Chapter twelve

Exactly," mom said, "but Lydia wouldn't lie. If she said they liked her, then they did like her. I think her name was Irene."

Irene.	6
"The greek goddess of peace. How convenient", I said, making my mom smile. We chatted for a while as lunch cooked. Then we served ourselves on the island.	2

My mom's cooking was to die for. She had never had someone else cook for us when she was around.

"So tell me, Leo." my mom said as she cut a slice of the roasted beef, "is there something interesting going on? you know, someone you want to introduce...", she trailed off.

"Mom", I groaned. I knew this discussion was coming sooner or later when she invited me to lunch.

"What?" she protested, "oh, come on. There's no one? no one at all?" Locked Chapter Ituloy basahin ang aklat na ito sa APP Nakaraang KabanataSusunod na kabanata Kaugnay na kabanata The CEO and me   Chapter thirteen "Since when do you know sign language?" Lydia asked, looking between Irene and I and fighting back a smile."She taught me some signs." I replied, serving myself."She taught you?" Jayden asked, surprised, "when?""Lunch break", I replied."So that's where you rush to everyday." he shot back with a grin that matched my sister's.5I ignored them and cut into my teak.2"So what does she do?" mom asked looking between Grayson and Irene.Grayson signed then waited as Irene signed back, "she works as a cleaning staff". He said looking at my mom. Irene followed his gaze, watching mom's reaction.Mom smiled nodding in understanding, "must be a tiring job", she said to Irene who shrugged with a small smil The CEO and me   Chapter fourteen Leo.Leaving my parents to themselves in the study, I went back to the living room. I stopped at the entrance, caught by the sight of a sleeping Irene.Like the study, only the fireplace was lit. Her unblemished skin looked golden under the flames' glow.Slumped on an armchair with Eli, deep asleep on her chest with his head on her shoulder, was Irene. Her arms held him tightly, and her unblemished skin looked almost golden under the dancing glow of the flames.The others spoke in hushed whispers around them. Lydia broke from her conversation with Jackson and Elizabeth."I think it's time to get her home", she whispered when she reached me."Mhm." I said, my eyes not The CEO and me   Chapter fifteen Irene.We were going to pick up Jim from his friend's place before dinner. Then we planned to go to our favourite pizza place, like we did every Friday ever since I could remember.These last couple of years had been tough, though. The company in which my dad had been working for over fifteen years had gone bankrupt. Right now, he was doing odd jobs.He took to alcohol after losing his post. Being drunk half the time didn't help in looking for a proper job. My mom used to be a stay at home wife and mother, and she wasn't used to working. But after despairing of dad's state, she took on a part time job. It didn't help. These days, we were always tight on budget.They had tried to keep it from me and Jim, but I knew. It wa The CEO and me   Chapter sixteen IreneThe lights were on in Jim's room. I knocked on his door. No one answered. He probably had his headphones blaring music into his poor ears. He didn't know the gift he was abusing.1I tried the doorknob. It was locked. With a deep sigh, I stepped into my room and closed the door behind me. The bed waited for me as usual, neat and small and bumpy, but my own.The first thing I did after taking a shower was check the envelope Julianna had given me. I almost choked.I stared blankly at the wad of cash, then pulled it out and counted it. I did the math in my head. This was worth two weekends. There were four weekends in a month, at least.This was definitely more than I e The CEO and me   Chapter seventeen Leo."Stop!"My hands froze on her waist. I blinked down at her, holding my breath.She just... spoke.I had managed to stop myself from reacting when she laughed out loud, knowing that she was probably self conscious about it. It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. I had seen her laugh, but it was the first time I had everheardher laugh.Squirming and giggling while she tried to dodge my hands, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.But when she spoke, I couldn't control my reaction. Her voice was a little raspy, most likely from lack of use. But it was soft and silvery under the hoarseness. I wanted to hear more of it.Her eyes met m The CEO and me   Chapter eighteen Leo.Irene and I left. Grayson stayed back with Lydia in her shop. I drove Irene back to her apartment. My mind was still trying to make sense of Vincent's reaction. I liked Vincent. He had a good head on his shoulders, was always more mature than people his age. But I didn't like the way he stared at Irene. There was something off...Irene looked like she wanted to say, or rather write, something. She was restless during the entire ride. I guessed she wanted to bring up what happened that morning. But we reached her place without mention of it.'Thank you', Irene signed when I parked next to the apartment building."You're welcome", I replied then stepped out of the car the same time she did. I took the bags from the ba The CEO and me   Chapter nineteen IreneIt had been almost a month since the meeting. I was back to being the cleaning lady pretty much the next day, but it had been a nice pause from the dull blue uniform and the mindless tasks.The chinese CEO, Mr. Heng, was a lovely man. At first, when he had given me his contact information, I thought that he was simply being courteous. Yet much to my surprise, he had responded to my message.We both found a common interest in art, as we had discovered when we conversed after the meeting. His drug of choice was painting. He sent me some of his works, on the phone, and we discussed them. He seemed to enjoy my amateurish yet enthusiastic opinions.Readying myself for another day of work, my eyes wandered to the suit I The CEO and me   Chapter twenty IreneIn the evening, when I was waiting for Leo next to his car, Grayson, Sophia and Julianna appeared beside me with excited expressions.1'Lydia's birthday is next Friday', Grayson signed. He usually spoke when he signed, but he didn't now. I saw his eyes following Lydia, who was stepping into her car, and understood why.'I know, Leo told me.' I signed back and he nodded. He waited for Lydia to drive away before signing again."They want to take you shopping for a dress for the party." he signed, pointing to Sophia and Julianna. The two women looked like children in a play store, their eyes brimming with enthusiasm and anticipation."Birthday party." he explained. I n Pinakabagong kabanata The CEO and me   E44 The CEO and me   E43 The CEO and me   E42 The CEO and me   E41 The CEO and me   E40 The CEO and me   Ep 39 The CEO and me   E38 The CEO and me   E37 The CEO and me   E36 —— Wakas —— Tapos mo nang mabasa ang aklat na ito Nilalaman Display Options Background Font Size A-20A+