The CEO's Rose

Vivian’s POV

For the most part, work days followed a set pattern that left Vivian feeling a certain level of exhaustion once each day was done. But on that particular day she was not just tired she was wrung out.

It was as though her class had just woken up and had decided to be on their worst behavior. There had been unauthorized candy, and from that every single child had just lost their minds.

She’d had to break up fights, there had been spitballs flying, glitter bombs everywhere, more than a few had peed themselves, and there had been so many who just would not settle down, too full of energy to hear a single things she’d said.

In short, Vivian was beat.

Walking through the penthouse doors it was so tempting for her to just lay down on the floor and not move for several hours. But only the thought that Ryan would worry if he came upon her like that had Vivian dragging herself further into the living room. Walking past the couch she dropped her handbag there, went to the kitchen and grabbed a frozen yogurt for herself. After getting a spoon she dipped into the yogurt and moaned around her first taste of the frozen treat. A bit of the tension that she had been carrying around all day seeping out of her as she walked deep into the penthouse.

Vivian was just about to knock on Ryan’s study to see if he was in when the door opened and the man himself stood before her. From the looks of him, his tie askew, and his hair showing clear signs that he’d run his fingers through it several times. It was obvious that Ryan had been having a beast of a day as well. Without a word Vivian transferred her snack to one hand and opened up her arms. Ryan immediately took her up on her silent offer, stepping in for a hug that they both very clearly needed.

"I have missed you so much," He said into the shell of her ear and Vivian sighed.

"I have missed you more," She told him as she clung to him even tighter.

***

Comfort.

That was one of the things that Vivian liked about her relationship with Ryan.

After the day that she’d had, just being able to be in his presence was not only ’comfortable’, it was ’comforting’ as well.

With both of them showered, and in their pajamas, they were cuddling on the couch. The TV was playing in the background. Neither of them really paying any attention to it. All that Vivian could focus on was the thump, thump of Ryan’s heartbeat against her cheek, his scent settling around her, her body relaxing, instinctively knowing that, now that he was there, she could afford to chill a bit.

"How bad was your day?" Vivian asked him as she laced their fingers together, and Ryan sighed like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Absolutely foul, I just found out that one of my project managers was using subpar material to build a playground that I had intended to donate to less privileged children," Vivian gasped at that.

"What! That is so dangerous, and all types of illegal too. I hope that you dealt with them,"

Ryan shook his head. " Unfortunately the man took his own life before I could get to him. But most of the money has been recovered, so the project should get back on track soon. I have no idea what he was thinking when he took that money. But it seems he panicked when he realized that I was suspicious of him,"

"Brave enough to steal, but too cowardly to face the consequences," She said, some would have called her cold blooded for it, but Vivian found that she felt no remorse for the man. The only ones that she felt bad for was her Ryan and the other people who’d suffered as a result of the selfish individual.

"Are you alright?" She asked Ryan, a hand cradling his cheek and he nodded.

"Unfortunately, it is not that uncommon. So many people think that just because I have a lot of money they can steal from me and I won’t notice. It never ends well for them, but there is always someone willing to risk it," His hand coming over hers Ryan brought her hand to his chest and as had become the norm he began playing with their fingers.

"What about you? What had you looking like you had just fought an entire army?" Vivian shuddered, his words were not too far from the truth.

"One of my kids snuck an entire bag of candy into the glass and shared it with the others. It was not a fun time. Hyperactive preschoolers are the stuff of nightmares," She got the feeling that she would be finding bits of glitter in her hair for weeks to come. Her poor classroom was lucky that it was still standing. Rubbing her cheek against Ryan’s chest Vivian let her eyes drift shut.

After all that she had been through that day, it was good to be home.

Oh...home.

She was referring to the penthouse like that more and more with each passing day, and each time that she did, it felt a little bit more natural. Forcing her eyes open, Vivian raised her head and met Ryan’s blue eyes with her grey ones.

"I am ready," She said softly and Ryan raised a brow.

"Ready for what? Should we go to bed early?" He asked, a smirk on his face.

Vivian laughed lightly. "No, not that, I’m ready to move in with you. I’m going to rent out my place and stay here for good. Is that alright with you?"

"What, you really want to move in with me?" His eyes glistening with tears, Ryan was suddenly tilting her face up, and kissing her so fiercely that Vivian was left breathless when they parted.

"Yes! Of course you can move in with me. Oh Vivian! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you," He drew her into another kiss and this one ended up with them on the floor. Their clothes thrown all over the place as Ryan gave her an official welcome.