The Billionaire CEO’s Reluctant Bride

Chapter Two: The Man Who Needed a Wife

Alexander’s pov

I hate mornings like this,

Not because I was tired. I wasn't.

I hated them because they usually meant someone had brought me a problem

they expected me to fix.

I sat behind my desk, looking at the papers in front of me while Marcus stood

on the other side of the room.

“The board meeting is in three days,” he said

“I know”

He didn't move

I looked up at him. “Then why are you still standing there?”

“Because you haven't decided what you are going to do”

I looked back at the papers

He was right

There was a condition in my grandfather's will that I had ignored for years. I

had always assumed I would find a way around it but I hadn't.

If I wanted to keep complete control of Blackstone Group, I had to be married

before I turned thirty-three.

It was ridiculous,

I had built one of the biggest companies in the country, yet a marriage was

what could take it away from me.

“My grandfather was serious about this?” I asked

Marcus nodded

“Very”

I dropped the papers on my desk

“I am not getting married”

“Then you risk losing control of the company”

I gave him a cold look

“I heard you and I know”

“Then stop repeating yourself”

Before he could answer, the door opened

James walked in with a cup of coffee, he placed it beside me.

“You should think about it”

I stared at him

“Think about what?”

“Getting married”

I almost laughed

“Are all of you planning this together?”

James smiled

“You have been alone for a long time, Alexander”

“I prefer it that way”

“I know”

He looked at me for a moment before walking toward the door.

“Just don't let the past make every decision for you”

I went still

The past

He didn't need to say anything else

My parents

I was twelve when they died

One helicopter crash had taken both of them from me

Everyone called it an accident

I never did

There had always been something wrong about it. Things that didn't add up.

Questions nobody wanted to answer.

I had spent years trying to forget about it

It hadn't worked

I pushed the thought away

“I don't need a wife,” I said

James looked back at me

“Maybe not. But the company does”

Then he left

I stared at the closed door

I hated when he was right

Marcus cleared his throat

“There is another option”

I looked at him

“What?”

“A contract marriage”

I actually laughed

“You are joking”

“No”

“You expect me to marry a stranger?”

“For one year”

I stopped laughing

Marcus continued. “You get the marriage. She gets paid. When the year is

over, you both walk away”

I leaned back in my chair

It was crazy

But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

One year wasn't forever

I could handle one year

“No feelings,” I said

“That's the idea”

“No interference in my business”

“Agreed”

“And she stays out of my personal life”

Marcus nodded

I looked at him

“Find someone”

He turned to leave

“Marcus”

He stopped

“She has to understand what this is. I am not looking for a real marriage”

“I will make sure she understands”

He left

I turned toward the window

The city stretched out beneath me

Everyone down there was busy living their normal lives.

And somewhere among them was a woman who had no idea what I was about

to ask her to do.

I didn't even know her name

Honestly, I didn't care

I just needed someone willing to sign a contract

One year and that was all

Marcus came back later that afternoon

He placed a thin file on my desk

“I found someone”

I looked up

“That was fast”

“I had help”

I opened the file

Amelia Hart

Twenty-four

I read through the information

She worked hard. Kept mostly to herself. No criminal history. No messy

relationships.

Then I saw the part about her younger brother

Ethan Hart

Seriously ill.

I looked at the information again

“How bad?”

“Bad enough,” Marcus said. “She's struggling to pay for his treatment”

I leaned back

“So she needs money”

“Yes”

I looked at the photograph attached to the file

Amelia wasn't smiling

There was something tired about her eyes

She looked like someone who had been carrying too much for too long.

I didn't know why, but I looked at the photograph longer than I should have.

Then I closed the file.

“Arrange a meeting”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes”

Marcus picked up the file

As he reached the door, I stopped him

“Make sure she knows exactly what she's agreeing to”

“She will”

The door closed,

I looked at the file again

Amelia Hart

She was nothing more than a solution to a problem

At least, that's what I told myself

I had no idea that the woman in that photograph was about to turn my

carefully controlled life upside down.