All Chapters of The CEO'S Favorite : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

38 Chapters

21. Nostalgia

"Aria Jennings, do you have anything prepared for us?"At first, I don't register the fact that my name is being called because we only started the meeting and I'm usually called on by the end, but a tap from Belle beside me has me looking up. I look around the table, at the eight people that make our small crew, then my eyes meet with Nessa's and she nods, encouraging me to go on.I clear my throat. "I don't have a pitch for this, but I have an idea for a pitch. Is that okay?" I ask unsurely, still taken aback by the fact that Nessa called on me so early in the meeting."Go ahead."The reason I haven't prepared a pitch for the recent ad we were given to work on isn't that Nessa never lets the others hear it — that has never deterred me — but because my mind has been caught up with my dinner with Patrick Hernsburg and what he said to me.I try to forget everything about him and go on with telling everybody about my idea for the social app. In a way, I was nervous because apart from th
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22. Fucking bastard

"Why would you let Lucas wander off alone?" That is the first thing I ask when we enter the office and see Gabriel standing by the transparent wall that gives him a magnificent view of the city. Immediately, Lucas leaves me and runs for Gabriel's side, taking a hold of his hand. I resist scoffing. "I offered to come to get you," Lucas admits. "So you lied?""Sorry, mommy." Just like Gabriel, he's no longer looking at me. He's staring outside the transparent glass. I stare at their backs for a while. It's starting to get addictive seeing both of them together. Is this because I admitted to liking him some days back? Is that why I don't fancy being in his presence much? Because I don't like the way my body reacts to him.I don't know what, but something compels me to bring out my phone and take a picture of them, and I do. Gabriel turns around immediately, catching me with my phone up in my hand. He cocks his head in amusement. "Did you just take a picture of us?"My face turns red in
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23. Mr. Hernsburg

The next time I see Gabriel after that is the next Monday. He didn't come to work on Friday, despite the fact that his penthouse was right above his office. Since I didn't know he would be a no-show, I brought Lucas with me again that Friday, so he had to stay with me in my cubicle while I worked.He was surprisingly quiet and kept to reading the new book Gabriel got for him. The only times he spoke were to ask me if Gabriel was okay and when he needed to use the restroom. During lunch, he came along with me to the canteen. We received some weird looks but didn't pay any mind to them. They were probably wondering what a seven-year-old was doing in a company like that.Right now, I'm happy his suspension is finally over and he can go back to school as he has missed a lot. He isn't happy about it though. This morning, he asked me if he could just be homeschooled instead, but I had to ask him how he would be able to see Ally if he started homeschooling. That had him getting out of bed f
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24. Dinner with the parents

Between Lucas and I, I don't know who is more nervous. When I broke the news that we were going to visit his grandparents, he was beyond shocked. He had asked me about them at one point, of course, and I almost lied that they were dead, but I couldn't do that to him. I couldn't do that to them.That had put me in a tight spot and I had to come up with a different lie instead. I'd told him that they lived on a different continent and we wouldn't be able to see them. He soon understood that we couldn't afford to fly to a completely different country and stopped asking to see them.It made me feel bad, but I was also relieved. I was afraid that I'd call them and they'd say they weren't interested in being part of Lucas' life.Lucas and I stand in front of the door of the home address my father had sent to me. It isn't the house I grew up in. It is much smaller but seems classier. My mother always had an eye for fancy things, so I'm not surprised. "I thought you said they lived on a dif
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25. Come with me

I decided I'd given Gabriel enough time.It's been exactly a week since we last spoke. I didn't go to him sooner because I assumed he'd come to me. It's Gabriel. He always does. But it seems like this time is different.I'm worried out of my mind because he got worse each day. He's snapping at everyone, not just me and it looks like he's always in a bad mood.Some of my colleagues say it's nothing new and that he used to be like this when he first took over from his father, so they minimized their interactions with him, not wanting to get fired over the smallest mistakes.However, this was new to me, and it caught me off guard whenever he snapped at someone. An intern lost her job last week because she spilled coffee on him. I feel bad for her, but there's nothing I can do about it.I know something is very wrong and if not taken care of, he may spiral out of control. I recall that he told me it's none of my business, but I can't help the fact that I care about him on a personal level
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26. Darling

I continue staring at him, unmoving. A few minutes ago, he literally embarrassed me in front of everyone on the floor, and now, he's telling me to come with him?"I said come with me." He repeats, his voice hard like he's still mad at me. "Don't test me, darling."A collective gasp is heard around the floor and the place is no longer silent. I clench my fists in annoyance. He doesn't feel the least bothered about what he just said, which shows that he did it on purpose. He raises an eyebrow at me as if challenging me to disobey him, and then turns around to leave, not waiting to see if I'll follow him or not.I close my eyes and take a deep breath. When I open them, Marcus, Belle, and Nessa all have their mouths hung open and it aggravates me. It's exactly the reaction he wanted and he got it.I smile tightly at them and stand up to follow Gabriel. "They're definitely fucking." I hear Belle breathe out in surprise, and I don't bother to correct her as I leave. If this is the kind of r
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27. A date

Gabriel never answered my question. According to him, he was not yet ready to answer my question, but he would soon. In addition to that, he promised he would never be rude to me again. I didn't know whether to put faith in that since he had once told me he wouldn't snap at me.His excuse was that he'd been hungover, which had me questioning why he'd been drinking. That was another thing he had said he wasn't ready to talk about, but I had a feeling it had to do with the person he lost years ago.After that day, Gabriel reduced the rate at which he snapped at people. Well, more like, he reduced his interactions with his employees, having the manager interact with us instead.My colleagues thought it was my doing and they became friendlier to me, which is probably why, "Hey, Aria, we're all going out for a drink. You should come."One of my colleagues whose name I haven't bothered to learn says. I'm about to decline when Nessa jumps in. "Yeah, we don't always need work to be the excuse
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28. Lay down

I didn't believe it at first. Gabriel, my boss, the CEO of Double H Tech is actually kissing me. He places his hand on the small of my back and pushes me into him, and I finally throw out all my inhibitions and kiss him back.He pulls back a little, but his lips are still touching mine as he speaks. "Been wanting to do that since the day I saw you."I nod my head and kiss him again, not having the time to chat. If I'm to be honest, me too. The kiss is fast and urgent, and it seems like he can't get enough. I let my hand get tangled up in his hair while his hands roam across my body, wanting to touch me everywhere in such little time."Why don't we take this inside?" I ask breathlessly. I'm not thinking straight at the moment. I'm not worried about the repercussions of our actions. I just know that I want Gabriel and I'm going to have him."Good idea."Probably not.As I turn around to unlock the door, Gabriel plants kisses on my neck, distracting me. When I fail to open the door, he c
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29. Marriage

My eyes flutter open and I let out a yawn, feeling tired although I just woke up. I realize I'm cuddling up to a pillow and I'm sore and that reminds me of the events of last night.I sit up with a start. Shit. I had sex with Gabriel Hernsburg!I remember falling asleep immediately after and I expect myself to be naked, but I'm not. I'm clad in Gabriel's white shirt; the only piece of clothing on me. I look around. His side of the bed is cold. Did he already leave? Did he even sleep here after we were done?Standing up, I go to the bathroom and when I look at myself in the mirror, I gasp. My hair looks like a bird's nest, but that is expected because Gabriel had a thing for running his hand through my hair. What I wasn't expecting were the slight pink bruises on my neck. I didn't even realize when he was giving me love bites.I quickly brush my teeth to get rid of my morning breath, put my hair down to cover my neck, and put on shorts. When I exit the bathroom, my eyes go straight to
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30. Cool car

Lucas narrows his eyes suspiciously, looking between Gabriel and I. "That's not an answer." He concludes. "Are you guys dating or are you not?"Gabriel chuckles, pressing his lips together when I glare at him. I arch an eyebrow and he gives me a look that says it's my decision to make. While it wasn't a very hard decision to make, it was a complicated one. I shook my head. I'd just have to deal with the consequences later. "Yes, we are. Are you okay with that?" I try to keep my eyes on Lucas because I don't want to see Gabriel's reaction to my words.Even if he just admitted that he loves me, I can't help the flicker of doubt that it might not be real. "Yes!"Lucas' excitement has me cocking my head in surprise. "And why are you so happy? You're not the one dating him." I laugh."Yeah, but he told me he likes you and isn't sure you like him back. I guess you do after all." He says nonchalantly, walking around the aisle to go meet his new favorite person.I turn to Gabriel and he loo
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