The CEO in Disguise

The sun was already spilling golden light through the windows when Lila slipped into her favorite heels. Her heart was practically dancing in her chest, today was the big day.

Her first day at the new job. She checked her reflection in the mirror one last time, smoothing her skirt, her lips curving into an excited smile.

But as she grabbed her bag and headed toward the door, she froze.

Ryan emerged from his room, adjusting the cufflinks on his perfectly tailored navy suit.

The man looked like he had just stepped out of a fashion magazine, broad shoulders framed by sharp lines, hair combed back neatly, even a faint whiff of expensive cologne trailing after him.

Lila blinked. “Wait, wait, wait, where on earth are you going, dressed like that?”

Ryan glanced up at her with a smug grin, giving a little spin as if he were modeling for her approval. “What? A man can’t dress nicely in his own house?”

She narrowed her eyes, suspicious. “Ryan.”

He straightened his tie dramatically before meeting her gaze. “Well,” he said with mock seriousness, “I can’t let my wife do all the hard work. So, I’ve decided to go job hunting too.”

Lila’s jaw dropped. “Job hunting? You?”

“Yes,” he said, patting his chest like a superhero. “Picture it: me, striding into some office, charming all the interviewers, dazzling them with my brilliance, ”

“...and getting kicked out in five minutes because you’ll probably flirt with the receptionist,” Lila interrupted, laughing.

Ryan clutched his chest as if wounded. “Wow. Zero faith in your husband. None. Nada. Zilch.”

She shook her head, amused despite herself. “You’re unbelievable.”

Ryan leaned closer, lowering his voice with a teasing glint in his eyes. “Unbelievably handsome, you mean.”

Lila rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t stop the smile tugging at her lips. “Good luck with your... heroic job hunt then.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Handsome,” he said, giving her a playful wink before striding out as if he owned the world.

Lila watched him go, shaking her head and muttering to herself, “If he actually comes home with a job, I’ll eat my shoe.”

Lila sat behind her new office desk, hands smoothing the polished surface as though it were made of gold. Her lips curved into a smile she couldn’t quite hold back. Everything felt perfect, the desk, the leather chair, even the little nameplate that read Layla West. It felt like the beginning of something big, a dream unfolding.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the quiet hum of Black Ridge’s lobby shifted in an instant. The staff froze as a man in a perfectly tailored navy blue suit swept through the glass doors, his expression sharp and unreadable.

There was none of his usual playful mischief, none of the teasing charm Lila knew at home, this Ryan West was someone else entirely.

The executives hurried forward, half-surprised, half-panicked. They hadn’t been told the boss would show up today. Still, they bowed their heads and trailed after him as his polished shoes clicked against the marble floor.

“Mr. West,” his right-hand man Patric Kane fell into step beside him, voice low and respectful.

Ryan’s stride never faltered as he pressed toward the private elevator. Without looking back, he asked, “Has my wife settled in nicely?”

Patrick blinked, then smirked slightly. “Oh, you mean Mrs. Layla West? Yes, sir. She resumed today. I gave her the office you requested and increased her salary, just as you instructed. She is now the highest-paid employee in the entire company.”

Ryan’s jaw relaxed a fraction. “Good. There’s something else. Send her a cup of coffee. Tell her it’s a special gift from the boss.”

Patrick raised a brow but nodded smoothly. “Very well, sir.”

At that, Ryan finally allowed the corner of his mouth to twitch upward. A sly, satisfied smile curved his lips as the elevator doors closed in front of him.

He could already picture the look on her face when she found out the truth, that the man she’d been bickering with at home, the man who teased her endlessly, was in fact the one running the empire she had just stepped into.

He chuckled under his breath. That’s going to be fun.

Lila was still adjusting the pens on her new desk when a knock came at the door. A junior assistant walked in, balancing a sleek tray with a porcelain cup and saucer.

“Compliments of the boss,” he announced with a rehearsed bow, setting it down gently before scurrying out.

Lila blinked. “The boss? As in, the boss boss?” She leaned forward like she was inspecting a suspicious package.

On the saucer sat the richest-smelling coffee she had ever seen, steam curling like it was trying to seduce her. She picked it up carefully, half-expecting it to vanish like a dream.

Her heart gave a ridiculous leap. “Oh wow... first day and I’m already on the CEO’s radar? This is either very good… or very, very bad.”

She sipped, and instantly melted.

“Okay, this isn’t just coffee. This is liquid heaven in a cup. If he’s trying to bribe me, it’s working.”

A nervous laugh escaped her lips as she glanced at the door, half-worried a camera crew would pop out yelling she was on some workplace prank show.

Still, she couldn’t stop smiling.

“What’s next? A welcome bouquet of roses? A diamond pen set?” she whispered to herself, shaking her head.

What she didn’t know was that somewhere far above, behind tinted glass walls, Ryan was watching her reaction with the most satisfied grin.

Lila stared at the steaming cup of coffee again, her smile stretching wider until she couldn’t hold it in anymore. Without thinking, she snatched up her phone and dialed Ryan.

The moment he picked up, she started ranting, words spilling like water from a broken tap.

“Ryan, you will not believe this! Guess what? The boss, the mighty, mysterious, all-powerful Black Ridge boss, already noticed me! Me! Can you imagine? He sent me this cup of coffee, and not just any coffee, mind you, this is five-star, heaven-blessed, probably imported from a secret island kind of coffee. I swear my taste buds are singing hymns!”

Ryan chuckled quietly on the other end, but Lila wasn’t finished.

“Oh, and that’s not all. He also sent me a bouquet, roses, lilies, the whole romantic arsenal. And you know what the card said? ‘To the brightest star in Black Ridge.’ Can you imagine? Brightest star!” she squealed, shamelessly throwing in white lies. “Ryan, I’m telling you, if he keeps this up, don’t be shocked if the newspapers start calling me Mrs. Black Ridge very soon.”

Ryan groaned. “Ouch! That hurts. Lila, are you seriously dissing me for your rich boss right now? After all we’ve been through?”

She smirked even though he couldn’t see it. “Hey, watch how you talk to me. I’m not just any girl anymore, I’m practically a celebrity now. An important person, highly sought after!”

“Oh really?” Ryan teased.

“Yes, really! You’re not the only one people drool over, Mr. Too-Handsome-For-His-Own-Good. Just so you know, I’m being coveted by very important men. Men who send flowers, men who send coffee, men who know how to treat a lady.” She paused dramatically. “So if you’re not careful, I might just file for divorce and run off with my prince charming.”

Ryan’s laughter rumbled through the line, warm and deep. “You’re impossible.”

“And you’re jealous,” she shot back proudly, taking another long sip of the coffee.

“Of course I’m jealous,” Ryan shot back, his tone half-serious, half-teasing. “How couldn’t I be, when my wife’s super-rich boss is trying to steal her away from me?”

“I am not your wife, best friend,” Lila retorted, rolling her eyes even though he couldn’t see it. “There’s a difference, okay?”

“Oh, you’re even denying me now? Wow.” His mock gasp came through the line, followed by a low chuckle. “My own wife, disowning me for another man. Cold. Very cold.”

Lila giggled, basking in the silliness of it all, and then deliberately softened her voice, “You’ll live.”

Ryan’s POV

Ryan leaned back in his leather seat inside the private office, a sly smile tugging at his lips. She was playing right into his hands, ranting about coffee and flowers as if she’d won the lottery.

If only she knew.

The thought of Lila boasting about her “mysterious boss” while talking to him, him, was almost too delicious. Every exaggerated lie she added only made his grin wider. The bouquet? Nonexistent. The card? A figment of her imagination. Yet she was so busy bragging that she didn’t notice his silence linger a little too long, didn’t catch the way his laughter carried that edge of truth.

He couldn’t wait for the day she realized that the man sending her gifts, the man she was unknowingly falling for, had been her “best friend” all along.

Patience, he reminded himself. The game had only just begun.

Lila’s POV

Lila twirled in her office chair, her phone still warm in her hand. She replayed Ryan’s mock-jealousy in her head and laughed. Honestly, he was too dramatic sometimes. Best friend, husband, whatever he claimed to be, it was all nonsense.

But she couldn’t deny it felt good. For once, she was the one bragging. For once, she wasn’t the girl watching Ryan get all the attention; she was the one being “noticed,” the one who mattered.

Still, deep down, a small flicker of doubt poked at her. Why did Ryan’s words feel, heavier than a joke? Why did his laughter sound a little too knowing?

Shaking it off, she raised the cup again, inhaling the rich aroma. Coffee or not, flowers or not, she was going to enjoy this attention for as long as it lasted. Maybe, just maybe, she really would become Mrs. Black Ridge one day.

And if that thought made Ryan squirm a little? Well... all the better.

Ryan walked out of the building with the confidence of a king who owned half the city. His car door clicked open, he slipped inside, and just as he adjusted his tie, a message popped up on his phone.

💌 “Ryan, go to the market and get foodstuff on your way. We ran out.”

Ryan’s jaw dropped.

“Seriously? She’s asking me, a CEO worth billions, to go to the local market? Tsk!” He clutched his chest dramatically. “Impossible. Absolutely impossible!”

Ten minutes later, the impossible was happening. Ryan was standing in the middle of the market, in a suit so expensive it could probably buy the entire tomato stall. He had only planned to grab a few tomatoes, but the seller nearly fainted at the sight of him.

“Take more, handsome man! Free! For fine guy like you!” she sang, packing basket after basket into his hands.

Ryan blinked. “Uh, I only needed two...”

Before he knew it, a crowd of women, young, old, married, single, swarmed him, fighting to get his attention.

“Handsome, buy fish here!”

“No, come to my stall, I’ll give you a discount!”

“Leave him! He is my man!”

Hands smeared with tomatoes, seafood, and roasted fish reached out to touch him. Ryan froze in horror, his expensive cologne suffocating under the attack of market aromas.

“Oh God,” he muttered, clutching his phone like a lifeline. He quickly typed with trembling fingers.

💌 “Lila, help. I’m being attacked by aggressive tomato aunties.”

Back at home, Lila rolled her eyes when she saw the message.

“Hmph. Drama king.” She tossed her phone aside and returned to her movie. But after five minutes, she sighed and sat up. What if he’s actually telling the truth?

She groaned. “Ryan, you are so annoying! Can’t do anything properly!”

With her cheeks puffed in anger, she grabbed her bag and stomped out.

Meanwhile, Ryan was still trapped, sandwiched between women and their giggling daughters. He tried to slip away but they pulled him back. Just when he thought his life as a free man was over, he saw her_Lila.

She stood there, arms crossed, cheeks puffed like an angry dumpling, glaring at him. Ryan nearly wept with joy.

“Lila! My savior!”

She stormed forward, grabbed his wrist, and dragged him out like he weighed nothing. The whole market froze, mouths hanging open.

“Who is she?” one woman whispered.

“Wife?” another gasped.

Once safe inside the car, Ryan kept glancing out the window as if the tomato aunties were still chasing him. Then, without thinking, he grabbed Lila’s arm dramatically.

“Oh, Lila! What would I have done without you? I was this close to being kidnapped and sold to those scary-looking roasted-fish women!”

Lila just puffed her cheeks harder, refusing to look at him.

Ryan’s lips curved into a sly grin. He leaned closer. “But wife, how did you do it? Dragging me away so easily. Did you... enchant them?”

Lila shoved him back instantly.

“Stay away from me! You smell like roasted fish and tomato sauce mixed together. And Ryan_ugh_I’m so angry with you! You can’t do anything right. I do everything in this house_cooking, dishes, laundry_and now even a simple market trip, you drag me into it. Didn’t I warn you that this suit was ridiculous? Who wears CEO clothes to the market? Are you trying to get kidnapped? Honestly, I think I married a grown-up baby!”

Her cheeks puffed again, fiery with annoyance.

Ryan bit back a laugh, then slowly inched closer, eyes gleaming with mischief.

He dramatically kneels in the car, holding her hand like she’s a queen.

“Fine! From now on, you’re the general of this marriage. I’ll be your loyal servant, buying tomatoes in plain T-shirts only!”

Then he whips out one of the free tomatoes, polishes it on his suit, and presents it like a diamond ring.

“My love, accept this tomato as a symbol of my eternal devotion. Red, round, and juicy, just like my heart for you.”

He leans closer, whispering with a grin.

“But honestly, you looked so cute rescuing me just now. I think the market women were jealous because I already belong to you.” he said with a wink and then smiled, Lila gasped as she looked at him for a minute, then the next minute, they both busted into laughter.