CEO??

Chapter 21

The day before Darren's week was up, the Legal intern finally called back. "I figured out how to make it legal," he said as soon as I picked up, sounding very excited and proud of himself. "As long as you get a parent's agreement, as well as that of Mr. Brady himself, you'll be fine."

I cheered aloud. "Thank you, Mr. Ashton. Please bring the paperwork up to me as soon as you can. If I am not available, my assistant will take it."

Next, I called Darren's mother. "Hello?" she asked. "Who is this?"

"Hello again, Ms. Brady," I said politely. "I am calling to ask if it would be alright if I stopped by later today?"

"Oh, sure. Is everything okay with Darren?"

"Yes, Ren is doing amazing actually. He's been excelling both in his schoolwork and here at SI."

"I'm glad to hear that. Would 5:00 work for you? I go to work at 7:00."

"5:00 will be just fine, I said, checking my schedule and finding that I had something that could be rescheduled then. "I will see you then, Ms. Brady."

"What're you doing, darlin'?" Harley asked, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

"Scheduling a meeting with Ms. Brady, Darren's mom," I said.

"Hmm... okay," he said. He kissed my neck. "Wanna cuddle for a bit? I'm sure Ren can spend the rest of the day with Shuri. She can teach him about the labs."

I smiled and turned around to face him, his arms still around my waist. "I think I can do that. I have to leave at 4:30 though, so I can meet Ms. Brady at 5:00."

He smiled and kissed me softly. "I'll text Shuri and tell her I'm stealing you for the day and ask if she can teach Ren. Your room or mine?"

"Yours," I answered. "Mine has some work stuff and I need to escape for a while."

"Deal," Harley whispered. "You grab snacks and I'll text Shuri. Meet you there."

We spent the rest of the day cuddling in his room, occasionally exchanging kisses that turned into heated make out sessions.

It happened to be during one of these sessions that Loki and Ren walked in. "Hey, Pyotr, we wanted to—never mind," Loki said, a golden blush lighting up his face. Ren was less embarrassed, having accidentally walked in on us kissing a few times already. Loki had as well, but his polite, gentleman self couldn't handle it as well.

I pulled away and turned to them. "What's up?"

"We wanted to ask if you guys wanted to come with us to get some gelato," Darren said. "But I see you're very busy, so we'll just go now. Also, here's some paperwork that an intern brought up. He told me it was urgent."

It was 4:00 and I pouted. I totally would've agreed to gelato, which was by far my favorite dessert, but I didn't have the time. I sighed and took the folder, sliding it into my briefcase. "Thanks, Ren."

They left the room and I turned to Harley, who gave me a gentle kiss. "Come on, darlin'," he said soothingly. "You should get ready."

I huffed but nodded. I took a quick shower before changing into a nice suit and styling my hair. I walked back out to find Harley and his breath hitched when he saw me. "What?" I asked worriedly. "Is it too much?"

"No, you look... gorgeous," he said, kissing my nose. "I'm so lucky to have you."

I laughed. "I love you, Harls. I've got to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I left and had my chauffeur drive me to Ren's apartment.

"Can I help you?" Ms. Brady asked when she opened the door.

"I hope so, Ms. Brady. I'm Mr. Parker, from Stark Industries. I came to speak with you about your son, Darren."

"Oh, I didn't expect you to be so young," she said. "Please, come in."

We sat in the living room and I got right to business. "Ms. Brady, your son has excelled during his time with me. He played the role of my assistant, so there would be less objections to his presence, and I soon discovered that he was very good at it. I never thought about having an assistant before, but Ren has managed to get me on a normal sleep schedule, eat when I should, and still stay on schedule."

"What are you saying, Mr. Parker?"

I took a deep breath. "I would like to offer him a paid position as my assistant. I need your permission to do this."

"He has school..."

"I have found a solution for that. My lawyer has informed me that working under me would be considered homeschooling, so long as he is given the opportunity to learn all subjects. Of course, this is a big decision and I do not expect you to respond right away, but I wanted to talk about it in person."

"Yes," she said firmly. "Yes, I give permission. This is all he has dreamed of and worked so hard for for years. So, yes, Mr. Parker, I give you permission."

I grinned and pulled a few legal documents from my briefcase. "All I need is for you to sign these, stating that you are giving permission for Ren to work for me, despite being underage and that his job will double as his education."

She quickly scanned them. "Another NDA?" she asked.

"Yes. It's more detailed, in case Ren ever mentions something confidential or brings his work home, I need you to not disclose any information."

She nodded and signed each form, after going over them with me. "Here you go, Mr. Parker. I hope my son accepts the position."

"I hope so too. He is a good kid."

We said our goodbyes and I cheerfully entered the car, letting Happy drive me back to the tower where I went upstairs and found Ren holding a tub of gelato.

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Thoughts?