The CEO's Spy

Mother Valentine

I couldn't explain in words how tired I felt. My body wouldn't move on its own, I really needed to force myself. It was eight in the morning and Maxen and I finally arrived home. We couldn't go to the apartment since we were already running late. Maxen and Ruby Valentine started their office hours around eight, not around nine or ten in the morning. We wanted to rush to get to the office, but neither one of us spoke up about it. Thomas was awaiting us, ready to take us to Valentine Enterprises. We had no idea how everyone was doing. We still had to turn our phones on, I dreaded it. I could only imagine how many missed calls and messages I had. Letting Maxen take care of the luggage I approached Thomas who opened the door to the backseat for us.

"Thomas!" I greeted as cheerfully as I could, "Coffee, please?"

He smiled at me, "I suppose we could make a detour."

I was grateful for that, before turning on my phone I needed some delicious coffee. Maxen placed his hand on my lower back, causing my body to shiver by the sudden warm touch of my husband. My body was still attuned to his touch, still knowing how it felt to be affectionately touched all over. Maxen gently pushed me forward to keep me moving, snapping me out of my dirty thoughts.

"You're spoiling her, Thomas."

He didn't sound serious about it, the men shared a laugh while I decided it was better to just climb into the backseat and settle in. I put on my seatbelt when Maxen got in beside me, closed the door and also settled in. He flickered his stormy eyes to me, a small smile still playing on his lips. We were both exhausted from not getting much sleep but Maxen looked perfectly fine. He looked more than fine while I looked like hell. Maybe I was exaggerating it a little, but I did feel like I looked like hell. Sighing, Maxen startled me by suddenly leaning in and pressing a kiss to my lips.

"What was that for?" I asked, confused by his sudden display of affection.

He brushed his thumb over my bottom lip gently, "You looked like you needed it."

Blinking I tried to calm my body, there was no way I should feel like this while Thomas was sitting in the driver's seat taking us to Lauren's place to grab some coffee. It was inappropriate. I trailed my eyes to the window, trying to ignore the chuckling man beside me. He was trouble.

"I'm turning on my phone." He announced.

That made me look back at him, "You should probably call Thea back."

He didn't look happy about it but he agreed, "Yes, I did end the call abruptly back at Vegas."

Nervously I bit my lower lip, Thea was going to preach to Maxen. I felt like taking responsibility for it, but I knew Maxen wouldn't let me. He was also better at handling situations like these. He could patiently listen to people who were upset and stressed and then calmly explain the situation to them. I could do it too, but it would affect me more than it would Maxen. He would never let that happen. Without warning Maxen took his phone out and turned it on, his eyes meeting mine. He didn't look terrified or stressed at all. His eyes were warm while a gentle smile played on his lips.

"It will be okay." He reassured me.

I knew that in the end, Thea would back off because it was our decision to make. She wouldn't like it, but she'd accept it. The most surprising thing was Nadia being very calm about this. My mother merely congratulated us and then mentioned something about dropping by some time.
Leaning back in my seat I watched Maxen as he called back his mother, ready to have the dreaded conversation. His conversation with his mother went on and on, just like I assumed it would. Maxen did stay calm and listened to Thea rant. She probably needed to get everything out of her system before she accepted the situation. When the car slowed and then came to a halt, Thomas glanced over his shoulder.