บททั้งหมดของ A Deal With Mr. CEO: บทที่ 51 - บทที่ 60

AMELIA "What?" I asked quietly, blinking at him. "A vacation," he repeated. "Let’s go on a vacation, Amelia." I stared at him, trying to process it. "Vacation?" "Yes." He leaned back slightly on the couch, watching my reaction. "In Paris." "But why?" He gave a small shrug. "Let’s just take it as one of my final treats of this deal between us. If you agree, I’ll make all the necessary preparations tonight. Both here and over there in Paris. And then we leave tomorrow." My mind spun for a bit. He had come all the way to my apartment asking if I was avoiding him. The truth was, I wasn’t avoiding him exactly. I was shielding my heart. Because somewhere in the past month, I felt the lines had started to blur. I kept catching myself seeing our relationship as real. But I knew that wasn’t ideal at all. I knew to Adrian, this was still a deal. A contract with an expiration date. So I had been keeping a little distance, trying to protect myself from the inevitable end. I looked at

AMELIA I woke up the next morning to soft sunlight filtering through the curtains of the bedroom. I glanced at the bedside clock. 9:00 AM. I had actually woken up around six, the habit of a workaholic hard to break, but the bed was so comfortable and and the quiet was soothing and I had drifted back to sleep, deciding to take this vacation seriously. Adrian was not on the other side of the bed. I'm sure he had been up for a while now. I stretched under the crisp sheets, then slipped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. After freshening up, I dried off and changed into a simple white sundress I’d packed. I walked out of the bedroom and found Adrian in the kitchen. He was already dressed in a casual white linen shirt and shorts. He turned when he heard me, his lips curving into a small smile. "You’re awake," he said. "Yeah," I replied, walking toward him. "I decided to sleep in a bit." He reached for me, pulling me gently into his arms and pressing a soft kiss to my

I walked over to the piano with quiet excitement bubbling in my chest. I smiled as I looked at it, running my fingers lightly over the keys before I sat down on the bench. It had been a while since I last played. Months, maybe longer. My fingers felt a little stiff at first as I tested a few notes. Then I started playing. A soft, classical piece flowed out, something that I had learned years ago. When I was done, I let out a slow breath, my shoulders relaxing. Then I heard a few applause. I turned around on the bench and realized the small group of people at the restaurant were clapping for me. I smiled and gave a small, appreciative nod to the people there before standing up and walking back to our table where Adrian was waiting, still watching me. As soon as I sat down, he leaned in slightly. "I didn’t know you were that good." I laughed softly. "Thank you. And thank you for suggesting I go play." He smiled, his hand brushing mine on the table. "I think you should play

We landed back from Paris the previous day. I had spent most of yesterday sleeping off the jet lag, curled up in my own bed, unpacking and trying to convince myself that the trip hadn't changed something. But as of today, the vacation was officially over. Now I was back at work, sitting at my desk and staring at my monitor while both Casey and Megan hovered around me, staring like I had grown a second head. "So..." Megan began, leaning her hip against my desk. "Spill. Before you took those surprise days off, you didn’t tell us anything. Not a single hint." I tried to keep my expression neutral, clicking through a stack of unread emails to look busy. "Yeah, sorry about that. It was really last minute. Totally unexpected." Casey narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. "Unexpected, huh? What was it about? We were worried, Amelia. I mean, I hope everything is okay with you though. You didn't look sick when you left." "Yeah, yeah, everything is fine," I said quickly, forcing a smal

The creative review meetings that week were intense but productive. We spent hours going through mood boards, logo variations, campaign visuals, and early copy directions. Adrian sat at the head of the table most days, listening carefully, asking questions, and giving thoughtful feedback. When each session wrapped up, however, he developed a habit that quickly became noticeable to everyone. He would always make his way over to me afterward. He didn't just give me a professional nod or a polite "good job" in front of the board. He would weave through the clusters of associates, bypass the senior partners, and stand right in my personal space. Sometimes it was about a specific slide he wanted me to revisit. Sometimes it was just a casual "How’s the rest of your day looking?" The staring was impossible to ignore. Colleagues didn’t even try to be subtle anymore. Heads turned. Whispers spread. Casey and Megan were the worst, they were basically vibrating with the need to interro