Ms. CEO

Chapter 20

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*Not Edited*

"So, what's going on?" Mr. Lombardi asked as we sat down on the couch with a bowl of Chinese takeout in our hands. I nibbled on my food, taking my time so I didn't have to explain everything to him.

It was quiet for a moment. The only sounds you could hear were our munching and the news in the background. I just wished it would stay like that for a while; just peace and quiet.

"Hey," he said, reaching over to grab my hand. "You can tell me anything Alessia." He stared at me with his spellbinding eyes. His blue eyes looked even more brighter tonight.

I was entranced with his eyes, his face, and even his smell. He smelled musky and minty. It was almost breathtaking.

"Alessia?" I mentally shook my head and blinked rapidly.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?" He asked and chuckled as if he knew that he was the reason why I was distracted.

"I'm fine," I said and rolled my eyes. I got up from the couch to put my bowl in the sink. He got up as well and followed me to the kitchen.

"So," he trailed off and gently pushed me away from the sink, grabbed my bowl, and started washing it. "What happened?"

I knew I wasn't going to run away forever. I just wished we could talk about something else. Why couldn't we talk about dogs or music or something? I sighed and leaned against the counter.

"Rose is having a hard time," I whispered. "I was asked to come in to the principal's office because they needed to talk to me. Mrs. Fields told me that Rose wasn't meeting the criteria and that she wasn't doing so good."

I looked down at my hands, ashamed at what was coming next.

"And it's all because of me," I inaudibly said, but since it was quite and it was just him and I, I knew he heard me.

He shut off the sink and spun around to look at me.

"What do you mean it's your fault?" He wiped his hands with a washcloth and lead me back to the couch. We both sat down, our mood going from already bad to worse.

"I put work before her." I shook my head, feeling ridiculous and stupid. "Because of me, Rose isn't happy."

I covered my face with my hands, not wanting him to look at my weakened state. I groaned out loud. I was annoyed with myself and my choices. Instead of crying, I wanted to bang my head against a wall. Repeatedly,

"Hey, hey," Mr. Lombardi whispered, pulling my hands away from my face. "It's okay."

"Easy for you to say," I grumbled, looking at him with an annoyed face. "You're not the one who did something stupid."

He lightly snickered and shook his head. "I've done plenty of stupid mistakes in my life, thank you."

He pulled me towards him and laid my head on his shoulder. He stroked my hair, making me feel a bit relaxed. He hummed a soothing tune and I felt like I was slowly falling asleep. I felt like a child again, being rocked to sleep.

We sat there for a while, looking at the television, not saying a word. It was nice, and I felt like I could stay there forever.

"Did you ever finish organizing that charity event you wanted me to help you with?" Out of nowhere he asked, breaking the silence.

I scoffed. "No." I pushed him away playfully, but with a little bit of too much force. "You idiot didn't want to help me."

"Ouch," he said and patted his chest. "That stung."

"It did sting," I said and patted my own chest.

"So, then why didn't you get someone else to help you with it?" He pulled me back towards him.

"I guess I forgot. I've had too much on my plate."

"Right. I heard you got that deal with the Castworth's."

A couple of months ago, Mr. Fredrick Castworth was selling some of his properties for a huge amount of money, but luckily, we've been family friends forever, I paid a fraction of what he was asking for. My company expanded even bigger, and that gave me a whole load of stuff to do. So far, I'm one of the top most successful entrepreneurs in Forbes magazine.

"It was a lucky shot," I said, shrugging my shoulders. I acted as if it was not big deal, but in reality, it was very big deal. It was hard to imagine someone so well-off would give me a huge part of their company. It was beyond crazy.

"Hell yeah it was," he said a bit too loudly. "I would've never gotten close to that deal." He made a sour look on his face, which made me burst out laughing. He raised his eyebrows and then rolled his eyes.

"You're right about that one." I giggled and patted his shoulder. "It's ok, big guy."

He grumbled incoherently, reminding me of a little boy when he doesn't get the toy he wanted.

"Anyways, I was thinking that I do want to help you with the event."

I looked at him suspiciously. "Why now?"

"I don't know," he said. "I just feel like now is the right time."

I thought about. If I added the charity event to the list of things I already had to do, my brain might explode. I had to check with Julissa to see if we could fit this in to our already tight schedule.

"When would we host it, though?" I needed to triple check my calendar for this.

"I have no idea. Maybe by two to three, we would have everything ready."

I did a bit more of thinking. "I'll have to check in with Julissa though. Things have been crazy lately."

"I know. I can't tell," he said, sending me a crooked smile. I gasped and punched him on the arm. Even if I punched with all my might, I was probably going to end up hurting myself than him.

He chortled and patted my head. "That felt like a pat."

I rolled my eyes. A yawn escaped my mouth. I closed my eyes and laid my head on his shoulder. I thought I wasn't going to fall asleep, but I was wrong. The minute my head landed on his warm touch, I escaped the real world.