THE CEOS’ SECRET BABY.

A NEW BARGAIN

“Matthew,” Leo called out, reaching a hand to my husband.

Matthew staggered directly into his arms, completely ignoring my presence after Serge practically commanded them to leave.

“Babe... Mr. Sterling here is a really good boss,” Matthew purred, a sharp hiccup cutting him off mid sentence.

“Seriously?,” I whispered under my breath, turning to glare at Serge in complete disbelief.

“Let’s go, buddy,” Leo murmured to Matthew, wrapping an arm firmly around his shoulders to help him stay steady on his feet as he guided him away.

Making sure they were completely out of earshot, I decided it was finally time to give this man a piece of my mind. I was entirely done moving along with his tides, shifting in whatever the f**k direction he thought he could drive me.

And now he wanted to drag Matthew directly into the crosshairs of this nightmare? Not on my watch.

“What exactly is your problem, Mr. Sterling?” I could barely recognize my own voice because it was shaking with a raw fury I couldn’t even decipher.

“What is wrong with me? What is wrong with me, you ask?!” he growled and closed the remaining space between us in a single stride, his large hand wrapping firmly around my neck, his fingers tightening against my already sore skin.

“You! f*****g Ava Miller is what is wrong with me, and I f*****g hate every single bit of it,” he spit, his face tilting down inches from mine, like he was making sure I swallowed every single word he uttered.

“So you decide to employ my husband? Push him under your thumb like you do for everyone else in this building?” I spit back, my eyes squinting up at him in pure defiance. “What do you want, Mr. Sterling? Haven’t you gotten exactly what you need from me already? Leave us alone.”

“He seemed desperate for a leg up, so I made him my new head of security. You should be happy, baby girl,” He said, a cruel, mocking chuckle vibrating through his chest as if he found the entire situation amusing. “Because now, he will get to hear me ruin exactly what is his.”

What the actual f**k.

“Whatever happened between us... these past few days...” I paused, closing my eyes tightly to make sure every single syllable landed with purpose against his face. “It won't be happening ever again. We are finished.”

“We’ll see about that, baby girl,” he whispered against my lips before slowly letting go of my neck and took a step back, a flash of pure mischief dancing in his dark green eyes. “And tame this s**t up. It’s what you do best, after all.” He pointed his polished shoe toward the sharp whiskey glass pieces scattered across the floor before turning on his heel and walking away.

I scoffed, fully ready to turn around and storm out of the hotel, but the little voice in my head held me back.

He was my boss, and cleaning up after his wreckage was exactly what I was always paid to do.

Sighing through my nose, I kicked off my black heels and walked over to a random waitress, asking her for a mop and a bucket. At first, she stared at me as if I had completely lost my mind, clearly wondering why a guest in a red dinner dress was asking to clean up glass when there was a full maintenance crew on the floor. But the second I accidentally muttered the name Mr. Serge Sterling, her face went pale. She ran for the back room and practically threw the bucket and a wet mop directly into my hands.

I guess his terrifying reputation carried weight in this place, too.

Pulling my dress up, I dropped down to my knees, forcefully ignoring the strange looks from the men sitting at the opposite table as I slowly and carefully picked up the shattered glass, piece by piece, tossing them safely into the bin.

Picking up the heavy mop, I got straight to work, vigorously washing off the dark red drops of blood that were starting to dry and stick against the floor.

I guess this was what my life was actually turning into, and there was literally nobody to blame for the mess apart from myself. I had single handedly exchanged my dignity and self respect for this chaos.

Why? Because I always foolishly caved to forty minutes of dark satisfaction every time that man as much as touched me.

I was drowning deeper in the waves of disgust and shame with each passing day, knowing I had to continuously swallow down my true identity whenever I looked at Matthew.

Leo was right. Matthew deserved someone who was actually worthy of his kindness. He deserved so much better than a liar.

I kept trying to object to these toxic temptations, but my body kept betraying my mind at every turn. Right now, on my knees with a mop in my hands, this was my brutal reminder of how different our worlds truly were.

This was the exact reason why I should have never gotten involved with a man like him or a place like this. It was killing me inside to know that Matthew had just dived headfirst into his trap, too. I couldn't help but remember Leo's warning about what men like Serge were truly capable of. They were hunters, predators always seeking who to ensnare in their webs and if you showed even a single shred of vulnerability, they would swallow you whole.

And God help me, I had been swallowed whole long before I even realized the trap had been set.

Wiping down the floor with one final touch, I dropped the heavy mop back into the bucket and picked up my heels from the floor, ready to finally head home to my safe cage.

“Miss Ava?” a strange voice called out from behind me.

“Yes? That’s me,” I said, turning around to face the stranger.

A tall broad shouldered man wearing a tailored black suit was standing in front of me, a gentle, professional smile on his face that felt completely contradictory to his imposing features.

“Right this way, please,” he addressed smoothly.

“Pardon?” I blinked, completely confused.

“Mr. Sterling requested that I collect you. This way, please,” he explained, his tone leaving no room for an argument. I realized I had no choice but to follow his lead.

We took a private lift straight up to the sixth floor of the hotel. When the silver doors slid apart, they revealed an office suite. But the space was completely vacant.

The room had plain, dark walls, a massive wooden bookshelf lining the left side, and a large mahogany desk to the right, facing the shelves. At the center of the room was a thick, round, deep blue carpet with a single plush black leather sofa resting on it. But the real beauty of it all was located at the far end with a massive glass wall that created a breathtaking view of the dark skyline.

A wide smile spread across my face as I walked up to the glass, silently admiring the endless bustle and buzz of Manhattan from this incredible elevation. It felt like I was an angel looking down from heaven, everything below looked so micro, so beautiful and small from this height. The horizon looked completely unreal, from where I was standing, it felt like the clouds were just an arm's reach away, letting the night moonlight glow directly through the glasses.

“Like what you see?” a familiar baritone called from the doorway.

I could already tell it was Serge's voice without even having to turn my head to check.

He took slow, measured steps across the room until he reached the edge of his desk, leaning back against it and casually tucking his hands into his pockets. I turned around to look at him, my eyes silently demanding to know why I had been brought up here, but the other stupid selfish part of my brain desired to take a break and admire his sharp features.

He was so intensely masculine, so powerful, yet so beautiful, almost angelic.He carried a heavy, dominant aura that seemed to speak long before he ever opened his mouth, always forcing an entire room to make way for him the second he walked through a door and having him stand this close made my hands physically ache to hold his, and it was driving me completely crazy. I hated the way my body had developed an addictive mind of its own whenever he was near.

He was completely silent for a minute, before reaching out on the desk, pulled out a green file, handing it over to me.

Hesitantly, I reached out for it. My fingers, now prone from the earlier mopping wrapped around it , carefully opening the cover to see what it held inside.