CEO’s Seduction Trap

In the conference room, Leila held a file in her hands, flipping through it while professionally updating Mason on the project’s current progress.

Mason tugged at his shirt collar, revealing a string of ambiguous kiss marks on his neck.

When Leila finished speaking and looked up, she saw them, and her mind flashed back to the image of them entangled together last night.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Mason gave her a playful look, “Are you afraid of me?”

Leila straightened her back and smiled lightly, “No.”

Mason’s deep eyes glinted with amusement, “Don’t worry, we’re all adults. I won’t cling to you or make you take responsibility just because of one night.”

Though Mason seemed gentlemanly, his words were anything but refined.

A word flashed through Leila’s mind: scoundrel.

Mason took the file from her, flipping through a couple of pages, and said mockingly, “This project, as it stands, has far more drawbacks than benefits.”

Leila quickly composed herself, “Mr. Ramirez, this project was never meant to be a high-profit venture. The initial returns won’t be as high as other projects, but the long-term gains are stable and substantial.”

“And how do you plan to guarantee that?”

Leila replied calmly, “I’ll prepare a detailed proposal for you. The data will speak for itself.”

Mason closed the file in his hands, “I hope you don’t disappoint me.”

Suddenly, a man burst in, grabbing Leila’s hands.

It was Hunter Brooks, her ex-boyfriend.

“Are you okay? Mr. Lee just called me. I told him I was the guy with you last night.”

Seeing Hunter made Leila feel nauseous.

Mason sat there with his hands in his pockets, a cold glint in his eyes.

“Miss Patel, your boyfriend is quite generous.”

Hunter finally noticed Mason, “Mr. Ramirez?”

Leila broke away from him and, apologizing to Mason, then dragged him to the stairwell.

“Hunter, we already broke up.”

“I’m not asking who the guy was last night, and let’s just forget our past issues, alright? We’re adults now, Don’t let our parent worry about us.”

“Is my words hard to understand? You slept with your boss’s wife and still want to marry me? You want to use me to cover up your affair with her? Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose you?” Hunter’s words hit Leila’s nerve. She had never seen anyone handle a relationship so disgustingly. He approached her with ulterior motives, used her in every way, and now wanted to use her as a stepping stone.

Hunter continued, “Are you sure you don’t want to get back together? Have you thought about how to explain this to your mom? She has a heart condition. The wedding date was already set. If you call it off, what if she has another episode…”

Leila coldly interrupted, “If you say one more word, I’ll call your boss right now.”

Hunter quickly changed his tone, “Leila, just help me one last time. If you do, I promise I’ll never bother you again. I’ll personally explain to your mom that we’re canceling the wedding because I’m going away for a few years for further studies. Later, you can tell her we broke up due to the long distance…”

Hunter was smart, Leila had to admit. Otherwise, without connections or a background, he wouldn’t have gotten to his current position.

Seeing Leila’s hesitation, Hunter pressed on, “It hasn’t been easy for either of us to get where we are in our careers. I know you’re dealing with the scandal from last night. If you attend our company dinner tonight as my fiancee, you can use me as a shield. That way, the rumors will die down, killing two birds with one stone.”

Leila thought it over, “You want to use me as a shield.”

“Leila, do you really want to burn bridges with me?”

Leila remained silent.

Suddenly, Mason appeared on the stairs, waving a file. “Miss Patel, I’ve reviewed the proposal. Are you sure this plan is suitable?”

Leila turned to him, “Mr. Ramirez, despite the rush, I hope you can trust us.”

“Miss Patel, I hope your personal issues won’t affect the project.” With that, he tossed the file at Hunter and walked away.

Hunter caught the file and hurriedly asked Leila, “You know Mr. Ramirez? Can you introduce me to him?”…

Meanwhile, at the elevator, Mason called his assistant, “Is the Ascend Group having an event tonight?”

“Yes, you declined it earlier.”

“Tell them I’ll be there on time.”

…