CEO’s Seduction Trap

Seeing the joy on Leila’s face, Caleb inexplicably felt a sense of guilt. He chuckled awkwardly and changed the subject, “Is that your friend?”

Leila replied truthfully, “Yes, she’s my best friend.”

“Your friend…”

Caleb originally wanted to say “pretty foolish,” but considering the lofty image he held in Leila’s mind now, he phrased it differently, “She’s pretty loyal to her friend.”

Leila could tell Caleb’s “compliment” was insincere and apologized, “I’m sorry, Mr. Mitchell, she didn’t mean to.”

After a pause, Leila added, “Rest assured, we will fully compensate for the damages, although it might take some time…”

Whether it was the four million Caleb mentioned or the actual price of the car, five million, it was a substantial sum for both Shirley and her.

Caleb, being straightforward, turned to the police officer taking notes and said, “Officer, I’m dropping the charges for this case.”

“Really?”

Caleb joked, “Do you want me to send her straight to jail?”

The officer put down his pen. “Don’t wrong me. Come on, sign here and get out.”

Caleb withdrew the case, and Leila and Shirley followed him out of the police station.

Once outside, Caleb turned to Leila and said, “Let’s forget about the compensation; it’s not much money.”

Leila objected firmly, “No, it’s still a substantial amount.”

Caleb chuckled lightly, looking at Shirley, “How about this? You work as my maid for two months, and we call it even.”

Shirley trembled nervously, “Two months seems too short?”

Four million for two months’ work; she had never earned such a high salary in her twenty-six years.

Amused by their reactions, Caleb suggested, “How about six months?”

Shirley earnestly replied, “I still have to work during the day. Mr. Mitchell, can I just take care of your meals and cleaning duties?”

Caleb nodded with a smile, “Sure.”

As Caleb finished speaking, a Bentley pulled up in front of him.

Caleb waved to the two of them to get in the car.

Just as the car was about to drive off, Leila suddenly approached and knocked on the window.

“Mr. Mitchell, may I have your contact information?”

Caleb felt guilty and pretended to be surprised, “Huh?”

“I want to repay you.”

Upon hearing “repay,” Caleb felt even more guilty. “There’s no need.”

Leila thought Caleb was worried that she might have been bothering him, and explained, “Don’t worry, I won’t bother you unless it’s necessary.”

Caleb looked embarrassed and wanted to refuse, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. “Okay,” he relented, adding, “Let’s get this straight. You don’t have to pay me back.”

Knowing Caleb wasn’t short of money, Leila agreed, “Alright. If you ever need anything from me in the future, just let me know.”

“Sure thing.”

They exchanged contact information, and Caleb wasted no time, urging the driver to start the car by kicking the back of the driver’s seat repeatedly.

The driver looked bewildered. “Boss?”

“Drive!!”

The driver stepped on the gas pedal, and the car sped away.

It took Shirley a while to regain her composure as she stared at the departing car. “Is that guy mentally stable?”

“No,” Leila replied. Then, realizing she didn’t know Caleb very well herself, she added, “At least, I don’t think so.”

Leila’s mind was still consumed by the fact that Caleb was her benefactor.

After the initial excitement wore off, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

Shirley rambled on, but when she noticed Leila wasn’t responding, she nudged her. “Why are you ignoring me?”

Leila turned to Shirley, saying, “Didn’t you say last night that you and your colleague saw him having dinner with a girl? How could you make a mistake?”

Embarrassed, Shirley explained, “She pointed to the right, and I looked at the person next to where she was pointing. Who would have thought, the two brothers were on a date in the same place…”

Leila sighed, “Just be more careful in the future.”

Shirley breathed a sigh of relief. If it weren’t for Leila today, she might have ended up in jail.

Curious, Shirley asked, “How do you know Caleb?”

“Do you remember my benefactor from my school days?”

“Yeah, I heard he was a young handsome guy who used to write you letters. I even teased you about it, saying, why bother writing letters when you could just call… It’s like…”

Leila interrupted her, “That person is Caleb.”

Shirley was astonished, “What?”

“He used the alias ‘Hawke’ when corresponding with me.”

Shirley was so shocked. She had indeed heard Caleb ask Leila if she remembered ‘Hawke’ today.

“Are you sure?”

Leila told her the truth, “Not completely, but hardly anyone knows that name.”

Shirley still found it hard to believe, “But Caleb… He doesn’t seem like the type who can sit down and write letters. He’s so flamboyant. I mean, just look at his flashy attire. I’d believe he’s a regular at nightclubs, but a refined gentleman writing letters? I don’t buy it.”

At this moment, Caleb was sitting in the car, talking to Mason on the phone.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

“Mason, if, if you did a good deed but someone else took credit for it, how would you react?”

Mason responded coldly, “It depends on the nature of thing.”

“What if it’s something like being a benefactor?”

Mason froze as he looked at the contract in his hand. “Are you kidding me?”

“I don’t want this either. It’s just a misunderstanding…”

“What happened exactly?”

“I can’t explain it in a few words. I’m on my way to your office now, I’ll explain it in person.”

…

On the other end, Shirley had shifted the conversation from Caleb to Mason.

“Were you really at Mason’s house last night?”

“Yeah, he had a high fever and dialed the wrong number. He meant to call Daniel, but ended up calling me.”

“Do you really believe such a lame excuse?”

Leila said calmly, “It’s not fake. When I got there, he was delirious.”

Speaking of Mason, Leila suddenly remembered the inexplicable kiss from last night.

Mason had said, “Leila, did you think I wouldn’t dare??”

Even now, Leila hadn’t figured out what he meant by that.

Leila made a call to the office, gave a few instructions, and then drove on the way home.

“What do you want to eat? I’ll cook for you today.”

Shirley leaned on Leila’s shoulder. “If you were a man, I’d marry you.”

“Too bad there are no ‘ifs’.”

They parked the car in the neighborhood and walked to the supermarket.

Suddenly, a chill breeze hit them, carrying a strong stench.

Before Leila could look up, Shirley screamed, “Leila!!”

It’s Mrs. Brooks. She dumped a bucket of rotten eggs on Leila.

Leila pursed her lips and wiped her face with her hand.

Mrs. Brooks stood in front of Leila, looking furious, holding a bucket with remnants of rotten eggs inside. She started cursing at Leila.

“You jinx, my son was doing fine before he got involved with you. Since he’s been with you, nothing has gone right for him. And now he’s been fired.”

“You’re cheating on him, and then you falsely accuse my son. Is there no justice left in this world?”

Mrs. Brooks kept on yelling, and more and more people gathered.

Shirley took off her suit jacket and put it on Leila, then pulled out a wet wipe from her bag to help Leila clean her face.

Leila pushed Shirley’s hand away and took a deep breath before walking up to Mrs. Brooks.

“What do you want?” Mrs. Brooks stepped back a few steps nervously.

Leila’s expression was icy as she raised her hand and delivered a slap to Mrs. Brooks’s face.

“Nonsense, you are twisting the truth.”

Mrs. Brooks, still reeling from the slap, was momentarily stunned by Leila’s words.

When she finally regained her senses, she fell down on the ground, bursting into tears.

“How could I have such a daughter-in-law?”

“Come and see! Daughter-in-law is hitting her mother-in-law!”

“My son was a young vice president in a big company. Who knew she was fooling around with other men and conspiring against my son, causing him to be fired.”