The CEO's Proposal || ongoing

chapter twenty five || 25

We haven't talked since what happened, so starting a conversation at this point is definitely going to be awkward.

I clear my throat, attempting to get her attention and she turns her head slightly before fully looking at me in confusion, waiting for me to tell her why I interrupted her peaceful time.

I lick my lips, moistening them and put my hands in my pockets leaning my arm on the side of the wall where the kitchen meets the living room.

"How are you?" I muster up the courage to say.

She cocks an eyebrow at me, "I'm fine. What is this about, Russo?"

I sigh deeply and sit on the couch beside her, causing her to cross her legs underneath and turn to me curiously with her cute little head tilted to the side.

Did I just say cute? Fuck me.

I quickly take in her appearance. She's wearing an off-shoulder bugs bunny shirt paired with some grey loose shorts that have not been tied up. Her hair is tied up in a scruffy bun with all sorts of loose strands everywhere, but she pulls it off beautifully.

I clear my throat once again, pretending like I wasn't just eye-fucking her and remember what I was here for.

"I need you and Rayne to steer clear of a potentially dangerous guy. My guys have found a description that he has blonde hair and green eyes." I say, moving my arm up to the rest on the back of the couch.

Her eyes flutter twice, like she knows of someone like that.

She shakes her head, "Your guys? What, are you some detectives or something?" She laughs it off.

I keep a straight face and look down.

Nailea stop laughing as soon as she sees my expression. "Mierda, you're actually a cop!" She covers her mouth, slapping it with her hand.

I sigh, removing her hands from her mouth. I may as well just come clean.

"I am not a cop, Rivera. I'm part of the mafia. In fact, I'm the leader and Camilo is your bodyguard because there is another mafia coming after yours and Rayne's family." I say in almost a single breath.

Nailea give me a dumbfounded look and does not say anything for a while, which begins to scare me. She's never quiet for this long.

"Nailea," I whisper, faintly touching her arm.

She looks deep in thought, looking down at her shorts and fiddling with her strings.

She sighs deeply and raises her gaze, "Okay." Her shoulders rise and fall, shrugging as she looks back up at me.

My right eyebrow shoots up, confused.

"Okay? I just told you I'm apart of a deadly gang and your life is practically on the line, yet your response is 'okay' ?" I shake my head at her, shocked at her reaction.

She rolls her eyes and sits back against the couch, no longer facing me but the tv instead.

"Russo, it's like you want me to be mad. Anyway, would you be a dear and grab me a popcorn packet from the pantry?" Her brown doe eyes stare straight into mine in a pleasing manner.

I scoff. What a spoiled brat.

"Before you got like... this, I was going to mention last night." I say, sitting upright again so it's easier to leave.

Her playful mood suddenly changes and she shrinks further into the couch. "There's nothing to say, Russo. You were just there and I happened to be horny. Nothing more to it."

Ouch?

Here I thought she enjoyed it.

"It was nothing?" I lean in closer to her, enough to hear her breath hitch. "Then tell me how I managed to make you come 7 times. In one round." I whisper, my own breath fanning across her face.

Nailea goes a bright rose colour, her cheeks tinting by the second. I smirk, and back up again.

She goes completely silent, not talking for a while. Until she looks back at me, "Why do they want to come after me? I understand Rayne, her parents are loaded. But me? I have nothing. Literally nothing." She takes a deep breath, shaking.

Suddenly, all my need to tease her goes away. I feel bad for her, she doesn't know the shit her father had been involved in before he died. I don't intend to burden her with that information any time soon. It would only bring her more unnecessary stress and worry.

I sigh, comforting her by placing my hand on her cheek and softly soothing her smooth face with my thumb, feeling her lean into my touch. I feel a lone tear drop from her eye and I look at her in worry. My hands begin moving on their own before I can even think and I pull her closely into my lap, hugging her tightly but loose enough so she isn't suffocating.

"Let it out, amore." I whisper into her ear, hearing her quiet sobs as she tightens her grip around my neck with her arms.

Never would I have thought it would be like this. Me comforting her at her most vulnerable, even seeing her in this state brings me closer to her emotionally. This fake engagement ends in two months, until I publicly announce our 'breakup'. The rate we're going at now, I'm not sure I really want this to end.

We sit in a comfortable silence, with me playing with the ends of her hair. Fucking hell I've gone soft.

The sudden noise of Nailea's phone ringtone breaks our silence and she jumps slightly, shocked at the noise.

Nailea grabs it off of the coffee table and shakily answers the random number calling her, putting it on speaker for me to hear.

I usher her to talk just as she answers, "Hello?" Her voice trembles as she waits for a reply.

"Nailea Rivera?" The voice on the other end replies.

She nods, "Uh- yes. That's me."

We hear a sigh of relief and the voice speaks again. "Thank god, we tried reaching you before but you must have missed our calls."

Nailea furrows her brows, looking at me in confusion. Who could be calling her?

"Pardon me miss, I am calling from Westwood Hospital. It's about your mother."

I could almost see all the colour leave her face.

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A U T H O R N O T E

I'm in love with these two. I'm trying to strengthen their emotional connection without sounding too cheesy so that I can finish my ending as I plan to, with them having more of a chemistry together.

Let me know if you guys have any tips, and how you felt about this chapter!

See you guys next time

Rue :)