I think he talks about seeing you as a leader in general terms. I heard bosses saying it to people before. It doesn’t mean you’ll be promoted. It’s just a general comment. If he told you “tomorrow we are going to interview you for a leadership position at 2pm on a second floor”. That’s specific. “I see you as a leader” is not.

I honestly doubt he’d ever promote you because of what happened previously-him being inappropriate with you. Things were improper, then you came back to work in the company and then within less than a year he promotes you. Not happening. If it’s the same CEO.

Plus if there are only 20 people in the company there isn’t much room for growth. They only need that many bosses. If you want a promotion, this isn’t the company for you. I hope something else comes up soon. At this point I’d take a pay cut just to get out of there. It sounds like a very negative experience overall