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Twentieth Secret
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2024-10-29 19:42:56He didn’t deserve Zach. He had bound him into a legal contract and had put him under all kinds of restrictions. He also had too much baggage in his life for someone happy and optimistic as Zach.
“You’re good at following instructions,” Zach observed. “That always makes for good teamwork.”
Darien smiled gently at him.
“You’re good at giving orders, that helps a lot.”
He carried on eating. Croissants, eggs, cheese and ham shouldn’t go together like that, but they did. Darien had believed from all the fancy food he had grown up eating that he had already experienced a wide range of food. Now he knew that wasn’t true at all.
It was nice to try new things with someone else.
“I was going to ask if you like it- I can see the answer though,” Zach asked and carried on eating.
Darien was already nearly at the end of his second croffle. He tried his salad and beamed at the taste. He could tell why so many people took up cooking as a hobby
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The CEO's Little Secret Twenty First Secret
Of all the things Darien could have offered him in that moment, Zach would have never guessed that Darien would invite him to stay the night and in such a casual manner. He was the first person to be invited around to his house and now he was the first person to be invited to stay the night. Today was certainly full of surprises. “It’s late,” Darien continued. “I have lots of spare bedrooms and neither of us have work tomorrow. It’s easier for you to stay the night.” The billionaire’s logic was hard to refute. There was definitely no shortage of spare bedrooms on the top floor and the next day was Saturday so it wouldn’t matter that he wasn’t at home. It was just very unexpected. “...Okay,” he said hesitantly. “Are you sure it won’t bother you?” “It certainly won’t,” Darien assured him. “All the spare bedrooms have ensuites and I’m sure there’s amenities in them. I can lend you pyjamas if there’s none in the wardrobe.” Zach was more in
The CEO's Little Secret Twenty Second Secret
The time for Zach to leave came all too soon for Darien. He had thoroughly enjoyed his time with Zach and wanted him to stay even longer.“I’ll drive you back,” he said. “I’ll take one of my discreet cars.”“As long as it doesn’t inconvenience you,” Zach replied.Darien assured him that it wasn’t going to inconvenience him in the slightest and drove him back in his most average car. As he had chosen an inconspicuous car he was able to drop Zach right in front of his apartment block.“Thank you for putting up with me for so long and letting me mess up your kitchen,” Zach said. “Let me know when you next want to meet. Bye.”“I will and you really didn’t bother me,” Darien said.Zach smiled and closed the car door before turning away to walk towards the building. Darien felt a wave of sadness as he watched Zach walk away from him. He didn&rsquo
The CEO's Little Secret Twenty Third Secret
Zach stood with his friends outside the venue that was being used for the masked ball and shivered. It was a cold night and he wasn’t dressed for it. Emilia patted his back comfortingly. “We’re nearly at the front of the queue. Have you got your ID handy?” That was Emilia all over. She was always the organised student in their group and probably the most caring. Zach readjusted his mask on his face so it was comfortable and took his ID out of his pocket. As it was an informal ball he had skipped wearing a tie, but was wearing black trousers and a tucked in white shirt. It was the dress code that a lot of other male guests had adopted by the look of the other groups in the queue. “I’ve got it handy,” he assured her. “I’m not going to lose it.” His best friend gave him a knowing look. “Just let her mother you,” Tom stage whispered. “She enjoys it. She’ll ask about everyone’s ticket in a few seconds.” Emilia pinched his side and Z
The CEO's Little Secret Twenty Fourth Secret
Zach walked to the kitchen the following morning feeling more refreshed. He really had gotten over the masked ball incident. It had always been at the back of his mind for the past two years so he was glad to realise that he was finally over that moment from his past.“You’re happy,” Emilia commented as she trudged in behind him. “Work called so I had to pull an all-nighter and I still have to go in this morning.”Zach hadn’t noticed Emilia come in late as he had slept very heavily. He was feeling guilty about that now.“What did they want you to do?” he asked with concern. “Is it going to be a regular thing?”Emilia ruffled her hair and yawned.“Staking out some celebrity to get photos of him meeting with his girlfriend. My supervisor advised me to buy some thermal clothes so I’m getting the impression that it is going to be a regular thing.”Zach had previously c
The CEO's Little Secret Twenty Fifth Secret
Darien realised he had overstepped Zach’s boundaries when he saw the look of confusion on his face.He had spoken before his logical side could stop him. The intern looked undeniably adorable in the frilly apron with his round cheeks and slightly flushed cheeks.“I just haven’t seen a man in a frilly apron before,” he said quickly.Zach looked down at his pink apron with a sigh.“It’s my mother’s spare one. I didn’t have one to take with me so she gave me this one. I only wear it when I think something I’m cooking is going to splash on me.”Darien could tell that Zach was feeling embarrassed now so he sat down at the table. Zach turned back to the stove and Darien asked something that he had never asked before.“Is there anything I can do to help with the cooking?”Zach didn’t find the question strange and simply pointed at the chopping board. There was a kn
The CEO's Little Secret Twenty Sixth Secret
Darien remembered all too late that he had taken his jacket off to wash the dishes and it was on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. His cap was around the entryway somewhere. The biggest offender had to be his shoes by the door. It didn’t take Zach’s flatmate long to notice. “You’ve got someone over,” she said. “Are they someone you can introduce to me?” The living room was the next room after the kitchen and Darien knew he didn’t have much time as her footsteps approached. Zach pulled him downwards and Darien ended up with his face in Zach’s lap as Emilia walked into the living room. “Oh!” she said when she walked around the sofa. “I didn’t realise you were doing something like this. Did you want me out of the apartment?” Darien realised all too late that his face was pretty much on Zach’s crotch. His flatmate likely thought they were up to something raunchy. He held his breath and didn’t move an inch. He didn’t want to be recogni
The CEO's Little Secret Twenty Seventh Secret
Zach was deep into a story about a dystopian future with the female lead running a resistance movement against the male lead’s totalitarian government when his phone buzzed in his pocket.Technically he was not supposed to be using his phone in the office during work hours as he was an intern, but he slid it out just to see who was texting him during work hours.Much to his surprise, it was Darien. The text was simple.I looked up about ramen. Inviting someone to your place for ramen is shorthand for sex.There was a collection of emoticons at the end and Zach slid his phone back into his pocket with a quiet sigh of frustration. Darien definitely liked teasing him. To text him during work hours meant that Darien had been very keen to tease him.He would have to tell him off. Recently he had been feeling like their relationship was now more even and Darien was more on his level. Before he had been feeling intimidated by his power and
The CEO's Little Secret Twenty Eighth Secret
Darien stopped behind a line of cars at the red light and deemed it safe to take his eyes off the road momentarily. He glanced over at Zach.He was special to Zach?There was no chance the intern meant it romantically. He hadn’t detected any feelings of love on Zach’s side.“In what way?” he asked in the most unbothered tone he could muster.“It’s a little complicated to explain. Most people on my university course vowed to stay in touch after graduation, but everyone is just so busy with their jobs. My best friend is in Germany doing a Master’s degree and doesn’t text me much. Besides Emilia and the other editors, you’re the person I spend a lot of time with. That makes you special.”Of course that was it. Zach had discovered the sad reality of growing up, it was impossible to stay in touch with former acquaintances once joining the workforce. Darien hadn’t been too sad to lose his
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The CEO's Little Secret Author's Note
Hello, This story has come to an end now. I just wanted to thank every reader who has supported this story over the past few months. My intention with this story was to create a CEO story that BxB story readers can enjoy as the genre is normally dominated with straight stories. I will miss writing this story as I had fun creating all the different characters. I am planning to enter the 'A Touch of Rainbow' contest at some point so you will all see me sometime soon. I am very excited for the contest. Thank you again for all the support. Cassandra Kim
The CEO's Little Secret Final Secret
1 year later:“What did you think of my latest chapter?” Darien asked. “From an editor's perspective, not as my boyfriend.”Zach glanced at his boyfriend with a critical eye. He still couldn’t quite believe that his first client as a freelance editor was Damien Black.“I had to make a lot of edits, you changed character perspectives too frequently. It wasn’t a consistently written chapter.”Darien listened to his criticism with a pout and then his pout became a cheeky smirk. His boyfriend was always keen to flirt with him no matter how formal the setting was.“What did you think as my boyfriend?”“I have the same opinion,” Zach replied with the same stern tone.His boyfriend looked disappointed and Zach didn’t bother trying to placate him. Darien always bounced back from criticism about his writing. Zach checked his watch. He had an appointm
The CEO's Little Secret Fifty Ninth Secret
The weekend went too fast for Zach’s liking. It felt like two days with Darien to himself had flashed by at an impossibly fast speed.He rolled over in bed and turned off his phone alarm. He was still at Darien’s house and they were getting up early so they could get to the office without being seen together by anyone.Darien groaned next to him.“Is it time to go to work already?” he asked sleepily.Zach pulled back the bedcovers with a yawn. He had his work clothes on hand, but he did need a shower before going to work.“It is time to get up for work,” he corrected. “You’re making breakfast, I’m going in the shower.”“That’s fair,” Darien agreed and got out of bed. “I’ll see you downstairs.”Zach had a quick shower and dried his hair using the hairdryer in Darien’s personal bathroom. He hadn’t used the spare room since the nig
The CEO's Little Secret Fifty Eighth Secret
“I am ready for our date,” Zach said. “Did you give the reporters the slip?”He got into the passenger seat as he spoke and Darien did his seatbelt for him.“I got my PA to drive the car here and came down here a few minutes before you,” Darien explained. “I sent all the reporters away earlier. Anyone still here is just very persistent.”Zach took a careful look at him. Darien didn’t look tense at all. In fact he looked quite happy and free. It was good to see the change. It had occurred to him that Darien might have second thoughts about coming out publicly after the press attention.“Has all the coverage from the media been positive?” Zach asked.Darien grinned at him.“Only one tabloid used homophobic slurs- there’s already some legal action going there. The reaction has been good overall. I think I might have broken a lot of hearts in the process though.”
The CEO's Little Secret Fifty Seventh Secret
Darien was caught off guard by the question. Since Zach had admitted to being in love with him, his desire to come out as a gay man had been forgotten.As it stood, he wouldn’t be able to take Zach to many places on a date out of fear of being recognised. That wasn’t fair to Zach and he didn’t want to be like that either.He wanted to come out.He waited for the feelings of panic and fear over admitting to being gay to appear and they didn’t.Darien realised he had completely changed now.Since meeting Zach and falling in love with him, he had lost his fear of public opinion. He was content to come out and be honest.“I feel like I can,” Darien told him.Zach’s face lit up with excitement and he pulled him into a hug.“That’s really good, Darien,” he said. “I fulfilled my end of the contract without knowing it.”Knowing that people were going to judg
The CEO's Little Secret Fifty Sixth Secret
Zach was very reluctant to leave Darien in the evening, but he knew he couldn’t call in sick for another day. Darien dropped him off outside his building after a long kiss. Zach entered his apartment building and hesitated at the stairs. He did like to stay fit by taking the stairs, he had just done too much physical exertion to manage all those stairs. He elected to take the lift up to his floor instead. Emilia was sitting at the kitchen table when he walked in and he tried not to act like his whole body was sore from having sex with Darien. “Did you call in sick to work?” she asked suspiciously. “We did,” he admitted. He had already eaten dinner with Darien. The billionaire had surprised him by ordering a Chinese takeaway and they had eaten it in the dining room, the plastic containers and cheap disposable chopsticks contrasting with the fancy table and chandelier. Emilia snorted and took a sip of her coffee. “I’m glad that t
The CEO's Little Secret Fifty Fifth Secret
Zach was very quick to agree to the date request.“Of course I’ll go on a date with you. Isn’t that what we've been doing unofficially anyway?”“I want to go on a date with you as your boyfriend,” Darien pointed out. “That’s different.”Zach realised he was correct. They had gone to places first as two people in a business relationship, then as friends and best friends. Going somewhere as boyfriends was going to be different.“When did you want to go on a date?” he asked.Darien looked over at the clock on the wall and turned back to smile at him.“There’s no time like the present. Let’s make use of our ‘sick’ day. I don’t think I can wait until the weekend and I’ll need to send you home at some point today so you can get to work tomorrow.”Zach didn’t have any reason to disagree with that idea. He didn’t want
The CEO's Little Secret Fifty Fourth Secret
It had certainly been a rollercoaster of a day. Zach had thought Adam’s date request had been the peak and then he had thought that confessing his love to Darien would be the peak. Instead the peak was an attempted acid attack from Darien’s most psychotic ex-girlfriend. Darien drove the car at a steady speed and kept glancing at him. Zach still didn’t feel like speaking. Giving his statement to the police officers at the scene had taken most of his energy. He was probably in some state of shock as well. One moment he had been on his way to confess his love to Darien, the next he was being shoved to the ground by Darien to avoid an acid attack. He had a lot of questions for the billionaire, but he was too tired to start that conversation. His eyes closed and the next thing he knew he was being shaken awake by Darien. “Come on, Zach,” Darien said softly. “I don’t have the strength to carry you up the steps so you are going to have to walk yourse
The CEO's Little Secret Fifty Third Secret
Zach stared at Adam in surprise. Despite Meghan’s regular teasing comments, he had never expected to receive a confession from Adam.Another part of his mind noted that he had received two confessions in the past three days. He was becoming popular.How should he respond to this one?Unlike Darien, Adam was just asking him on a date. He wasn’t confessing his love. Zach made up his mind very quickly.“I only see you as a friend,” he said gently. “I don’t think it would work out between us.”He felt no feelings of love towards Adam. The editor was just a very friendly co-worker who was very attentive to him.Adam looked away for a moment and Zach didn’t know what to do. He didn’t like to hurt anyone’s feelings, but it wouldn’t be fair to get Adam’s hopes up by going on a date with him. He would only be leading him on.“I accept your answer,” Adam replied
