LURED BY LOVE

Chapter 1 Blair's POV 2:17 a.m. "What would you like to order, sir?" My voice came out steadier than I felt as I stood beside the corner booth,number seven.where the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen sat scrolling through his phone like I didn't exist. "Black coffee. No sugar." He didn't even glance up. Typical. Rich people always had that particular brand of arrogance, like the rest of us were just background noise in their million-dollar lives. But damn, he wore it well. Black shirt stretched across broad shoulders, sleeves rolled up to reveal expensive watch and forearms that had no business looking that good. Hair perfectly styled in that effortlessly messy way that probably cost more than my rent. Sharp jawline. The kind of face that belonged on Forbes covers. I swallowed hard and forced myself to look away, turning to the woman sitting across from him. "And for you, ma'am?" She was every bit as polished as he was. Designer everything, blood-red lips, skin that glowed like she bathed in liquid gold. Next to her, I probably looked like exactly what I was: a broke waitress in a coffee-stained apron with her hair falling out of a messy bun at the end of a double shift. She didn't answer. She didn't even acknowledge I existed. Instead, she leaned forward, her whisper-hiss slicing through the late-night quiet. "I won't do it, Tyler. I don't care what our families agreed to. I'm not marrying you." My eyes widened. Tyler? As in… "Arranged marriage," she continued, her perfectly manicured nails drumming the table. "It's old school. Barbaric. I have my own life, my own plans, and they don't include being your trophy wife." "Noted," he said coolly, still not looking up from his phone. "Are you even listening to me?" "Every word." His voice was deep, bored, devastatingly calm. "You don't want to marry me. The feeling's mutual. We'll figure it out." She sat back, frustrated, then suddenly swiveled her gaze to me. "Café au lait." I blinked. "Coming right up." I practically fled to the coffee station, hyper-aware of her eyes burning holes in my back. Great. She probably knew I'd been eavesdropping. But what did she expect? If you don't want people hearing your business, don't conduct it in a public diner at two in the morning. I was reaching for the coffee pot when I sensed her behind me. My heart stopped. "Sorry if I kept you waiting…" I started to turn. "That's not why I'm here." She smiled, slow and calculating. "Don't pretend you didn't hear everything we discussed." My pulse kicked up. "Look, I wasn't trying to…" "Relax, sweetie." She stepped closer, and I caught a whiff of expensive perfume. "Actually, I'm glad you were paying attention. Saves me from repeating myself." "I don't understand." "I want to make you an offer." Her smile widened. "A very generous offer." "What kind of offer?" My voice came out shakier than I wanted. "The kind that could change your life." She tilted her head, studying me like I was a product she was considering purchasing. "I'm caught in an arranged marriage situation. Corporate merger bullshit. My family, his family, blah blah blah. That man sitting over there? That's Tyler Clarks. CEO of Clarks Industries. He’s a billionaire. Untouchable. And my soon-to-be fiancé. Unless you help me." My mouth went dry. Tyler Clarks. The Tyler Clarks. I'd seen him on magazine covers, business news segments, those "30 Under 30" lists. And I'd just taken his order without even recognizing him. "How exactly do I help you?" "Simple." She leaned against the counter like we were discussing the weather. "Get hired at Clarks Industries. Make him fall in love with you. Break his heart so completely that he'll refuse the marriage. And when you succeed, I'll pay you one million dollars." The coffee pot nearly slipped from my hands. "One million…" I couldn't finish the sentence. "Dollars. Yes." She pulled out her phone. "I noticed you the moment I walked in here, You're beautiful, ambitious, clearly struggling to make ends meet if you're working the graveyard shift at a diner. Someone like you shouldn't be wasting away in a place like this." "I…" Words failed me. "Think about it," she purred. "One million dollars. You could do anything. Go anywhere. Be anyone." My mind raced. My master's degree. Studying abroad like I'd always dreamed. Mom's hospital bills that were crushing me slowly every month. The student loans I'd be paying off until I was sixty. The life I desperately wanted but could never afford. All of it could be mine. "Why me?" I whispered. "Because you have potential I can work with. And because you're desperate enough to say yes." She wasn't being cruel. Jnust honest. "So. What do I call you?" "Blair. Blair Harris." "Perfect. Give me your account details, Blair." I rattled off the numbers in a daze, watching as she typed into her phone with those perfect red nails. Five seconds later, my phone buzzed in my apron pocket. I pulled it out with shaking hands and nearly dropped it when I saw the notification. Deposit: $50,000.00 "Consider that your advance," she said smoothly. "The rest comes when you deliver. Get hired. Seduce him. Break him. Simple." "I…I don't…" My brain couldn't process this. She leaned in close, her breath warm against my ear. "One warning, darling. Don't actually fall for him. Tyler Clarks collects beautiful things, uses them up, and throws them away. He's never loved anyone in his life, and he's not going to start with you." Then she straightened, smoothed her designer dress, and walked back to the booth like she'd just ordered dessert instead of potentially ruining a man's life. I stood frozen, fifty thousand dollars heavier and feeling like I'd just signed a deal with the devil. My hands shook as I prepared their drinks. When I brought them over, I tried not to look at him. At Tyler. But it was impossible. Now that I knew who he was, I couldn't unsee it. The power radiating off him. The cold, calculating intelligence in those dark eyes when he finally glanced up. For one breathless second, our gazes locked. Something electric shot through me, hot and dangerous. Then the woman.Harriet, she'd said her name was Harriet Laurent. Leaned across the table and pressed a deliberate kiss to his cheek, her eyes locked on mine the entire time. My cheeks burned as I practically ran back to the safety of the kitchen. **** "What the hell was that?" I pressed the back of my palms against my burning cheeks, hiding in the kitchen like a coward. My face was on fire. My heart was doing some kind of Olympic gymnastics routine in my chest. Why was I blushing? I barely knew him. But damn, he's so hot. "Get your act together, you crazy b***h," I muttered to myself, splashing cold water on my face at the sink. "You're not some teenager with a crush. This is business. Cold, calculated business." Except nothing about Tyler Clarks felt cold. The way his dark eyes had locked onto mine for that one breathless second.Like he could see straight through my skin into something deeper. The sharp line of his jaw. Those hands that probably knew exactly how to… I slapped myself. Hard. "Stop it. Stop thinking about him like that." But I couldn't go back out there. Not until I was sure they'd left. If I set eyes on that gorgeous bastard again tonight, I'd probably do something stupid. Like stare. Or drool. Or forget how to form actual words. What the hell was wrong with me? Maybe it was because I hadn't seen a man that hot in... ages? Ever? Tyler Clarks didn't just raise the bar. He was the goddamn bar. I locked myself in the bathroom and stared at my reflection in the grimy mirror. "Ground rules, Blair. You need ground rules before you lose your mind completely." I held up one finger. "Rule number one: Get hired at Clarks Industries." Second finger. "Rule number two: Get close to him. Seduce him." Third finger. "Rule number three: Break his heart." Fourth finger. "Rule number four: Make him cancel his arranged marriage to Harriet Laurent." Fifth finger. "Rule number five: Get your money and run. Masters degree abroad. That's the endgame." I paused, my reflection staring back at me with wide, uncertain eyes. "Last rule." My voice dropped to a whisper. "The most important one. Don't.I repeat, don't,ever fall in love with him." Harriet's warning echoed in my mind: He breaks his toys. I didn't fully understand what that meant, but the way she'd said it. Certain, almost sad,sent a chill down my spine. If I wasn't careful with this last rule, I'd be totally screwed.