CEO’s Seduction Trap

“Nothing much, just treated him to a few sessions of extreme drifting on his way back to Neo City.”

Mason asked calmly, “Did he get hurt?”

“You said not to go overboard, right? Besides, with his condition, it’s just a scare. If something happened to him because of us, it wouldn’t be worth it.”

Mason stepped over to the coffee table to flick off his cigarette ash, taunting, “Just now, the old man came over and told me Omar broke his leg.”

Caleb was momentarily stunned, “What?!”

“I heard he’s in the emergency room now.”

Caleb responded, “I can guarantee you Wendell wouldn’t do something so reckless.”

“I know that,” Mason replied.

Caleb continued over the phone, “Omar has been getting crazier these years. I even suspect it wasn’t Jeff and you who went crazy back then, but him.”

Mason didn’t want to dwell on the past and sneered, “He seems pretty reckless now.”

Caleb remarked thoughtfully, “Do you think he really broke his leg?”

“Definitely real.”

“Crazy.”

“He’s gotta die one way or another. He want to help Jeff.”

“Your family is really complicated,” Caleb commented.

After a few more exchanges, Mason instructed Caleb to keep an eye on Omar.

Caleb joked, “I’ve been watching him. If I had a girlfriend, she’d be jealous seeing me pay so much attention to a man.”

Thinking of something, Mason asked, “Have you been getting close to Shirley lately?”

Caleb teased, “Yeah. Honestly, I’ve never seen anyone owing debts being so self-righteous. If it weren’t for Leila’s sake, I would’ve thrown her in jail long ago.”

“Can you do me a favor?”

“What favor?”

Mason chuckled softly, “Tell her about how miserable I’ve been these years. Get her to say a few good things about me in front of Leila.”

Caleb thought: Shameless.

Seeing Caleb hesitate, Mason asked in a low voice, “Not willing?”

“Willing, very willing,” Caleb lied.

Before ending the call, Caleb queried, “Are you really that into her?”

“Yeah,” Mason affirmed seriously.

Caleb chuckled, “Wow, you’re truly lovesick now.”

…

Back in her room, Leila couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t until Esther came up at noon to call her for lunch that she reluctantly snapped out of her thoughts.

Leila adjusted her mood and headed downstairs. Mason noticed her and served a bowl of soup for her.

She looked up at Mason and cleared her throat. “Mason.”

“Yeah?” Mason replied, looking up.

“About what I said this morning, don’t take it to heart,” Leila said softly.

Mason chuckled lightly, “Are you trying to take it back?”

“Not taking it back, it’s just… the situation this morning…”

Leila struggled for words, unsure how to explain herself.

“Thank you for this morning,” He finally managed.

Leila couldn’t help but clench the spoon in her hand. After calming herself a bit, she said, “Have you been like this all these years?”

“Yeah,” Mason replied.

“Why didn’t you resist? With your abilities, there’s no need to endure such humiliation,” Leila frowned.

“I just couldn’t be bothered,” Mason leaned back in his chair. “It’s not always unjust accusations. Out of ten times, at least seven times I actually did it. My grandfather tends to lean towards my uncle, Kara, Omar, and Jeff.”

“So you’d rather take a beating than waste time explaining and proving yourself,” Leila observed as Mason finished.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

Mason smiled and said, “Leila, life is long and you have to remember, winning in matters you shouldn’t win is not worth it compared to losing in matters you shouldn’t lose. You always have to weigh the pros and cons.”

“Is this the mindset of a businessman?” Leila asked.

Mason nodded, “If you want to retaliate against someone, don’t just think about striking back at the harm they’ve caused you. Instead, go on the offensive and hit their weakest spot. If they want fame, deny it to them. If they want profit, make sure there’s no profit…”

Leila remained silent.

Mason looked at her with a low chuckle, “Leila, do you pity me?”

Leila didn’t answer.

Leaning closer, Mason lightly touched her lips with his finger, teasingly suggesting, “I’ve heard that a woman’s initial attraction to a man starts with admiration or sympathy. Are you leaning towards the latter with me?”

Leila’s breath quickened. She had to admit, Mason knew how to flirt.

As his finger moved from her lips to her chin, Mason continued, the smirk deepening in his eyes, “Leila, I’ve suffered too much isolation and injustice because of one person in the past. Now that I have you, could you help me? Just focus on helping me deal with Kara.”

Leila found herself unable to refuse outright.

They locked eyes for a long moment before Mason chuckled softly, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

After lunch, Leila made an excuse to leave and went back to her previous apartment to gather a few changes of clothes.

Meanwhile, Caleb was efficient as always.

Confused, Shirley sat opposite Caleb with a wary look. “Couldn’t you have said whatever it is over the phone?”

“What do you think of Mason?” Caleb asked.

“What do you mean?” Shirley frowned.

After hesitating for a moment, Caleb said, “Actually, Mason is a pretty decent guy.”

Shirley frowned deeper, “What exactly are you trying to say?”

Caleb followed Mason’s instructions and began, “He had a tough life from an early age-father died in a car accident, mother left chasing after true love, leaving him and his brother to fend for themselves. But then his brother died in the kidnapping case a few years ago…”

Shirley didn’t speak, thinking to herself: It sounds tragic, but what is he trying to say?

As Caleb finished, seeing Shirley unmoved, he leaned forward abruptly and said, “So, you have nothing to say about this?”

Shirley felt uncomfortable with Caleb’s sudden proximity. She leaned back and blurted out something even she found hard to believe, “Are you asking me to donate money to him?”

Caleb paused, unsure how to respond.

Taking a deep breath, Caleb sighed, “I finally understand why you lost your job.”

Curious, Shirley asked, “Why?”

Caleb chuckled at her naivety, “With your intellect, it’s a miracle you’ve survived this long.”

Later, as Shirley left Caleb’s place, she immediately called Leila.

“Guess what Caleb wanted from me just now? I guess he wanted me to praise Mason before you.”

Leila, packing clothes into her suitcase, chuckled, “And then?”

Shirley scoffed, “And then? I played dumb, of course.”

Leila asked, “Did he not realize you were pretending?”

Shirley replied, “Nope. He’s so conceited about his intelligence, he always assumes others are inferior to him.”

Pausing for a moment, Shirley added, “If one day I keep talking about Mason’s virtues in front of you, it would only be because I truly believe he loves you and can care for you forever, not because of anyone else’s influence.”

“I believe that,” Leila replied.

After ending the call with Shirley, Leila continued packing her clothes. Just then, a message popped up on her phone screen: [Miss Patel, I envy you for having Mr. Ramirez as your boyfriend. Can you let him go to me?]

Upon reading the message, Leila squinted her eyes. Someone envied her having Mason as a boyfriend, so they wanted her to give him up?

She ignored the childish message, but another one quickly followed: [Miss Patel, if Mr. Ramirez were my boyfriend, would the kidney you wanted for your mother belong to me too?]

Dasha was definitely Leila’s weak spot.

Leila’s face hardened, and she quickly replied: [Stefania, are you asking for trouble?]

After sending that message, there was no response.

Leila stared at her phone screen for a moment, a sense of unease creeping over her.

On her way back, Leila couldn’t shake off her anxiety.

Upon entering the house, she headed straight for Mason.

Mason had just come up from the gym and showered, wearing a loose bathrobe. Seeing the tension in her expression, he asked, “What happened?”

Leila hurried upstairs, slightly out of breath. After steadying herself, she said, “Mason, is the kidney source for my mom reliable?”

Mason answered confidently, “It’s reliable.”

Leila continued, “Will there be any unexpected incidents halfway through?”

Mason reassured her, “No, there won’t be.”

Hearing Mason’s words, Leila’s anxious heart settled a bit.

Noticing her unease, Mason strode forward, “What’s wrong?”

Looking up at him, Leila suddenly tiptoed and grabbed Mason’s collar, kissing him.

Mason’s body stiffened for a moment.

In their relationship, Mason always held the upper hand. Leila’s kiss was hesitant, her tiptoes trembling after some time. Seeing her struggle, Mason reached out and steadied her slender waist, chuckling.

Leila blushed, her ears turning red, “Mason.”

“Yes?”

Leila’s voice trembled slightly, “This kidney source is really important to me.”

She spoke with utmost seriousnes.

“Did someone say something to you?”

Leila and Mason locked eyes, and there were some things she couldn’t say.

After a while, Mason sighed, leaned over, picked her up, and sat her down on his lap face-to-face, and asked helplessly, “Can we talk?”

“Mason.”

Mason leaned closer, affectionately brushing his lips against hers, “Are you being threatened? Worried that your mom’s kidney source might be compromised?”