CEO’s Seduction Trap

Nearing the end of the day, Leila received a message from Mason.

Mason: [Heading to the hospital after work?]

Leila quickly replied: [Yes.]

Mason: [Waiting for you in the parking lot?]

Leila: [Okay. I’ll ride with you. I had drinks at lunch.]

After a short delay, Mason responded: [Alright.]

Mason’s been out meeting clients all day and had just returned, unaware of Leila’s lunch appointment with Mr. Mickle. After texting Leila, Mason casually adjusted his tie and asked Daniel, “Did Leila go out for lunch?”

“Yes, she had lunch with Mr. Mickle and managed to recover the twenty million.”

Upon hearing that Leila had recovered the twenty million owed from six months ago, Mason chuckled lightly. “All that from one meal?”

Daniel confirmed, “That’s what I heard. This afternoon, everyone in the company is talking about it, praising Miss Patel.”

Mason raised his head lazily and asked, “Daniel, what do you think of Leila?”

Daniel nervously took a deep breath before responding, “You and her seem very well-matched, Boss.”

Mason teased, “Is that all?”

Daniel knew Mason might be asking about something else, but he dared not say anything else besides his initial answer. “Really, Boss. I didn’t think much of it before, but the more I see, the more it seems like you and Miss Patel are a perfect match, like you were meant for each other.”

“Daniel.”

“Yeah?”

“You’ve gotten a lot smarter now.”

Daniel thought to himself, I never thought being an executive assistant would be this tough…

At 6:50 in the afternoon, to avoid colleagues seeing her in Mason’s car, Leila intentionally left work twenty minutes late. She took the elevator directly to the underground parking lot.

Just as she stepped off the elevator, she spotted Mason talking to Daniel.

She couldn’t hear what they were discussing, but Daniel looked extremely embarrassed.

When Daniel saw Leila, he seemed relieved, his eyes were blinking desperately.

Leila understood and walked over.

Mason had his back to Leila, so he didn’t see her approaching.

Seeing Leila coming closer, Daniel stood up straight, and his voice greeting her was louder than usual. “Miss Patel, what a coincidence. Did you just finish work too?”

Leila played along with him, “What a coincidence.”

Mason glanced at her, then at Daniel, and smiled, “Nice coordination.”

Leila remained silent.

Daniel also remained silent.

Fortunately, Mason just snorted lightly and said, “Car keys.”

Daniel didn’t want to stay in this troublesome place for a moment longer. He quickly handed the car keys to Mason respectfully. “Boss.”

Taking the car keys, Mason naturally reached out to put his arm around Leila.

Leila initially wanted to avoid it, but Mason looked at her. “Daniel is not an outsider. He knows we’re dating.”

Mason met her gaze, and the smile in his eyes slowly became gloomy.

Seeing this, Leila’s heart suddenly tightened. Somehow, she felt like she had disappointed him.

Half a second later, Leila looked away from his eyes, took a deep breath, turned, and walked to the passenger side to open the car door. “Get in, it’s getting late.”

Mason stood behind her, watching her back. He tightened his grip on the car keys in his hand.

They didn’t exchange a single word from The Ramirez Group to the hospital. It wasn’t until the car reached the hospital that Mason unbuckled his seatbelt, ready to open the door. Leila reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Mason.”

Mason glanced down at her hand on his arm. “What’s up?”

Leila hesitated. “Let’s talk.”

Mason leaned his entire body languidly back toward the seat, “Okay.”

After about half a minute, Leila hadn’t figured out how to start. Mason reached out, hooked his arm around her waist, and pulled her towards him, settling her onto his lap.

Looking down at the person in his lap, Mason sighed helplessly, securing his hands around her waist and resting his forehead against hers. “Leila…”

Mason’s voice was low and tinged with a hint of grievance. “Did you promise to date me for six months?”

Realizing what he was asking, Leila didn’t respond.

Seeing her silence, Mason didn’t rush for an answer. He continued, “I said, I want us to be in a relationship with acknowledgment, and you promise me that you would make keep us public.”© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“I didn’t promise that.”

Leila had never been forced by any man to admit to a relationship, and her cheeks reddened involuntarily. “You did, but I didn’t promise to make it public.”

Mason chuckled in exasperation. “If you don’t make it public, then aren’t we just in an unacknowledged relationship?”

Faced with Mason’s probing, Leila chose to remain silent.

They locked eyes for a moment, and Mason sighed heavily.

His hand around her waist moved up to her neck, and he kissed her at the corner of her lips, tangling his lips with hers.

“Leila, can we at least let our acquaintances know about us in these six months?”

When Leila didn’t respond, Mason’s voice grew hoarse. “If you really don’t want to, then forget it. I just…” Mason paused abruptly.

“Okay. Acquaintances we both know, like Daniel, Shirley, Samuel, Caleb…”

“Can my friends also know about us?”

Without waiting for Leila to object, Mason continued, “They’re all my close friends.”

Leila could only agree, “Sure.”

“Am I putting you in a tough spot?”

Leila spoke honestly, “No.”

If they were in a normal relationship, Mason’s requests would be completely reasonable. In fact, if he didn’t want to go public, she would feel a bit resentful. However, they weren’t in a normal relationship.

Six months. The duration of this relationship was just too short…

A few minutes later, Mason and Leila got out of the car. Mason walked to the trunk and pulled out several gift boxes, then interlocked his fingers with Leila’s as they headed towards the orthopedic VIP ward where Omar was staying. At the door stood seven or eight bodyguards, instantly on high alert as Mason approached.

The hospital room door opened from the inside, and Kara stepped out with a smile on her face. However, upon seeing Mason, she faltered. “What… what are you doing here?”

But in a moment, she quickly recovered her smile, “Mason, why did you come here?” She glanced at Mason, then at Leila. “You must be Leila, right? We didn’t even get a chance to know each other yesterday.”

Observing Kara’s behavior, Leila mentally gave her a thumbs-up. Yesterday’s situation was brushed off so casually by her as if it were just a rushed meeting.

Leila smiled back. “Aunt Kara.”

Kara looked back at Mason, curious about his purpose at the hospital. “Mason, did you come here for something today?”

Mason remained composed. “To see Omar.”

“To see Omar?.”

After a pause, Kara added, “You have indeed grown up.”

Mason chuckled softly. “It’s been so many years; I ought to have grown up.”

Understanding Mason’s unspoken meaning, Kara pretended not to notice and continued, “I’ve always told you, in this world, no one is as important as family. Only family truly cares for you. It seems you finally understand my good intentions.”

“Indeed.”

“…”

Normally, Mason wouldn’t bother to engage in conversation with Kara. Even if he did, he would leave her speechless after just a few exchanges. But today…

Kara couldn’t help but glance at Leila a couple of times, sensing Mason’s change was somehow related to the person before her.

Since Mason mentioned visiting Omar at the hospital, Kara couldn’t keep him standing in the hallway indefinitely. After a while, she led them into the ward. “He’s still lying in bed, unable to move. We don’t know how long it will take for him to recover.”

Kara walked ahead, Mason and Leila following behind. The two exchanged a glance, and Leila gently squeezed Mason’s slender fingers, “Aunt Kara, don’t worry. He should recover soon.”

They arrived at the hospital room.

As Mason suspected, Omar truly went all out to frame him. His leg was indeed broken, and it was clear he had suffered quite a bit. He lay on the hospital bed, his face pale.

Kara stepped forward and gently tapped Omar, who was dozing. “Omar, Mason’s here to see you.”

Mason watched behind her with a hint of derision in his eyes.

Seeing this, Leila shot him a warning glare and mouthed, “Get your grandfather to come to the hospital now.”

Leila’s request came suddenly.

After saying it, she hesitated for a few seconds before continuing with her mouth, “Is it convenient?”

Mason smiled. “Of course.”

The next moment, Mason took out his phone from his pocket and sent a message.

Meanwhile, Omar’s voice, accompanied by intermittent coughs, came from the bed.

“Cough… Mason…”

“Mom, cough… tell them to stay away from me. I started fever and coughing last night. Don’t infect them.”

Kara patted his back, saying to him but meant for Mason and Leila to hear, “Alright, you still worried about Mason.”