Sleeping With The CEO-Chapter 286: Not The Same

By some miracle, Derek had managed to keep on living without Emily in his life. He was now in the fourth week without her there. Despite having a few moments of weakness here and there. Where he had found himself wanting to see her. Not caring what it would cost.

Just wanting to lay eyes on her, and reassure himself that she was alright. Derek had made it through. Sure, there had been that one very wild time where he’d had to actually stop himself from buying Emily’s apartment building. And then moving in to the apartment next to hers. That would have been all types of crazy and creepy. Luckily, common sense and reason had taken over, and he had been able to stop himself from becoming a stalker.

Now he was doing absolutely fine.

He had a new PA in Madeline, and she was good at her job. He would give her that. The two of them worked well together. She had not tried to spy on him for his uncle. She had not tried to sleep with him. She had not tried to use voodoo spells or any other weird stuff on him, and she was competent and kept a cool head under pressure.

His mother had really gone out of her way to pick a good replacement for Emily. In fact, Derek was having trouble trying to figure out why exactly he had been so worried about not having Emily in his life. Clearly there were people out there just as competent, as she was. And Madeline was a prime example of that.

Derek did not need Emily Molson in his life. He was perfectly fine without her. Sure, the whole no more sleep thing was a huge bummer. But other than that, everything was great. He was great. Better than great even.

He did not need Emily Molson, not one bit.

All of that was pretty good, except for the fact that it was a total lie. Derek was not doing as well as he was projecting to the outside world. In fact, he was doing pretty horribly. Normally, Derek was an introverted person.

He did not really enjoy going out unless it was a business function. Those he attended because he had no other choice. Work was work, and had to be done. But now he had even cut those out of his social life. The only person that he talked to on a regular basis was his mother.

And even then things were strained. Each time the two of them had a conversation, Derek could not help but feel as though he were missing something. That something was wrong and he just could not see it.

But there was one thing that was not right in his world, that Derek could see very clearly.

The only problem was that he could not do anything about it, or rather about her. Madeline, his new personal assistant. On paper she was perfect. She was diligent. She was respectful. Derek really had nothing that he could complain about when it came to her work ethic or her manners. But Madeline just was not right.

The blonde hair, the blue eyes, the formal smile, her calling him Mr Haven. It was as though she were the anti-Emily.

Emily who had called him nothing but Derek, Emily with the brown eyes and dark hair. When Madeline brought him food in the mornings, it was often things like croissants and freshly squeezed juice. Nothing like Derek’s preferred blueberry muffins, and the tea that Emily had used to brew specifically for him. Madeline was so professional that she only ever smiled politely, when something amusing happened, and no matter how angry she got. She held her temper in check even when dealing with people like Derek’s uncle. That was how a personal assistant was supposed to behave, but Derek found that he did not like that.

His Emily had often given full body laughs when she had found something to be funny, and she had never hesitated to tell Derek’s uncle exactly how she felt. Sometimes even whispering her thoughts on the man to Derek in an effort to cheer him up.

But Madeline did none of the things that Emily used to do. She did not smile the same, did not laugh the same. And though she got results at the end of the day. She also did not approach the job with the same methods that Emily had used. She had even gone as far as to change the desk arrangement in Emily’s office. Her chair now facing the giant windows instead of having her back to them. So many little things. Things that were to be expected since Emily and Madeline were different people.

But as far as Derek was concerned, all of those differences just helped to highlight what he deemed to be the biggest flaw with his personal assistant. Madeline was not Emily, and she never would be.

The two of them were currently eating lunch together. Well, Madeline was eating while Derek was just pushing food around his plate. In between bites she was talking business. Updating him on all of the changes that had gone on through the day, and what would need to be done once they returned from their lunch.

Derek was nodding along but he was not really interested. Most of his attention was on pretending to look as relaxed as possible, which he was not. The restaurant that they were in was not one that Emily had regularly picked for them. It had no private booths, and a lot of Haven Group employees often ate there, which was currently the case. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Derek could not relax with so many people there. He was just trying his best to make sure that they did not notice it was him. He did not feel like being ogled by the juniors when he tried to eat.

Still barely listening as Madeline talked.

Derek began paying attention to the conversations around him. Especially that of a group that had settled behind them. They had yet to notice that they were sitting right next to the CEO. The free manner in which they were talking, a clear indication of that.

"Did you see her?!"

"That was hands down the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen!"

Who? Why were they talking like they had seen a celebrity? Did Haven group have any deals running with celebs at the moment? He tried to wreck his brains but he could not think of anyone.

"Of course I saw her. That was Emily Molson. Dude, she is hot.

"Wait, Emily Molson, as in the CEOs former PA, " One of them said. And Derek nearly dropped his fork, managing to catch it at the last second, and put it down gently. He stole a glance at the young men behind him. He did not recognise a single one.

They were either very low on the totem pole, or they were new hires. But most likely, given the way they were being so loud, and how some of them had struggled to pronounce the food on the menu. They were probably interns new to the work industry.

But their status did not matter to him. What mattered was what they’d said. Emily, they had seen Emily. She was at Haven Group.

Standing abruptly, and knocking over an empty glass, Derek felt his ears heat. Multiple pairs of eyes instantly turned to him. But he shrugged, pretending like he’d meant to do that.

"I think it is best we head back to the office. I am through here," He told Madeline, she nodded, finishing off her what was left of her meal in a single bite, then she stood as well. The two of them making their way out of the restaurant. "Dude, that was the CEO, "Derek heard one of the louder young men whisper, but he did not care.

Were people not watching, he would have broken out into a full sprint, but instead, he focused on walking as fast as was socially acceptable.

He had to get back. Emily was in the building. He had to see her.

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