Married to a Billionaire Firefighter

Chapter 5

Charlotte sat up and pushed the blanket aside. For a moment her hand rested on the edge of the mattress, then she stood and reached for her phone.

May 20, 2026.

Her supposed wedding day.

The cathedral was booked for two o'clock. The flowers would have been delivered by now. Five hundred invitations.

Margaret Bennett's handwriting on the inner envelopes because some things, according to her mother, were still done by hand.

The dress remained in its garment bag at the townhouse.

Charlotte set the phone down and crossed to the bathroom.

The Carroll Gardens apartment was quiet in the morning.

Light stretched across the floorboards. The room held a bed, a narrow dresser, and little else. It was smaller than her room at the Bennett townhouse.

Her assistant's email sat at the top of her inbox, confirming the board meeting.

She entered the bathroom, her body wash, sponge and towel had been arranged neatly.

She came out after a few minutes, her dresses had been arranged in one side of the wardrobe, while Ethan clothes occupied the other half.

She dressed simply, and went to the living room.

Ethan was in the kitchen, dressed in his firefighter uniform.

“Good morning." Ethan slid a travel mug onto the counter.

“Good morning,” Charlotte replied, walking toward him.

Ethan looked at her and slid the lunch box toward her.

"Your breakfast." He nudged the lunch box toward her.

She looked at it. "You didn't have to do that."

He said nothing, he picked up his keys, then said, "Can I drop you at work?"

"I have my car—"

"I moved it to the garage last night. The street clears at seven." He said. "And remember what you said yesterday. We need to convince them that this is real."

She looked at him across the kitchen. He was already looking at the door.

"Okay." Charlotte held his gaze for a moment.

When they got out of the apartment, Ethan locked the door, then gave her a spear key to the apartment.

Ethan's old truck was parked outside. He opened the passenger door when they reached the street. She got in, and he started to drive.

The radio played softly while Ethan guided the truck into traffic.

Charlotte looked at him more than once.

Both hands remained on the wheel. At red lights he watched the road ahead instead of reaching for his phone.

The bridge gave way to Manhattan.

By the time they reached Bennett Holdings, Anna was already waiting at the foot of the steps with a tablet tucked against her side.

Charlotte reached for the door handle.

Ethan was already out.

She stepped down onto the pavement, turned toward the building. Behind her, his voice, unhurried, carrying exactly as far as it needed to:

"Darling. Your breakfast."

Anna moved instinctively to take it. Charlotte stopped her with a look, not sharp, just clear, and turned back.

Ethan held out the lunch box, and Charlotte took it and looked up.

"Have a great day." She adjusted her grip on the handle.

One corner of Ethan's mouth moved.

"You too." He opened the driver's door.

He got back in the car. Anna watched it go. Charlotte walked into the building without looking back, the lunch box in her hand.

~~~

Every chair was occupied when Charlotte entered the boardroom.

Eyes followed her to her seat.

Margaret sat at the head of the table and gave her the smallest nod.

Director Monroe folded his hands on the table.

"The board has reviewed the terms of the marriage clause." His gaze moved briefly to the folder in front of him.

"The second provision is clear. The marriage must be demonstrated to be genuine. We want to be sure you understand what that means in practical terms. We will be watching."

Charlotte looked around the room, twelve pairs of eyes looked back.

"It was love at first sight." She placed her notebook on the table. "He came into a burning building for a stranger. I thought I was going to die in that room and he came in anyway. I made a promise to myself that night and I kept it.”

Monroe's expression didn't change. "That's not sufficient on its own, Charlotte. Intention and sentiment are not the same as demonstrated authenticity. We will need time and evidence."

"Then take it," she said. "I'm not going anywhere."

She sat down and opened her notebook. The meeting continued.

~~~

Back at her desk by eleven, the lunch box opens beside her laptop.

Charlotte finished the contents of the lunch box.

At eleven-fifteen her eyes drifted to the empty corner beside her desk, which was approximately the time she would have been having her hair pinned up in her childhood bedroom, and did not think about that at all.

Her eyes drifted to the empty corner beside her desk.

The apartment had one bedroom, one living room, two bathrooms, a couch she had apparently fallen asleep on and been moved from at some point in the night. She had been in bed. He had moved her to the bed. So where had he slept?

She didn't know.

She realized she had been thinking about it for the better part of the drive and the better part of the board meeting and was still thinking about it right now.

She closed the lunch box and opened her emails.

~~~

Anna knocked at twelve-thirty.

"Ms. Bennett—"

Charlotte looked up, she raised her left hand slightly, the ring catching the light, with the small smile of a woman who had decided to commit to the performance completely.

"Mrs. Calder."

Anna smiled, then looked down at the folder in her hands.

"There's something you should know. Olivia Carter has been appointed Deputy Director of Legal and Compliance." She paused, looking at Charlotte. "Effective today."

Charlotte's hand stopped above the keyboard.

"This wasn't discussed in this morning's board meeting." Her eyes remained on Anna.

"This wasn't discussed in this morning's board meeting." Charlotte said, more to herself.

"I assumed so, ma'am. It came through on the internal announcement twenty minutes ago."

It was not. Charlotte had been in that boardroom for ninety minutes and the name Olivia Carter had not been spoken once.

She stood up immediately.

The walk to her father's office took her a few minutes. Long enough to arrange her face. Long enough to decide what she was and wasn't going to show in the next two minutes.

Olivia stepped out from her father's office. She wore a white blouse, with her hair perfectly made.

She saw Charlotte. Olivia smiled the moment she saw her.

"Charlotte." Olivia adjusted the strap of her handbag. "I heard your firefighter husband dropped you off in his truck this morning."

Charlotte looked at her for a long moment, and said nothing. She just looked at her the way she had looked in the living room two days ago, until Olivia's smile. The smile remained for several seconds before it tightened at the corners.

She walked past Olivia into her father's office and closed the door.

Richard looked up when she entered. His hand stopped above the folder.

Charlotte sat down, but said nothing. She watched his face.

He looked down at his desk first. At the folder sitting open in front of him.

She could see, from where she sat, that it had Ethan Calder's name on it.