CEO’s Seduction Trap

After leaving Leila’s office, Joshua felt a cold sweat forming on his forehead. Nervously, he made a phone call.

“It seems like Leila has found out something.”

“Did she talk to you?”

Joshua recounted his conversation with Leila word for word.

After finishing, Joshua worried about becoming a scapegoat like his last superior, trying to please, “I have a feeling this Leila is trouble…”

“You don’t need to panic. Even if she finds something, your last superior already took the blame. It won’t fall on you.”

Joshua breathed a sigh of relief but couldn’t force a smile, “Understood.”

“Keep me updated on anything. And remember, don’t say anything you shouldn’t.”

“Got it.”

On the other end, after Joshua left, Leila picked up her phone and sent Mason a message: [Visiting Omar in the hospital after work tonight?]

Mason replied, [That harsh?]

Leila: [I want to get to know him better.]

Mason: [Alright.]

Upon receiving Mason’s message, Leila paused briefly before sending another: [I’m planning to deal with Joshua.]

Mason: [He’s just a pawn, keeping him around is useless.]

Leila: [Even pawns sometimes have unexpected major uses.]

Mason: [??]

Leila: [Didn’t you tell me to play big?]

Seeing Leila’s message, Mason was in a meeting. He absentmindedly tapped his lips with his fingers, a smile creeping onto his face as he replied: “Do whatever you want.”

Later that afternoon, Leila met Mr. Mickle in a reserved restaurant booth.

Upon seeing Leila, Mr. Mickle warmly approached and shook her hand, then explained his current difficulties.

“Miss Patel, honestly, I’m truly sorry about this outstanding debt.”

“I’ve collaborated with the Ramirez Group for many years without ever encountering this situation before. This is truly unexpected.”

“Mr. Mickle, I understand your situation. In business, there are always ups and downs, financial constraints are normal.”

Hearing Leila’s understanding, Mr. Mickle’s smile deepened slightly, thinking she was quite reasonable.

Leila smiled, looking at him sincerely. “Mr. Mickle, I heard recently that you bought a villa worth eight hundred million in full payment?”

Mr. Mickle’s smile froze. “Miss Patel, what do you mean by that?”

Leila calmly pulled out a document from her bag and handed it to him.

“Coincidentally, I have a friend in banking. Before coming here, I checked for you. With your credit, mortgaging this villa for twenty million is completely feasible.”

Mr. Mickle stared dumbfounded at the bank loan application Leila placed in front of him.

Leila continued with a straightforward expression, seemingly genuinely concerned for him. “Mr. Mickle, take a look if there’s anything you don’t understand. Feel free to ask me. As you’ve said, your collaboration with our company has been longstanding. A debt like this shouldn’t tarnish your reputation.”

“This mortgage is well-consulted in advance-low interest, long repayment period. If your finances improve someday, early repayment won’t incur penalties.”

Leila’s smile was confident and persuasive.

Mr. Mickle’s face turned pale. “Miss Patel, are you joking with me?”

Leila’s expression remained serious. “Not at all.”

With that, she placed a pen beside the loan application, pushing it closer to him.

“Mr. Mickle, take your time to review. I’ll start ordering our food.”

Leila ordered dishes that suited Mr. Mickle’s taste perfectly. Through the first three dishes, Mr. Mickle didn’t catch on, but by the fourth, he couldn’t help but scrutinize her anew.

With eight courses between them, it seemed a bit extravagant and wasteful, but compared to twenty million, it hardly seemed worth mentioning.

As the waiter took the menu away, Mr. Mickle leaned back in his chair, giving Leila a knowing look.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

“Miss Patel, you came prepared today,” Mr. Mickle said, cutting to the chase.

Leila didn’t beat around the bush. She smiled lightly and replied, “Mr. Mickle, I know it was bold of me to reach out to you. I hope you’re not upset.”

Mr. Mickle smiled knowingly and waited for her next move.

“If I had any other way, I wouldn’t dare trouble a valued client like you. Honestly, when it comes to new management, it’s been all uphill for me.”

Mr. Mickle understood Leila’s predicament .

In the beginning, her predecessor left behind quite a mess, and everyone in their circle knew it.

Mr. Mickle was shrewd; he listened quietly, occasionally nodding with a hint of a smile, but he didn’t give in easily.

Leila remained patient. She stood up, raised her glass to Mr. Mickle, and said, “Mr. Mickle, having you help me tackle such a big problem on our first meeting, I don’t know what to say except thank you.”

“Miss Patel, I haven’t agreed to anything yet,” Mr. Mickle replied.

“Mr. Mickle, you’re smart. Working together can be mutually beneficial. Think about it. In the past six months, how much business have you lost with The Ramirez Group for this twenty million?”

Her words began to shake Mr. Mickle’s resolve.

“Mr. Mickle, if you keep resisting, I’ll have to involve legal action to recover the debt. And as long as I’m the project manager at the Ramirez Group, I won’t cooperate with you again. It’s not because of anything else, but I really don’t have the energy to chase you for payments every day.”

Mr. Mickle listened, visibly moved.

After a moment, Leila took the wine bottle and poured herself a glass.

Seeing this, Mr. Mickle picked up his own glass and toasted her calmly. “Miss Patel, here’s to a prosperous partnership in the future.”

Leila looked down and met his gaze, her smile deepening. “A prosperous partnership.”

Business partnerships have always been about weighing the pros and cons. There are no permanent friends or permanent enemies.

Initially, Mr. Mickle worked with the former project manager for a reason: it was profitable. Now that the other party had left, he understood that delaying wouldn’t solve anything. Even if he knew there were complex relationships involved behind the scenes, he wasn’t foolish. His collaboration with the Ramirez Group was just business; there was no need to risk everything to protect someone else’s interests.

After dinner, Mr. Mickle arranged for the finance department to transfer the 20 million.

Back at the office, Leila was greeted by Joshua, who hurried over.

“Miss Patel,” Joshua began, catching her as she walked towards her office.

Having had quite a bit to drink at lunch, but not overly intoxicated, Leila rubbed her temples. “What is it?” she asked, continuing into her office.

Joshua followed, “The twenty million from Mr. Mickle…”

“It’s already been transferred,” Leila interrupted.

Hearing this, Joshua feigned relief. “That’s good. Didn’t expect it to go so smoothly.”

Leila pushed open her office door, ignoring Joshua as she headed to the water cooler. “Yes.”

Pouring herself a glass of cold water, Leila took a sip, turned to Joshua. “Is there anything else?”

Caught by Leila’s direct gaze, Joshua seemed uneasy. “Miss Patel, I…”

Leila walked back to her desk with the water cup in hand, sat down, and said, “If there’s something, just say it. I don’t like beating around the bush.”

Taking a deep breath, Joshua pulled out a card from his pocket and placed it on Leila’s desk.

Seeing this, Leila raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

Joshua’s face flushed red. “Miss Patel, this is difficult to admit, but before you joined, I received a gift card from Mr. Mickle.”

Leila joked, “Bribery?”

“No, absolutely not,” Joshua hurriedly explained. “It just happened to coincide with a holiday, and then Mr. Mickle…”

“Since it’s not bribery, there’s no need to be so nervous,” Leila remarked.

With that, she pushed the gift card back towards Joshua.

Looking at the pushed-back gift card, Joshua hesitated whether to take it or not.

Leila smiled as if she hadn’t been concerned about the matter. “If there’s nothing else, go back to work. This trivial matter couldn’t possibly have caused Mr. Mickle to delay returning the twenty million.”

“Yes, of course,” Joshua replied.

Seeing that Leila had no further intention of discussing the matter, Joshua turned and left.

Leila leaned forward and tapped the desk with her fingers. “Joshua, the gift card.”

Joshua turned back and picked up the gift card. “Thank you, Miss Patel.”

Leila watched him with a smile but said nothing.

After leaving Leila’s office, Joshua took out his phone and sent a message to an unlisted number: [She’s managed to recover the twenty million from Mr. Mickle. Doesn’t seem like she suspects me.]

The message was sent, but there was no immediate reply.

After about half a minute, the response came: [I told you earlier, she wouldn’t suspect you.]

Meanwhile, as Joshua left, Leila’s lips curled into a mocking smile. A mere gift card was supposed to dispel her previous suspicions about his irrational behavior? Did they really think she was naive?