I Married the Man Above My Ex

Chapter Four

Pain greeted Kathy before consciousness did. A dull ache settled behind her eyes, pulsing with every heartbeat. She groaned and buried her face deeper into the pillow. The sheets beneath her were impossibly soft. They carried a faint scent of cedarwood and something clean and expensive.

Her brows knitted together. Expensive? Her fingers brushed over the plush pillows, then stretched across the huge bed. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open. The unfamiliar ceiling was the first thing she saw. Then the crystal chandelier.

She bolted upright. She squeezed her eyes shut and grabbed her throbbing head. "Bad idea," she muttered.

When the dizziness eased, she looked around again. This wasn't her apartment. It wasn't Olive's either. Her heartbeat picked up. "No..."

She threw back the duvet. Her black dress was still on. Her shoes sat neatly beside the bed. Her handbag rested on a leather chair near the window. Nothing looked disturbed.

She looked herself over once more, just to be certain. Still dressed. A long, shaky breath escaped her. "Oh, thank God."

The relief lasted exactly three seconds. Then the memories began creeping back.

The Grand Meridian.

Whiskey.

Too much whiskey.

Olive leaving. The man at the bar… Not just any man.

Andre Reid.

Her eyes widened. "Oh, no." Heat flooded her cheeks. She remembered recognizing him. Remembered telling him far more than any sane person should tell a stranger.

Then, her stomach dropped. "Sleep with me." The words echoed inside her head with merciless clarity.

She covered her face with both hands.

"No, no, no..." She had actually said it. To Andre Reid. The CEO of Echelon Technologies. Wonderful.

She wanted the earth to c***k open and kindly swallow her whole. With a defeated groan, she fell backward onto the bed and pulled a pillow over her face. "I need to relocate."

Then, the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee drifted into the room. She lowered the pillow.

Coffee?

Confused, Kathy climbed out of bed. A glass of water waited on the bedside table beside two painkillers. Beneath them lay a neatly folded note. She hesitated before picking it up. The handwriting was firm and minimal:

Drink the water first. Your head will thank you. Breakfast is outside. Eat before you leave.

There was no signature. There didn't need to be. A reluctant smile tugged at her lips.

"You really are annoyingly decent." The smile faded almost as quickly as it appeared. Which somehow made last night even more embarrassing.

She swallowed the painkillers with the water before stepping into the living area. A dining table had been set for one.

Fresh fruit.

Toast.

Coffee.

Orange juice.

Everything looked untouched. Just as she reached for the coffee, her phone buzzed.

It sat charging neatly on the kitchen counter. Someone had plugged it in. It had to be him. Her chest tightened. He had thought of everything. Olive was the one calling. Twenty-three missed calls. Seven text messages.

Kathy winced. She answered immediately. "Hello?"

"KATHY!" She instinctively pulled the phone away from her ear. "Oh, good," Olive continued dramatically. "You're alive."

"I was asleep."

"Where the hell have you been?"

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Olive sounded personally offended. "I dropped my freshly heartbroken best friend at a luxury hotel. Your phone died, you vanished, and now you're answering from an unknown place sounding suspiciously calm." A beat of silence followed. "Start talking."

Kathy told her everything. Meeting Andre.

Their conversation at the bar. Too much whiskey. And finally… The humiliating proposal she'd made.

Olive was quiet for a moment. "Kathy?"

"Yes?"

"I'm trying to decide whether to comfort you or laugh."

"Please choose comfort."

"I choose laughter." Olive burst into uncontrollable laughter. "Oh my goodness."

"Olive."

"You propositioned Andre Reid.

"Don't rub it in."

"Andre Reid?" Her laughter only grew. "The billionaire CEO you've been fangirling over since university?"

Kathy squeezed her eyes shut. "I know. I've embarrassed myself enough for one lifetime."

"You'll recover."

"I sincerely doubt that.”

Another brief silence settled between them. Then Olive cleared her throat. "So..."

Kathy already knew where this was going. "So?"

"Did you two..." She lowered her voice dramatically. "...sleep together?"

Kathy looked out through the towering windows. "No."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"He didn't even kiss you?"

"No."

This time, Olive didn't laugh. Instead, she said quietly, "I like him."

Kathy frowned. "You've never met him."

"I don't have to." Olive's voice softened. "A beautiful, drunk woman practically begged him to take advantage of her. He didn't."

"That tells me everything I need to know about the kind of man he is."

Before Kathy could respond, another notification appeared on her screen.

An email. From Echelon Technologies. Her heartbeat slowed. Then quickened.

She opened it. Her eyes skimmed the first line. Then the second. Everything else faded.

"Kathy?"

Olive's voice came through the phone. "What is it?"

Kathy read the email again. Just to make sure she wasn't imagining it. A slow smile spread across her face. "I got the job."

A scream loud enough to make Kathy pull the phone away from her ear erupted from the other end.

—-----

Two days passed in a blur. Now Kathy stood outside Echelon Technologies. The towering glass headquarters looked even more intimidating in daylight. She remained there for several seconds, clutching the strap of her handbag. Quietly hoping she wouldn't bump into Andre. How could she possibly face him?

"You will survive this,"she whispered to herself.

She walked inside. The reception area buzzed with quiet conversations.

Everything looked polished. Elegant. Professional. Nothing like Hayes Technologies.

After collecting her visitor's badge, she followed an HR representative toward the orientation hall.

Behind her, the elevator doors slid open.

"Good morning, Mr. Reid."

The entire lobby seemed to straighten at once. Kathy's heart stopped. Andre was there?

She immediately lowered her head. "Please don't see me. Please don't," she muttered, trying to sneak away.

He walked through the lobby. Tailored black suit. Hands tucked loosely into his pockets. Simply impossible to ignore.

Then he stopped in front of her. Close enough for her to catch the faint scent of cedarwood from his cologne. His expression revealed nothing. Not amusement. Not embarrassment. Nothing.

"You made it."

Three simple words. Yet Kathy wanted the marble floor beneath her to split open. "Barely."

His gaze swept over her face. She looked up, and her heart stopped. Without the haze of alcohol, he looked even more intimidating than she remembered. Tall. Impossibly handsome.

There wasn't a trace of emotion on his face.

"Yes, Mr. Reid and that's all thanks to you," she said when she found her voice.

He nodded. "Good."

That was all. No mention of the whiskey. No mention of her throwing herself at him.

No mention of… Sleep with me. He stepped past her without another glance. She was grateful for that.

Only after he disappeared into the executive elevator did Kathy realize she had been holding her breath.

_________

Meanwhile, Andre stepped into his office and closed the door behind him. Ethan was already waiting, tablet in hand.

"Your ten o'clock board meeting has been confirmed."

Andre nodded.

"The Singapore investors also approved the expansion schedule."

"Good."

Ethan tapped the screen once before extending the tablet toward him. "One last thing."

Andre glanced down. At the top of the screen were two words. PROJECT KATHERINE CALDWELL.

BHis eyes rested on it for only a second. "Close it."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Ethan's mouth. "Congratulations."

Andre looked up. "What for?"

"You finally got your engineer."

Andre's expression didn't change. He looked back at the screen before handing the tablet back. "Archive the file."

"Yes, sir."

No explanation was necessary. Project Katherine Caldwell had served its purpose.M Ethan waited for a moment, as though expecting Andre to say something more. When nothing came, he simply nodded and headed for the door. It clicked shut behind him.

Almost immediately, Andre's phone vibrated. Grandfather. He answered without looking at the screen.

"Morning, Grandpa."

"My grandson."

The old man's voice carried its usual theatrical weight. "I'm dying."

"You've been dying for the past fifteen years." Andre chuckled.

"I mean it this time."

"You also meant it last Christmas."

"I was weaker then."

"You said the same thing on your birthday."

"I was weaker again."

A smile ghosted across Andre's face. "So, what's today's emergency?"

"I want to see my great-grandchildren before I leave this wicked world."

"There it is."

"You've turned thirty-two."

Andre's gaze drifted beyond the glass. Down in the lobby, the new recruits followed HR toward the development wing.

Among them was Kathy Caldwell. His thoughts returned, unbidden, to the night at the hotel. He still remembered the surprising lightness of her in his arms and the way she'd tried so hard to hide a broken heart.

His grandfather spoke again, pulling him from his thoughts. "You've spent years chasing success. I only hope one day you'll chase happiness with the same determination."

For the first time since the call began, Andre didn't answer. He watched Kathy disappear around the corner. Then he quietly ended the call. He had spent years trying to recruit Kathy. Now that she was finally at Echelon, he suspected the difficult part was only beginning.