Sleeping With The CEO
Chapter 144: Not Smooth Enough

Chapter 144: Not Smooth Enough

Communication, proper communication, was really something that was very important. That was all that Derek could think about as he looked at Emily. He had once heard of this story. It was about two men trying to move a piece of furniture. Whether it was a cupboard or a couch, he was unsure.

Anyhow, those two men managed to lift the furniture, but when it came to leaving the door, that was when they got stuck. They started in the morning and by evening, they were still at the door. Exhausted beyond belief, they put the piece of furniture down and looked at one another.

"Why is it so hard to get this into the house?" One of them said. Then his friend looked at him. "What do you mean get it into the house? I was trying to get it out," Back then Derek had found it funny. One friend had been pushing, while the other had been pulling. The two of them stuck instead of moving forward.

Which they would have been able to do, had they just talked things out in the first place. But now that story was no longer so funny. He and Emily had apparently been pushing and pulling at one another, all this time, instead of sitting down and talking.

He had sleeping problems, and Emily had sleeping problems.

And the last time that either of them had gotten a good night’s rest. It had been when they were sharing a bed together. Had they just come out with it, and talked in the first place, the hell that was the last few weeks never would have happened. But Derek consoled himself with the fact that they were talking now, and it seemed as though they were both leaning towards the same solution.

"Before you left, you wanted to ask me to sleep with you?" He asked, bringing up something that she had mentioned earlier.

Across from him, Emily nodded, and Derek could not help the laugh that escaped him. "It is funny that you should say that. After exhausting all other options, and doing things that I never thought that I would do in my life, to try and sleep. Sharing a bed with you, was all that I could think about,"

"The words were at the tip of my mouth, for so long, but I could never bring myself to say them,"

She gave him a look, her soft gaze narrowing slightly.

"Do not think that I do not see you being all smooth trying to avoid the issue of me not going back because there’s already somebody in my position," She told him, and Derek had to give it to her. She was still as sharp as always, he had really thought that she had not caught his omission. He gave her his most charming smile, hoping that she would be a little less mad, if he buttered her up a bit before explaining, exactly what had been going on at Haven Group.

"You do not have to worry about taking anyone’s job from them," He told her.

"Since you left, your replacement has not been found,"

She looked at him, wide-eyed, her disbelief clear.

"Derek, it’s been eight weeks. That is two months. There is no way you have not been able to replace me. There are loads of qualified people out there," He cleared his throat, his eyes shifting nervously to the side, before he forced them back to looking at her.

"There might be loads of qualified people out there, but that does not mean that they are qualified to handle the post of PA to the CEO of Haven Group," He told her, she lifted a brow, "Explain," She demanded, and Derek let out a sigh.

"Let’s just say, I had a few disagreements with the people who were supposed to take your place. And those that I did not disagree with, cracked under pressure and had to leave. Then when your six weeks ended. I told Padma that you were sick and needed a two week extension," There, he had cleaned it up. Mentally patting himself on the back for addressing his abhorrent behavior over the last few weeks, while making it seem not so important , Derek gave her another smile. If she ever found out, he was in for it.

"So, who has been handling my work this entire time, if so many people have not lasted long?" She asked.

"The PAs of the other heads of departments have been banding together, all of them taking a portion of your workload to make sure that the ship keeps running. They were doing it badly, mind you, but it was enough to keep me going," He added the last bit out of spite. How could she handle the work that a group of people were messing up almost every single day? Emily had no idea how much of a treasure she was.

He expected her to keep grilling him. To keep asking questions about everything that had gone on in her absence. But rather than keep talking, Emily put her elbows on the table and then she buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

What?!Why was she crying? Had he done something again?

He tried to think back to the last few minutes to anything that he might have said that could have triggered her, but he could not find anything, which was not very reassuring. The last time it had taken him a while to realize how ’sleep with me’ could be misinterpreted. "Emily, I..." He was panicking, trying to come up with an apology while not knowing what you were apologizing for was very stressful. Derek stood, wanting to head over and comfort her. Then he sat back down. What if she did not want him touching her? "Emily," He tried again and this time she made a sound. It was muffled by her hands. But when one of her hands hit the table, he could make it out clearly.

Emily was not crying as he had first thought. In fact, it was quite the opposite. She was laughing, tears streaming down her face, and Derek was stunned. He had never seen her laugh like that before. Just the polite little hahas that were shared in an office setting.

But this was her real laugh, he realized, and it was something else. Shoulders still shaking, tears streaming down her face, teeth showing as gasped for breath. She looked radiant and so full of life. Derek’s breath caught in his throat.

Beautiful.

"What is so funny?" He asked. Feeling bad about it, because in order to answer him, she would have to stop laughing. And he would lose sight of this rare snippet into Emily’s personality. It took her a while to get herself under control. And when she finally managed it, wiping off the tears, she gave him a look.

"I am laughing at the ridiculous level of coincidence that is going on here," She told him. "You said you lied saying that I needed an extra two weeks because I was sick?" He nodded. "Well, as it turns out, my mom thinks that I am waking here temporarily. I told her that I had called you guys and that I was getting an extra two weeks off. The same amount of time that you gave me with your lie?"

What? This time it was Derek’s turn to let out a disbelieving laugh. She was right. The level of coincidence was ridiculous. How was it that both of them managed to extend the her leave, by exactly two weeks?

And that was before he took in their other lies and secrets, which were freakily similar.

Looking at her, Derek decided to finish things off.

"So, does this mean that I can expect you back at work on Monday?" He asked, fully expecting her to just say yes. But instead, Emily leaned back, all of the mirth leaving her face. Derek’s heart stuttered.

And then it just about shattered when she shook her head.