined in to flee.

I rocked my head. "I need responses, Carter. At now.

He tightened his jaw. You misinterpret, Sophie. You are going to make things worse for us both if you keep pushing me.

Heart thumping, I stepped back. "For both of us? Even then, what does that even mean?

The sight in his eyes darkened, a storm building beneath the well built mask of control he constantly wore. I was not backing down, though. Not presently. I was not terrified of him any more.

His voice dropped to a whisper, menacing and personal all at once. He seemed to hesitate, a fleeting flutter of doubt across his features before he stepped further toward me.

"You don't know the person you're working with. You believe you can just enjoy playing this game? Sophie, you are over your head.

I stayed my ground, but the uncertainty and anxiety crept into the margins of my brain. What do you mean?

Startled, the door opened suddenly and slammed into the wall with such power. I leaped. Alex stood there, his face austere, his hand clutching the doorframe as though it were the only thing keeping him standing.

With a tense voice, Alex stated, "Carter, we have a major problem." His eyes strayed to me, then back to Carter, their intensity sharpening. "We are not alone in this anymore.

Carter answered slowly, his face unreadable yet still focused on me. As the puzzle's bits started to fit quicker than I could grasp, my heart started to race.

"What do you mean?" Trying to keep my cool, I inquired but the words seemed hollow in my throat.

Alex's eyes locked with mine, and the look in them chilled my spine. "The people after you—after both of you—are nearer than you think."

I sensed the ground underfoot sliding away. "What does that imply?" I whispered, hardly able to breathe.

Alex was ready to respond when a distant but harsh voice rang from the corridor.

Sophie, you are running out of time. You hardly know who is actually dragging the cords.

The words stopped the air in the room, and I turned toward the door. When I saw the shadow-covered silhouette of a man just beyond the threshold, my heart stopped.