The CEO'S Love

"Amanda, you look amazing."

Amanda Lemaiyan smiled at her beaming best friend and shrugged. "What can I say, Cara knows how to work her magic."

Cara was her assistant. Amanda hired her three years ago to help at the company. The girl later proved to be useful in multiple aspects, including helping her show up to all occasions looking the part.

Tyra Okello approached and air kissed her cheeks. "All eyes will be on you, dear."

Definitely, Amanda thought. However, she wasn't sure her gorgeous dress, diamond jewelry, and flawless makeup would be the main reason all eyes would be on her.

It was a month after she broke her engagement to Samuel Ocen. Tongues were still wagging. This was going to be her first public appearance since the scandal ensued.

Everybody thought she was devastated after the break up. Of course she was. The asshole used her to gain favour with her father to rise to the CEO position of Lemaiyan Fits. Amanda was lucky to find out about his plan a week before their wedding.

Finding out that a two-year relationship was built on a lie would break anyone.

Her heart still ached, but she would be damned if she appeared pitiful in public. If anyone was feeling sorry for her, they'd be surprised.

"You look gorgeous too," Amanda complimented her friend when she stepped back. While Amanda donned a flowing red gown with a side-slit, Tyra had opted for a black mid-length dress.

Tyra hooked their arms together and led the way to the awaiting limousine. "Come on, let's go make an entrance they'll never forget."

Amanda chuckled as the driver held the door open and they settled inside.

"Have you seen him, by the way?" Tyra asked a few seconds later after the car left the compound.

"Seen who?"

"The new CEO. He's insanely gorgeous. I get wet just looking at him."

"You say that about every hot guy you come across," Amanda accused.

"Trust me, it's different this time. He has these intense grey eyes that seem to be staring right into my soul every time look at them-"

"You've met him already?"

"Once, when he was coming through the entrance of the company building. Believe me, everybody in the vicinity went still and stared." Tyra shook her body, as if hit by a shudder. "He's going to have a hard time fighting off the female attention, I tell you."

"Nah, I don't think he'll mind that," Amanda mumbled.

"Do you want to see a picture of him?" Tyra offered. "I think it's best to prepare yourself so you don't get caught drooling when you see him later on."

"No thanks," Amanda replied. "There's only one reason I'm attending this party, and it's not to make eyes at the new CEO."

"Nobody said you can't do both," Tyra grumbled.

Amanda was attending the new CEO's welcome party to make a statement. She'd walk into the place with her head held high, smile on her face. She knew that everybody was waiting to see whether she'd make an appearance.

She'd be damned if she gave them the idea that she was tucked in her apartment alone, afraid to attend an event that was potentially triggering for her.

She couldn't hide in the shadows forever. It was time to get back to her life. There wasn't a better time to make a grand entrance than that night.

"I don't care who he is," Amanda said, "as long as he knows how to do his job well."

"I doubt you'll be that detached once you see him," Tyra claimed. "He's your exact type."

"No thanks, I'm steering off my father's employees for the next hundred years."

Tyra sighed. "Not everyone is going to be an asshole, you know."

Amanda pressed a finger to her temple. After being friends with Tyra for many years, she was used to her being insensitive to situations. After what happened with Samuel, you'd think the woman would think twice before trying to insinuate that Amanda gets entangled with the new CEO.

She chose the easy way out. "I know."

There was silence for a few seconds. Then Tyra said, "When you came back, I noticed that the pack of condoms I slipped into your suitcase was gone."

Amanda turned to her friend. "What?"

"Before you left for the resort, I snuck some condoms in your bag. I didn't find them yesterday when you came back."

Amanda looked away as heat rose to her cheeks. "You did? I never saw them. I must have dropped the packet at the cabin I was staying."

"Really? Sure you didn't have some mind blowing sex with some hunk you met at the resort?"

To get away from the chaos following her break up, Amanda had taken a trip to a mountain resort. Her plan had been to spend two weeks enjoying the serene scenery and healing from the pain in her heart. She ended up spending the first week entangled in the arms of a man she met the first day, having the rebound sex her therapist warned about.

Rebound or not, it was the best sex she had in years. It was such a shame she'd never see the guy again. But it didn't matter. It was for the best. While she threw caution to the wind for those few days, she needed time to heal and move on. Until then, it was wise to stay away from sexual and romantic entanglements.

Thinking about the man-Lucas Erikson, as he had introduced himself-made her feel warm inside. God, why had she not met him years before, in place of her ex-fiancé?

"What's that smile?" Tyra's voice interrupted her trip down memory lane.

"What smile?" Amanda asked, ridding her face of any traces of said expression.

Tyra narrowed her eyes at her. "You know, since you came back yesterday, you've had this glow to you."

"I did go away to refreshen, remember?"

"Nah, it's more than that. Don't bother lying, Amanda. Come on, confess. You hooked up at the resort, right?"

"Maybe."

Tyra gaped. "Oh my God, you naughty girl. You finally heeded my advice!"

While her therapist was advising against rebound sex and relationships, Tyra didn't think the sex was a bad idea. She had argued it would make her feel better and forget her lying and cheating ex-fiancé fast.

Amanda finally allowed herself to smile. "I couldn't help myself. He was too hot."

"That's the spirit, girl!" Tyra cheered. "You used up the entire packet. Must have been tons of sex."

Well, of course, given they kept at it until Lucas left a week later...

Before she could satisfy Tyra's curiosity, her cell phone beeped in her bag. Taking it out, she saw an incoming call from Cara, her assistant.

"Hello?"

"I have bad news."

Amanda tensed. "What is it?"

"Rebecca is coming to the party."

Amanda relaxed for a second, relieved that it had nothing to do with her ex. Then it hit. "Rebecca? You told me she wasn't coming."

"That's what she said when we sent the invite. She's coming with Keith."

"Are you joking with me, Cara?"

"No. I just found out a few minutes ago. I thought I should give you a heads up."

Amanda sighed into the phone. "Okay, thanks."

She hang up and placed her phone back into her bag.

"What's wrong?" Tyra asked in concern.

"Rebecca is coming to the party. With Keith."

Tyra cursed softly. "I thought she couldn't make it."

Amanda groaned. It was never a good day to come across her older sister. "Same."

Rebecca was probably attending the party to gloat and say a few mean things.

But Amanda was used to dealing with her. No matter how nasty she was, she always managed to escape her clutches without losing her sanity.

What Amanda wasn't used to dealing with was when Rebecca's husband, Keith, was beside her.

Keith, Amanda's first love. The man she gave her virginity to at nineteen.

Then he went abroad to study at the same University with Rebecca.

When the two came back, they were engaged.

Amanda's night was no longer looking as bright as she wanted it to be.

*****

When Amanda and Tyra walked into the ballroom, all eyes turned to them. People parted ways, and a murmur rose. Amanda fought the urge to roll her eyes. You'd think they'd be less obvious about their staring and gossiping.

She was happy to have Tyra by her side. She wasn't sure anyone would have gathered enough courage to approach her.

"Amanda, dear, you look wonderful." Her father appeared, as if he had been watching the entryway for her arrival.

She smiled at him. "Hello, Dad."

Tyra exchanged greetings with Mr. Lemaiyan and excused herself.

"You look much better," her father commented. But then, a frown appeared on his brow. "You shouldn't have rushed your vacation. I have everything under control here."

Amanda placed a hand on his arm. He had always been so concerned about her. Compared to her older siblings, he definitely dotted on her more. "Dad, you know I'm a workaholic. Staying away from work would have made me more stressed out. A short vacation was all I needed. I'm good now."

Her father's brown eyes scrutinized her. "You better stay good because if you don't, I'll fire you myself."

She chuckled. "I know you would. I'll take care of myself, papa. Don't worry."

Lemaiyan Group was the majority shareholder of Lemaiyan Fits. As the chairman and major shareholder of the conglomerate, her father maintained control over the company.

"Let me introduce you to the new CEO," he said, leading her through the room. "I poached him from the most successful fashion startup to come out of New York in a decade."

"Stop bragging, Dad. You've told me that a hundred times already over the phone."

He chuckled. "Have I?"

Her father led her towards a cluster of suits, mostly executives from the company.

Amanda surveyed the group as they approached, trying to catch sight of a new face. Her heart missed a beat when her eyes landed on a familiar head of hair. For a moment, it reminded her of Lucas. But that was ridiculous. She must have been so into him those seven days they spent rolling in bed to have a mental image of the back of his head glued to her mind.

She momentarily gazed at the ceiling and inhaled deeply. It was time to push the man out of her mind.

Her father finally came to a stop. Her eyes adjusted to the group in front of them. They were now paying attention to the chairman.

"Gentlemen," the Chairman nodded at them in greeting. Amanda smiled and and acknowledged them as they returned her father's greeting.

Then her father turned her to the man of the hour. Amanda's jaw fell to the floor along with her smile.

"Amanda, this is Lucas Erikson, the new CEO of Lemaiyan Fits. Lucas, this is Amanda, my youngest daughter. She's the reason Lemaiyan Fits exists today."

"Amanda? Amanda!"

Amanda started, her father's voice finally bringing her back to the present.

She wasn't dreaming.

Lucas Erikson, the man she fucked for an entire week at the resort, was standing before her. And, apparently, he was the new CEO of the company.

Those grey eyes pierced into her. A smile appeared on his lips. He stuck his hand out.

"Good evening. It's nice to meet you, Amanda."

Amanda's eyes flitted from his outstretched hand to his face. Was this a joke?

Aware of her father's worried look and the observing executives around them, she forced a smile into her face. She accepted his hand. There was nothing ladylike about her squeeze. "Hello, nice to meet you."

Her father beamed at the successful introduction. "Lucas formerly worked at-"

"Dad?" she interrupted, her fiery eyes locked on Lucas's. "Do you mind if I have a private word with the new CEO? I'm curious about what he has in mind for my company."

She made a point of emphasising the word 'my'. For the first time, she was regretting not being involved in the selection process for the new CEO. She had trusted her father when he said he had the perfect candidate in mind.

The Chairman looked between the two before nodding. "Sure, sure. He's all yours."

Amanda released Lucas's hand and made her way towards the balcony.

With a nod to the Chairman, Lucas followed.

It was then or never.

When she came to the privacy of the balcony, Amanda whirled on the man behind her. "You don't look surprised to see me."

Lucas raised his palms. "I know how this looks like..."

Amanda's laugh cut him short. "You do?" She paced. "You knew who I was, right?"

"When we met, I didn't know."

"When did you find out?"

"After our first night together."

Amanda scoffed. "Wow." She walked to the railing and stared at the dark night sky. "Fantastic."

Lucas approached, reaching out for her. "Amanda-"

She took a step back. "Don't touch me!"

He sighed and dropped his hand. "Look, I know what you're thinking. But you're wrong."

Her eyes narrowed. "Am I?"

Did he want to claim that it was a coincidence? That he really didn't know who she was that night they ended up in her cabin after running into each other at dinner? What a coincidence that he came straight to her table when he arrived at the resort. How stupid could she be?

"I swear I didn't know who you were."

He must live in a cave to not know her. Okay, so, apparently, he was from New York. But if he already knew he was going to join Lemaiyan Fits, how could he not know her? The only headlines the company had been making for an entire month now was regarding her love life woes.

"Let's say you didn't. You still found out the next day. Why did you pretend you didn't know me?"

"I didn't want to ruin what we had."

"Ruin?" She shook her head. "Did you feel sorry for me? Is that why you stuck around, being a gentleman?"

Lucas stepped up to her, his eyes digging into hers. "I have sex for a lot of reasons, Amanda. That's not one of them."

She met his gaze head on. "This trick has been used on me before, Erikson. Whatever you thought you were going to get, you can forget about it."

He snarled. "I'm not like that asshole."

He was talking about Samuel. So he already knew about the details of her engagement. Great.

"Get ready to go back to wherever you came from," she threatened, walking past him.

Before she could get far, his hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her back. She gasped as her body collided into his.

"I admit, I was wrong to pretend to not know you after I found out your identity. But don't insult me by insinuating that I slept with you to gain favour. If you take a moment to check where I come from, you'll realise me coming to Lemaiyan Fits is a step down, not up."

Their faces were inches apart. Her body shivered, and she was struck speechless. Having her body pressed up to his wasn't doing her a favour. His scent, that same spicy cologne she remembered from their dalliance in the mountains, crowded her senses.

She almost forgot what she was angry about.

"I was attracted to you, Amanda. That's the only reason I fucked you."

She swallowed and sucked in a heavy breath.

Lucas finally let her go and she took a step back. "I'll not bring up what happened at the resort if you don't. It was sex and it was good while it lasted. But I have no intention of letting it come in between our work relationship."

Amanda wrapped her arms around herself. She didn't like his tone. Was she the only one who kept thinking about those days?

"Fine," she agreed, straightening her spine. "I'll forget I ever met you before this."

She turned around to leave only to come face to face with Rebecca. She remained rooted to the spot as her older sister walked into the balcony, her eyes going from her to Lucas.

She scoffed.

"Already sneaking into the shadows with the new CEO, Amanda?"

Amanda took a step back as her sister sashayed onto the balcony. Unexpectedly, she ran into Lucas, who was standing behind her.

His hand came up to wrap around her waist to steady her. As if burned by his touch, she pulled away quickly and stepped farther from him.

Rebecca smiled widely at Lucas and stuck her hand out. "Hello. I'm Rebecca Lemaiyan. It's nice to finally meet you."

Lucas accepted her greeting. "Lucas Erikson."

Rebecca waved her hand in dismissal. "Everybody knows you. My father wouldn't stop gloating about bringing you here. Tell me. What is it about this shabby company that drew you from New York?"

Amanda's eyes narrowed. Shabby? Of course, Rebecca never passed up an opportunity to put her and what she cared about down.

"I wanted a new challenge," Lucas replied. He arched an eyebrow. "But I believe it's far from shabby."

"Oh. I know your type."

"Do you?"

"You like working on broken things." Her eyes flickered to Amanda for a split second. "Then once they're working, you become bored and move on to the next. It gives you a high, doesn't it?"

"If something is no longer exciting, it does become boring."

Amanda cleared her throat. "I'll leave you two."

Rebecca turned to her. "What's the hurry, sis? Come on, tell me. Are you okay? I was worried you'd have a hard time at today's party. You didn't have to come, you know. Everybody would have understood."

Amanda scoffed. "Excuse me? I'm fine. It's my company's party and I wanted to be here."

"Your company? Not technically, but okay. But you know what I mean. After what happened with the last CEO-"

"Mind your own business, Rebecca."

"Calm down, I'm just looking out for you."

"Leave me alone."

"Ladies?" A new voice interrupted, and Amanda cursed viciously in her mind. Keith.

Rebecca turned to her husband, a pretend frown on her face. "I'm worried about her, but you know how she gets."

"Amanda is fine. Right, Mandy?" Keith asked, standing beside his wife and looking over at her.

Amanda clenched her teeth together as she stared back at him. Mandy? The nerve of him! He had no right to call her that. She was of half a mind to walk past them and leave when he turned his attention to Lucas.

"Hello, Lucas. Congratulations, my man." The two proceeded to exchange a handshake and hug.

My man?

Were they close? Or had they meet in the course of the week Lucas had been at the company?

With one final glare at her sister, Amanda slipped away while the two men were caught up in conversation.

She grabbed a flute of champagne from the first server she came across. She savoured the fruity taste of the wine. Hopefully, it would help her relax and stop thinking about killing the three people on the balcony.

Come to think of it, they were perfect company for each other. Two lying men and an insufferable sister.

For her peace of mind, she needed to steer clear of all of them.

Tyra appeared, a glass of wine in hand. "So, what do you think?" She wiggled her brow in suggestion.

Amanda blinked, trying to bring her mind back to earth. "About what?"

"Mr. CEO," Tyra replied.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"I'll look at his details to see whether he's as good as Dad keeps insisting."

Tyra sighed impatiently. "You know damn well I'm not talking about his work performance."

Knowing it was useless to act clueless with Tyra, she said, "I don't know, he doesn't look all that striking to me."

Tyra gaped. "What?"

She shrugged.

Tyra frowned. "Did you see him under the light?'

"Yes."

"Are you blind?"

"He's not my type, that's all."

"You're kidding with me. I know your type."

"Maybe my type changed, Tyra. Have you considered that?" She gulped down her drink and replaced it with a new one from a passing server. "I'll go say hi to Elizabeth."

She didn't wait for Tyra's protests as she made her way over to Elizabeth Jane, who was the head designer at Lemaiyan Fits.

Tyra's frown didn't let up as she watched her friend walk away. What the hell was wrong with her?

*****

"Mandy?"

Amanda turned to find Keith standing beside her. She was standing at the end of the room, staring at the city lights through the glass windows. A quick sweep of the area revealed that Rebecca was nowhere in sight. She was doing a good job of avoiding a certain group of people. Maybe some were working just as hard to get her alone.

"I told you not to call me that."

He scratched the back of his neck. "Ah, sorry. I keep forgetting."

Like how you forgot about me when you met Rebecca?

She kept the snide remark imprisoned in her brain.

"What do you want?" she asked.

The man had been together with her sister for seven years now. Married for three. In all those years, Amanda did an impeccable job of avoiding him.

"I was worried about you."

Amanda stared at him in wonder. Was he out of his mind? Worried about her?

"Why on earth would you be?"

"You didn't deserve what happened," he said.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know what to say-"

"Then don't say anything. I don't need your pity. I'm handling my stuff well. Go back to your wife."

His eyebrows pulled together. "Please, Mandy. Don't you think it's time we went back to being friends?"

"You're funny. Do you actually believe you're any different from him?"

"What?"

"He lied to me. So did you. You cheated. So did he. Actually, you're worse. You cheated with my sister. How the fuck do I always attract men like you?"

"I thought we were past this."

"We're not past anything, Keith. I don't need you to fool me twice to know the kind of person you are."

"I did not cheat on you. We were not dating."

"Is that why you ghosted me once you went abroad? Because I didn't deserve an explanation for your sudden change of mind? Did you figure out my feelings and think it was the perfect opportunity to cut ties with the clingy, naive nineteen year old kid? Was that it? Does the fact that we were not dating mean my feelings were invalid?"

"Am-"

"You know what? This evening is already ruined, and you're making it worse. Don't come near me again."

She brushed past him, making her way towards the exit.

Maybe coming to the goddamn party wasn't such a good idea after all.