Chapter 3
Early the next morning, Cody dragged himself to work, looking like he'd barely survived the night.
As they headed out the door, Danielle, dressed in an impeccably tailored iron-gray suit, hooked her arm through his. "Honey, let me drive you to work today."
She gave him a sly, secretive look, her lips curling into a mischievous smirk.
Cody looked confused, not sure why Danielle suddenly wanted to drop him off at work. But he shrugged it off, figuring it was his reward for surviving last night.
Cody hopped out of the car and headed into the office, waving goodbye to Danielle.
Danielle watched him walk in, then swung the car into the underground garage and headed straight for the top floor via the elevator.
As soon as Cody walked into the office, he caught wind of some office gossip from his coworkers.
"Hey, did you hear? We're getting a new CEO today. Word is, she bought the whole company," one of them whispered.
"Really?" Cody was surprised, but it never crossed his mind that this new CEO could be his wife.
After all, she already had her own big company to run. There was no reason for her to bother with a small place like this.
"It's true. Check the group chat. There's a notice. We're all supposed to meet in the conference room in ten minutes. Bet the new CEO's gonna make an appearance," another coworker chimed in.
Cody didn't think much of it. He gathered his things and headed to the conference room.
In the conference room, Mr. Bryant said, getting straight to the point. "Everyone, today we have a new CEO. Our company was fully acquired by her yesterday, so from now on, we all report to her.
"Let's give a warm round of applause for our new CEO."
The conference room erupted in applause.
Every single employee turned to stare at the stunning woman who had walked in, her aura practically dominating the room.
Cody's eyes shifted from indifferent to completely shocked as he stared at the new CEO, frozen like a statue.
The applause kept going, but Cody's hands stayed raised, unmoving.
Danielle's gaze lingered on Cody's face for two seconds, and her lips curled into the faintest, almost imperceptible smile, so quick that it could've been a trick of the light.
Then she strode forward, her high heels clicking crisply against the polished floor with a commanding rhythm, heading straight for the main seat.
Each step landed right on Cody's pounding heart, making it beat faster.
"Hello, everyone." Danielle's voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the room, formal, commanding, and leaving no doubt who was in charge now.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Danielle Reese. Starting today, I'm your new CEO," Danielle announced.
Cody felt a chill shoot straight from his toes to the top of his head, and his tongue twisted itself into knots.
'Honey? What the hell are you doing here?' Cody thought.
His brain was buzzing. He couldn't wrap his head around what he was seeing.
Danielle straightened up, scanning the room full of employees craning their necks and holding their breath.
She gave them a perfectly professional, slightly distant smile. "And besides being your boss, I have another identity, and that is Cody Welch's wife."
This announcement was like a bomb had gone off in the office. Everyone was stunned, including Cody.
His mouth hung open, eyes wide as saucers, his mind a total blank.
'Acquisition? New CEO? Danielle?' Cody's brain was short-circuiting, those words bouncing around like crazy.
Danielle's eyes flicked back to Cody, and seeing him frozen in shock, a victorious little smirk played at the corners of her lips. "Alright, meeting's over. Everyone, back to work."
On her way out, Danielle gave Cody a flirty wink.
Cody had no idea when he made it back to his desk. All he knew was that his back was going to give out.
He spent the whole day in a daze, totally out of it.
By late afternoon, around five, Danielle appeared at Cody's desk, moving at her own pace, completely unhurried.
She dropped her boss lady act, leaned in close, both hands gently wrapping around Cody's arm.
Her voice switched instantly, soft, syrupy, and a little bit coy, but loud enough for all the nosy coworkers nearby to catch every word. "Oh, honey."
She gave his arm a playful shake, drawing out the last syllable in a sing-song, teasing voice. "Time to go home. Let's go home together."
The office fell into a stunned, almost electric silence, with every single eye darting back and forth between Cody, who was still frozen like a statue, and Danielle, their adorable new CEO.
The air was thick with pure shock, confusion, gossip-starved curiosity, and that classic "Am I hallucinating from too much overtime, or did I really hear that?" kind of self-doubt.
Cody's face went beet red in an instant.
He felt all the blood rush to his head, his ears buzzing like crazy.
He instinctively tried to pull his arm away, but Danielle had him locked in place with her grip.
He lowered his voice through gritted teeth, embarrassment practically radiating off him. "Honey, stop messing around. The project's not done yet. I can't leave."
"You don't have to work overtime now, honey," Danielle said, her voice sweeter and louder.
She swept her gaze across the room, locking eyes with every stunned employee, making it crystal clear whose man Cody was.
"I own the whole company now. You don't need to lift a finger. Let them handle the work." She casually twirled her slender fingers, gesturing at the frozen crowd all around.
Everyone dared not make a sound. Their scalp tingled, and they all ducked their heads, pretending to be invisible, but their ears were practically twitching with curiosity.
Danielle leaned in closer, her lips nearly touching Cody's flaming ear.
Her voice was syrupy and teasing, loud enough for the nearby folks to hear every word, and her breath was warm and fragrant. "Let's go home. We've got way more important things to do."