Rising From Ruin With My Billionaire CEOs

Chapter Four

Warmth tickles my face, making my nose scrunch in displeasure. I groan, turning away and covering my face.

"You should wake up, dear." The voice follows a hand gliding through my hair, and I almost melt into the touch. But then I realize I'm at a resort, and I don't share a room with anyone.

I jerk away so fast I fall off the bed.

Ow… I rub my aching forehead, slowly rising up. Then another realization hits me. I'm naked.

My sharp shriek fills the room as I crouch and hug the white duvet I was covered in like a lifeline. Then slowly, I raise my head to look at the man sitting on the other side of the bed.

His eyes are closed, head tilted to the ceiling, book in his right hand facing up, and rolled up sleeves giving a good view of the veins trickling up his hairy forearms. Even with the messy graying coffee brown hair, lightly stubbled chin and rumpled white dress shirt, he still exudes a certain type of sexiness that has my face burning. Is it that sharp jaw, or sinewy strength in his lean muscles, or maybe it's that towering height, that presence, that clear olive skin even though it's obvious he's older—

"Are you admiring me?" There's a smile playing on his lips, and a teasing tone. It makes me feel more embarrassed.

"I am no—!"

"Everything okay, darling?" Two other men enter, their tall height filling up the room.

"We heard you scream."

As I take in their appearance—the one who spoke first is staggeringly tall, tanned skin and hair that’s definitely too black and shiny to be real, with sharp, upturned amber eyes, and the evidence of a shave on his sharp jaw; the second is a bit shorter, but compared to my 5'5" butt he's still massive, his hooded gaze is as dark and intense as I remember, with his pale skin, very graying hair already neatly swept back and a graying goatee, he definitely looks the oldest out of all three of them, he's already all dressed and crisp—everything from the previous night returns to me. My face burns, and I'm sure it's visible from the chuckle I hear.

I quickly get up, hugging the duvet even tighter to my form. Thankfully, I see them all look away. So I get the courage to speak up.

"W-where are my…clothes?"

The one still on the bed gestures to a love seat in the room. Now that I actually take the time to look at the room, it's on a whole other level from the rooms the staff were given. It's huge for one, with a king-size bed, plasma TV in front of the bed, with a table and stools in front of a love seat. Beyond sliding doors is a literal mini garden. But I don't stay too long to admire as I hurriedly—

My legs literally give out and I stumble forward. The older one smoothly catches me before I can fall, holding me gently by my waist.

"Are you alright?"

No, sir, I'm incredibly embarrassed!

I nod. "Y-yeah…"

Actually seriously though, how am I just noticing how sore my legs are?! They feel like jelly. The knowledge of why I'm so sore only makes my face redden. And it burns redder when I hear the one in a towel try to hide his laugh by clearing his throat.

I quickly take my clothes from the seat, ignoring how my legs wobble as I walk, and make my way into the bathroom. When I glance back at them, they're still looking away.

I change while trying not to spend too long gawking at the exquisite bathroom because we only got a toilet and a shower while they have a bathtub. And with only awkward glances and nods given to them, I leave the room.

Small problem, it isn't just a room, it's a mini mansion. And when I come out from said mini mansion onto the front patio, there is nothing but scenic greenery all around. After searching a bit, I find a path and follow it. Winding through different paths and slowly losing confidence in my sense of direction, I come up on dead end after dead end and even other secluded places before I finally spot the main building where I belong.

I don't waste any time hightailing out of rich people ville, and going back to commoner city. Even at a luxury resort there's disparity, can't say I'm surprised. All I know is I'll never look at any shower the same again after seeing an indoor tub that big.

I try to avoid anyone I know, and go straight to my room on the first floor. When I'm in and I lock the door, I finally breathe a sigh of relief. I'm getting ready when I realize Jamie changed out all my clothes.

That little—

I don't even care anymore! I put on one of the mini dresses he put in—a ruffly pale pink dress, with cap sleeves, a plunging neckline that's secured with a loose bow. And did I mention it was a MINI dress, mid-thigh. I style my hair into waves and put on some light makeup. Just because my life's crashing down doesn't mean I can't look good while it does.

When I leave my room, I go look for Sophie and Jake. Thankfully, I find them quickly at the terrace restaurant, and I sit with them a bit to the back. There was a time when I could proudly sit in the front, but not anymore.

"So sorry about yesterday, Ana…" Sophie gives my hand a squeeze, cringing at the thought of me having to ride with that weirdo driver.

But I wave off her concern. "It's fine. Those shits wouldn't have let you guys do anything even if you tried."

"Yeah, but still." Jake pipes up, smiling apologetically. "Even though they're dirtbags, we still could have tried a bit harder."

I give a fake sniffle, though I actually feel like I might cry. I hug them tight around their necks. "I love you guys!"

We all laugh. Then the laughter dies down when we see Tyler and Linda sitting together, looking so gross and all over each other.

"Ugh, it's lipstick panther and douchebag. They've been all over each other since mor…" My round-faced friend trails off as she nervously glances at me. "Sorry…"

"Way to go, Sophie."

"Hey—!"

"Don't worry, guys, it's fine. I…already knew…" I pick absentmindedly at my manicured nails, mind replaying the events of last night. "I saw them making out last night. We've broken up."

"Oh… Well that's great! You can do so much better than that piece of shit."

"Yeah." Jake nods, then makes a face like he remembers something. "Why were you limping when y—"

"Oh, look!" I cut him off, pointing to the front with an awkward smile. "It's the COO."

"It looks like he's about to give a speech," Sophie notices.

"We should definitely listen then!" I look seriously forward, hoping Jake would just drop the question.

I feel the weird look he gives me, but he still sighs and looks forward too.

After getting everyone's attention, the COO, Gregory Smith, an African American man with low-cut hair and pretty much the second in command to the CEO, clears his throat and addresses us all.

"Good afternoon, everyone." His deep voice travels through the open space. "I hope you're all enjoying the retreat, and as a special gift from the CEO himself, the resort visit includes Monday as well."

We all cheer, clapping.

"But you'll all be expected back to work on Tuesday, of course."

I thought that'd be it, but Mr. Smith continues.

"And the one responsible for all this has something to say to all of you today. Please welcome our CEO, Alexander Sterling."

We all give excited claps and gasps sweep the whole restaurant. I understand their shock; I'm surprised too. Hardly anyone other than the Executive level gets to see the CEO in person.

He's the person who founded this tech company, built it from scratch. And now it's one of the leading companies in the world. Even if you don't know Alexander Sterling, you definitely know Sterling Tech, or at least STEC tablets.

I wonder what he looks like… Some wrinkly guy with a bald head and a stern face. I mean, everyone says he's scary.

I find myself straightening up to get a better view. Slowly, a man stands to his full height.

Well, he's not some wrinkly guy with a bald head and a stern face, that's for sure. He does have some wrinkles, yes, and a stern face, definitely. But he's not bald. His dark, graying hair is neatly trimmed and his suit is crisp and pressed, and I've never seen anyone rock an ascot that well.

But that lean muscled figure, that square jaw, that radiant olive skin and those thick eyebrows. It's so familiar I can't help the way my mouth falls open. And when those chilling blue eyes lock with my hazel ones, the smirk that follows from him says it all.

"What a lovely day to personally address my employees." His deep, gravelly voice echoed through space. That oh-so-familiar voice. Left hand in his pocket, he elegantly raises a glass with his other hand. "To all of you, the great staff of Sterling Technologies."

This is the man I woke up next to…

"To Sterling Technologies!" everyone cheers, but I'm still staring ahead like a fish, hardly registering anything said to me. The only thing I register is…

I just had a one-night stand with my boss!