The CEO's Entanglement

Chapter 2 - Chloe LeClaire

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Six Months Earlier

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Shiloh

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I calmly inhale, taking in the plush furnishings and the soothing scent of lavender as I step into the lobby of the luxurious spa with my best friends, Jossie and Olivia. A group of beautiful women wearing elegant spa uniforms with champagne flutes in their hands welcome us.

“We’re delighted to have you here,” the lady says with a smile before asking for our names and reservation details. I step forward and hand over the details, feeling a flutter of excitement in my stomach.

I’ve been looking forward to this with my best friends for weeks; we’ve all been. After all, we only come here once a year, and it’s not like we can afford to come on our own. All of us have been so busy with exams that we haven’t had time to get together and catch up.

While the ladies verify our information, we chat excitedly about the treatments I have chosen before we are led to the private room. We try something new every time.

The spa date is courtesy of Mrs. Jacqueline Steel, my mom’s boss. It’s my 19th birthday, and she always does something special for me on my birthday. The day always begins with a spa day, then a birthday party, and finally a weekend getaway.

Last year we went to the Maldives, and I took my friends with me that time too; I take them everywhere if I can and it’s always different destinations every time. Mrs. Steel went with us; she always does, and my mother was invited along, but she made up an excuse and politely declined.

No matter how much I begged her to come with us, she wouldn’t change her mind and for the life of me, I didn’t understand. I would never turn away an all-expenses-paid trip to go lie in the sun by the beach the whole day, especially working as hard as she does.

It was also my first grown-up vacation as I was turning eighteen. We even went clubbing, which is something I couldn’t do before. I don’t think Mrs. Steel is taking us anywhere this year, though, because normally I would know already. I know money is not an issue, so she must be busy or something.

As we settle into our plush chairs and sip on our champagne, the spa attendant informs us about a new treatment that is included in our package, and we exchange glances, intrigued by the idea of the Diamond Glow Facial. We have no idea what it is, and Jossie asks, which the lady explains. After we agree to try it, she leaves the room so we can prepare for our treatment.

“Oh, this place is nice, you guys,” Olivia gushes over our surroundings, beaming in excitement, and she’s right. There’s always some feature added or something new every time we come. “You have to be the luckiest girl I know. My mother must come work for the Steels,” she adds, causing Jossie and me to chuckle. She is right.

My mother and I moved into the Steel household when I was four years old after she secured a job as the house manager. The drivers and everyone else could live where they wanted, but everyone who worked inside the house stayed on the premises. Mrs. Steel wanted it that way. So, my mother and I lived in the servants’ quarters, which we shared with other staff.

But when it was time for me to start school, the Steels took me in. They gave me a room inside and put me in the same school their child went to. They paid for all my expenses as if I were their own child, and nothing has changed. I’m in my second year of university now and they continue to make sure I have everything I need. Mom always says she doesn’t know how she could ever thank them for all they’ve done and continue to do for us, and I feel the same.

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Soft music fills the room as the masseuses return. They begin our treatments, and I feel myself slipping into a state of complete relaxation as the massage therapist works my muscles. But then my phone that I forgot to turn off rings, and the masseuse hands it over to me, and I thank her.

I like to leave my phone off when I’m here and just fully commit to the moment. A smile stretches across my face, seeing who it is; however, it doesn’t last long the moment I read the text. Something came up and he won’t be able to fly down this weekend. I sigh disappointedly, causing Olivia to lift her head and ask me what is wrong. “Kyler is not coming,” I mutter, casting the phone aside, suddenly uninterested in the massage.

Kyler Steel is Mr. and Mrs. Steel’s son. Being the only child, we did everything together, from going to school to playing sports. He is two years older than me, and I was always paired up with him in activities. He and I became inseparable, and I was so devastated when he had to go finish his studies overseas that I almost failed that term.

I missed him so much that my mother noticed and worried that I was sick, even though we spent hours on the phone every day talking about everything and anything. Kyler was only supposed to come home during the summer holidays, but when I told him how miserable I was without him; he promised he would come home at least once a month, and for the past two years he has done so, except this month it seems.

He was my only friend, as I didn’t know Jossie and Olivia then. I only became friends with them after he left, but even though we instantly hit it off, they couldn’t fill the void he left.

We still talk on the phone for hours until we can barely keep our eyes open every night, and they think I’m in love with him, but that’s not true. I don’t see him that way. He’s never missed my birthday and I’m heartbroken; his return was the other thing I was looking forward to, and he knows it too. That’s why he doesn’t even have the guts to call me. This day is ruined.

I lay my head down and try to push the sad thoughts away even though I know I’m already going to fail and just then, Jossie gets up and heads out of the room, saying she has to use the ladies. Olivia tells me she’s sorry Kyler’s not coming, and I mumble a reply, reaching for the flute again and gulping the contents down. It’s my birthday; I have to try harder than this. I owe it to my friends.

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Chloe

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“Oh, my God! Where have you been?” Isa rushes over to me as I walk through the door. I open my mouth to respond, but she doesn’t let me and starts going on about how Aunt Gabby called, saying she couldn’t get through to my phone and suggesting we meet at my father’s. I tell her I ran into Jacqueline Steel, and her eyes widen as that finally shuts her up.

“She saw you?” she asks, and I nod. I was waiting for Lane after he had just sent me a text saying he was finishing up, but just as I finished reading the text, I heard a voice speak behind me, and when I turned around, it was none other than Jacqueline Steel.

“And then?” Isa asks, plopping onto the sofa and patting the spot next to her. I guess time doesn’t matter anymore.

“I thought we were running late.” I remind her, placing my purse on the small glass table, but not sitting down before telling her what happened. “Mrs. Steel asked me what I was doing there, and I tried to think of something to say but couldn’t until I looked up across from us and saw her son’s personalized license plate. I said I was visiting Kyler and girl, it was the most awkward encounter I’ve ever had.

I haven't seen Kyler since he was five and I know she knows who her son’s friends are. But I didn’t know what else to say. Luckily, she didn’t question me about it and just told me that Kyler was overseas. When she said that, I didn’t know what to say or do, but she quickly spoke again and asked how my father was doing. We conversed about my family and she invited me to the birthday party happening at her home later on. It's Shannon or someone along those line's birthday.

She said Kyler would arrive later too for the birthday party, but I told her I had something already planned this evening and that I would probably pop by the next day.” I tell Isa, who is looking at me wide-eyed, before asking if she is ready to go. I will not take long to get dressed.

She says she is, adding that my dress is on the bed, and I thank her for getting it and head to the room to get ready. She speaks as I walk away, giggling as she asks what I would have said to Kyler if he were there, and I tell her I would have probably weirded him out. The poor guy would have been so confused.

After slipping out of my shoes, I walk to the mirror first to check if I can salvage my hairstyle, and I'm glad I can since I don't have time to start over. But I catch something out of the corner of my eye just as I turn to walk away.

It’s a small gift bag, wrapped in silver and tied with a pale pink ribbon. I feel a rush of anticipation as I walk closer to inspect the package, but just then, a voice speaks, and I look toward the door to find Isa standing there with a vase of fresh roses in it.

“These came,” she says, and I chuckle, shaking my head at how she put them in water for me. “What? It’s not like you were going to turn them back,” she adds, and my smile widens as I respond that she’s right. I reach for the gift bag as she stops next to me, and a gasp escapes her lips.

Inside, nestled in a bed of tissue paper, is a beautiful set of diamond earrings and a matching necklace. They sparkle in the light, casting a rainbow of colors across the room and my heart swells with love as I grab the note that accompanies the jewelry, knowing who it’s from. In the note, he tells me how proud he is of me and how much he admires my strength and determination. He congratulates me on my special day and expresses his love and support for me.

I place the earrings next to my ears and ask Isa, who is still complimenting them if they will go well with my dress since they have a blue sparkle, and my dress is also blue. She replies they will be perfect, and my smile grows bigger as I put them down. However, the smile doesn’t last long when I hear the next words out of her mouth.

“I wish he wasn’t married,” she says, before quickly apologizing and saying she didn’t mean to upset me. But I cut her off, telling her there’s no need. She isn’t lying. Lane Steel is married, and as much as I wish he wasn’t, it doesn’t change the fact that he is.

I put the jewelry down, and my eyes trail to the marks on my neck from our steamy session in the car and my eyes droop close as the memories come flooding back, coaxing a moan from my lips. I recall his hands all over my body, exploring my curves, while his lips on my neck littered my whole body with goosebumps. But just then, Jacqueline’s voice echoes in my head, snapping me out of the daze and reminding me of the bitter reality.

Lane and I have been seeing each other for almost two years, and every day it grows more complicated as I fall more in love with him with each passing second. It wasn’t supposed to happen, and sometimes I still wake up and ask myself how I got here.

Three years ago, my father got into a terrible accident that left him bedridden. It was thought that he would never recover, so he gave Fabrice, my brother the reins and put him in charge of our family business. I had just started my company in France, where I lived with my aunt.

My mother died when I was nine years old, and my father wasn’t coping after her death, so my aunt took care of me. Months later, I heard he was already seeing someone and had another child two years younger than me.

It soon became apparent that he was seeing the person even when my mother was alive, and as I grew, I came to resent him for it. That made me keep my distance from him and refuse his visits. He never stopped trying to mend our relationship, and it would be ten years later that I finally decided to give him a chance and hear his explanation.

Before my mother died, she had been sick with a terminal illness for four years. My father admitted to the affair and told me that my mother knew about it—that she set him up with the woman. I didn’t understand it, so I didn’t believe it, and I felt like he was making excuses and using my mother’s name. I cut things off with him again. Like before, he kept reaching out and trying, but I didn’t want to hear it until one evening, when a call that shook me to my core came through, saying he had been in a terrible accident.

Suddenly, all that anger vanished, and I blamed myself for not giving him a chance. What had happened, happened, and it would never change the fact that I loved him and needed him as my father. I went back home, and we worked things out. Isabella and I were business partners, and I left her in charge of our business and moved to care for my father.

He put my half-brother in charge of everything, and for a while, it seemed he was doing okay until it came out that he was just making a mess of things. My father had spent years grooming him, but he still knew nothing. All he understood was flashing money and f*****g women.

At first, I tried to keep the news of what he was doing a secret from my father because I didn’t want him to worry about it on top of everything he was already going through.

I reached out to my aunt and uncle for help, as well as to Lane Steel, who was my father’s partner. We worked together and cleaned up the messes he made, but because he still held the power, he kept messing things up. Eventually, the truth came to my father. Lane told him, and he put me in charge. My father listened to him, so I took over. From there, the businesses thrived, and tonight my father will name his successor. My brother left after everything that happened, and we have never heard from or seen him since then.

My father also made a full recovery and works again. When he called for this dinner, he said nothing about naming his successor, but Lane told me and I have never been so happy. Ever since I returned, I have put my blood and sweat into this business. It was my mother’s inheritance that started this whole thing, and this is her legacy. It was wrong of me to just forsake everything because I was angry at my father, and I’m glad I came to my senses when the accident happened and returned. My place is here.

This business is also what brought Lane Steel and me together. After my father put me in charge, I realized I wanted to be his successor, as I deserved to be. However, I still felt threatened by my brother. I saw how my father’s eyes still lit up at the mention of his name, even after he had failed him. The proud look never left his eyes when he thought of him.

That made me paranoid, and I confessed to Lane about it. Lane assured me he would back me up, and his support meant everything. He wasn’t just friends with my father; he was his partner, which meant he had a say in the business decisions my father took. I believed he would fight for me, but it was still not enough. I felt like I needed to have a hold on him—something that would motivate him to push even harder, so I seduced him. He tried to resist, but I didn’t let up, and he eventually gave in. It started as just s*x, but it quickly became something more, the more I got to know him and about his miserable marriage.

Lane’s marriage to Jacqueline was a product of circumstance rather than love. At the beginning of their relationship, Jacqueline was merely looking for entertainment and never imagined that it would lead to marriage. However, an unexpected pregnancy and pressure from her family pushed her to marry Lane, even though she had no deep affection for him and was way above his league.

Lane came from an ordinary family. He was not rich. The only reason he was at the party where he met her was because it was his birthday and his boss’s son took him to the party as a gift.

Jacqueline, on the other hand, comes from an incredibly influential family—a family that ended up funding her and her husband's business so their daughter wouldn’t suffer. They are old money like my mother's family. This created an imbalance in their power dynamics. Jacqueline, as the primary breadwinner, had more control over their finances, and this caused considerable strain on their marriage.

Her behavior towards her husband is one of superiority and disdain, clarifying that she resents being forced into the marriage. She constantly reminds him that her family’s money paid for everything, which adds to the tension between them. This emotional distance has created a rift in their marriage, and it’s made Lane miserable. He told me they were just living under the same roof, but nothing was tying them together except for their son.

The day he told me all of this, I asked him why he stayed in the marriage. He replied he did it for his son, but now he is grown. I told him he would understand if he left, and surely he wanted his father to be happy. Kyler is twenty-one, and he understands how love and relationships work now. Lane said he hadn’t thought about that.

However, he has since informed me he is going to leave Jacqueline, and that day can’t come soon enough. I am tired of hiding. Today, we almost got caught. If Jacqueline had arrived just a few minutes later, she would have found us together, and I would have been a home wrecker, which is something I don’t want to be.

“Perfect,” I mutter, giving myself a once-over before heading out of the room. I’ve spent years dreaming of this day—the day I become the CEO of LeClaire Industries and hopefully soon Mrs. Steel.