Chapter nineteen

Irene

It 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

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• 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

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  Leo"Good morning!"I looked up from the papers on my desk at the sound of Grayson's overly cheerful voice. He had just barged into my office. Uninvited, again. He and Jayden were making it a habit.I grunted back a response and looked back down to my work. He chuckled and made himself at home."Oh, come on. You can't be pissed off, still."Pissed offwas a major understatement. I was ready to strangle him after the stunt he had pulled on Sunday.I didn't even grant him a look. I knew he would have a shit eating grin on his face. He and Jayden had a hilarious time on Sunday, teasing me about the almost kiss that Grayson had purposely interrupted just for the fun of it.

• The CEO and me   Twenty two

  LeoIrene and I had lunch in my office. She wanted to leave in order to be there when Jim came back from school. I dropped her home even though she insisted several times that she was fine taking the bus.After I returned to work, the day went by uneventfully. My evening class for sign language dragged on a little longer because I was getting desperate to learn as much as I could, as fast as I could.The next morning, much to no one's surprise, I woke up grouchy. I knew exactly why. I wasn't going to get my daily dose of sunshine today.1I worried about her, whether she was in pain or uncomfortable. But at least she would take a break from work.That also meant not s

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  Irene."Milk?" Jim asked with furrowed brows.Nodding, I pointed to 'milk' on the grocery list again and shooed him away. We were in the supermarket down the corner from our apartment. I had waited for him to come back from school to help me with the groceries since one of my wrists was still useless, it had only been two week since the accident.He came back with milk right as the young clerk started ringing our groceries. Jim helped put everything in bags. I paid while he carried as much as he could, leaving me with a lighter bag."When are you going back to work?" Jim asked when we sat on a bench outside the supermarket, eating some ice cream. His nose and sunken cheeks were red from the cold. He had lost so muc

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• The CEO and me   E44

  Fine, fine!" he rubbed his face, "whatever you want, just... don't do it." "Don't get involved in my life, and I will not get involved in yours." **** **** After Matt was dealt with, I felt much lighter. The next day was a Saturday. I woke up first, like usual. On most days, Irene slept in. She had admitted to me that for years, she could rarely afford to sleep in the mornings with the kind of work that she did. Now that she could work on her own time, she took full advantage of it. Thoughsleeping inwas a relative term. She would never stay in bed past eight thirty. I would make breakfast, and we'd have it together before joining our family in the tennis club. 2

• The CEO and me   E43

  I see." I stepped closer until I could whisper in his ear, "I don't give a fuck about your excuses, Matt. We both know what's really happening here. But I'm not dealing with you tonight."I pushed past him towards Irene. I would deal with Matt properly, and by the time I was done with him, he would come begging for mercy.1Irene smiled and rose when I reached her. The interpreter looked more than relieved to be spared signing the two women's words. What kind of crap had they been spouting?The two women looked at me with wide eyes. They scrambled to their feet."Oh, Leo! I didn't know you were coming?" one of them said, her name was Elizabeth or Isabella or something like that.I gave her a look and wrapped Irene in a short hug. She might look calm and unaffected, but I knew her enough to read the anger in her face and body. She wa

• The CEO and me   E42

  Leo"So, what do you think?" Lydia asked me as soon as I picked up my phone."About what?" I replied, motioning for Brandon to take the documents I just signed. He nodded and left the office, closing the door behind him. I turned my chair to look through the ground to ceiling glass behind my desk. The city below was busy.4"Ugh! I sent you a video of the venue five minutes ago!" Lydia said.I closed my eyes. "Lydia. You know neither Irene nor I care about the venue. We just want to get married.""You are going to be the death of me! I can't wait for Irene to come back!" she screamed and hung up.I sighed and checked the message she'd sent me. It was a video of yet another wedding venue. This one was outdoors, in what looked like a lush garden. Irene would like it.Except that, unlike

• The CEO and me   E41

  Nathaniel held on for about a year, respecting Irene's mother's wishes to leave them alone. But then he started looking for them again. It was about the time his company faced difficulties. So Eve made him the offer to pull his company off the ground if he would drop all efforts of looking for his daughter. Nathaniel did. And that was why I would never get along with him. He had chosen his company over his child. I didn't care about his excuses. Nothing in the world would keep me from my child. 3 The man hadn't even had the guts to tell Irene the whole truth back when she asked why he didn't look for her. Nathaniel was a selfish bastard. 1 Sure, he was now present in Irene's life, trying to be a father to a daughter who'd been through more than he could imagine. I didn't care

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  LeoWe were having dinner in mom's house. Everyone was in attendance. The Allens, Julianna, her husband Ethan, and the twins, Nathaniel and Vincent.The living room was buzzing with activity. Irene was sitting with the twins on a couch, engrossed in what seemed like a senseless conversation with the two toddlers. She was so good with them, it was no wonder Julianna worshipped the ground Irene walked on. Well, pretty much everyone did, really, not just Julianna.1Jayden, Grayson and I were standing by the french doors of the living room leading out to the garden. The weather was nice enough to keep them open."So, I heard Megan stopped by the exhibit," Jayden said. I made a face. Irene must have t

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  IreneIt was only minutes later that Nathaniel Braxton called Leo.'It's Nathaniel,' Leo signed, after checking his phone. I fisted my necklace. 'He'll probably want to see you.'I didn't know whether I wanted to see him now or not. But I had decided I would get my life together, and the first step in doing that would be to face my past.I took a deep breath and nodded, "yes, I'll meet him."Leo hesitated for a moment. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he held back and took the call. I looked away, not wanting to read his lips. I really didn't want to meet Nathaniel right now. There were so many questions that onlyhecould answer, and asking those questions meant digging de

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  I had lunch with Julianna, then headed to the library. The coffee shop was only a ten minute walk from the center, so I walked there. It gave me time to think. What did I want to do with my life?The answer came immediately. I loved painting. If I could paint for the rest of my life, I would be the happiest person alive. But I also knew that it wasn't easy to make your name known enough in the art industry in order to make a living out of it. I did want to try, however.Which meant that I had to find a job to support myself, while at the same time working on getting my paintings out there.A job? Most well paying jobs require a college degree. With Julianna's payment for the mural and what Sophia paid me for the painting she commissioned, my bank account was no longer suffering.3When I reached the library, I went online, did some research, then some calc

• The CEO and me   E37

  She grinned and propped her chin on her hand, "you're not going to tell me it's too dangerous."I rolled my eyes with a smile, 'now you're just being mean.'She laughed. The waiter arrived with menus and left. Irene wrinkled her nose at her menu."I have no idea what half these dishes are," she said. There was humor in her eyes. I relaxed.'What are you in the mood for?' I signed.She pondered over it for a moment, "I'm craving seafood."I scanned the menu, then signed, 'trust me?'She pretended to think about it with a deep sigh, "Maybe. But youarea good cook, so I'll just have to take my chances.""Alright, smarty pants," I said with a smile. Her sense of humor had gotten more... unrestricted recently. But only with me, and I loved it.Food arrived.

• The CEO and me   E36

  Leo's eyes landed on Mrs. Braxton, he stopped beside me. I was now surrounded by three giant, over protective and angry men. I felt sorry for the hotel staff.8Two guards took a few steps back and stood behind the young employee. The poor guy spoke with a bobbing throat to Jayden, while Mrs. Braxton stood her ground. Her stubborn chin raised, but her features had gone from contemptuous to cordial when Leo and Jayden joined us.The only time I had seen Leo this mad was at Lydia's birthday party, when he punched that man, Matt. And just when I thought things had gotten blown way out of proportions, life proved me wrong. Nathaniel Braxton and his son, Vincent, walked up to us with matching frowns.Of course! Join the party! This is the most dramatic bathroom trip ever...I should've just held it in!47I fumbled with the lotus at my n