Serving the CEO

SERVING THE CEO SERVING HIM SERIES M. S. PARKER BELMONTE PUBLISHING, LLC This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. Copyright © 2023 Belmonte Publishing LLC Published by Belmonte Publishing LLC CONTENTS Free Book Prologue 1. Jessica 2. Derrick 3. Jessica 4. Derrick 5. Jessica 6. Derrick 7. Jessica 8. Derrick 9. Jessica 10. Derrick 11. Jessica 12. Derrick 13. Jessica 14. Derrick 15. Jessica 16. Derrick 17. Jessica 18. Derrick 19. Jessica 20. Derrick 21. Jessica 22. Derrick 23. Jessica 24. Derrick 25. Jessica 26. Jessica 27. Derrick 28. Jessica 29. Derrick 30. Jessica 31. Derrick 32. Jessica 33. Derrick 34. Jessica 35. Derrick 36. Jessica 37. Derrick 38. Jessica 39. Jessica 40. Derrick 41. Jessica 42. Derrick 43. Jessica 44. Derrick Epilogue Serving the Maestro Preview Office romances by M. S. Parker FREE BOOK Get a new book for FREE! Click Here to subscriber to my newsletter and start reading the exclusive 200 pages stand-alone steamy romance, His Inspiration. PROLOGUE It was a beautiful day for a wedding in Manhattan. The sun had broken through the clouds as I stepped into The Plaza Hotel and continued to the magnificently decorated Terrace Room. Derrick's friends and family were there, including his sister, Amelia, who was my Maid of Honor. And my parents, of course. My mother's eyes were red and puffy from all the crying she had done in the past few days, and my father looked like he was about to faint. I guess they were still getting used to the idea of their only daughter marrying a billionaire. But that was the least of my concerns. I could feel Derrick's eyes on me as I walked down the aisle. It made my heart race and my stomach do somersaults. This was a mistake. I should never have agreed to marry him. Derrick Thomas, the infamously demanding and arrogant CEO of Broker Publishing, the largest book publishing company in Manhattan. Also, my boss. But it was too late to back out now. Or was it? Legally, I could still say no. But I couldn't save my dad's bookstore if I didn't go along with this scheme. It all started three months ago as a social experiment. Research, Derrick had called it. For his new self-help book. But soon, it’d become so much more. The courting, the dinners, the trips, the…sex… Oh yes, the sex. And then there’s the million dollars. That’s how much money Derrick Thomas agreed to pay me if I married him and stayed married for twelve months. Enough for my dad to pay off his business loan and own the bookstore outright. ONE JESSICA THREE MONTHS EARLIER I had frozen in place, certain that I’d imagined the thud from the front of the bookstore. Then, the unmistakable sound of a door opening and a shuffling sound made my blood run cold. Nobody should’ve been in there because I’d locked that door half an hour ago before coming to the back room. I automatically reached for my phone and then panicked as I remembered I’d left it by the cash register to charge after I’d drained the battery earlier tonight. Damn cat videos. I was stuck with no way to call for help, which meant I could either cower…or fight. Swearing silently, I grabbed the crowbar my dad kept for crates and eased my way back up front. Adrenaline raced through my veins, sharpening my senses and making my pulse race. My heart jumped into my throat as I spotted a shadowy figure moving along the aisles, touching one of the displays. I couldn’t see them clearly, not even enough to tell if they were male or female, only that they were taller than me and on the heavy side. As I watched, they rounded the counter and stopped behind the cash register—right where I’d left my phone. And that was when it rang. They jumped. So did I. I rushed at them, screaming. They—he, I now saw—swung around, screaming at an even higher pitch than me, hands jerking over his head protectively. I could see then that he was wearing the strangest thing. A suit. Who breaks into a store wearing a suit? Confused, I backed up, but still held the crowbar at the ready, just in case