BILLIONAIRE CEO:MY ROBOT MY OBSESSION

CHAPTER ONE: Don’t Touch Me Micheal Whitewood had learned two things very early in life. First, money could buy almost anything Second, money could not buy safety from human touch At twenty-five, he was rich enough to own cities and lonely enough to hear his own breathing echo through his mansion at night The house was too big for one man, but Micheal liked it that way Space meant distance, and distance meant survival He lived alone No driver No cook No housekeeper People meant risk Micheal stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the cuff of his shirt for the third time The gloves were already on, smooth black leather, fitted perfectly to his hands Not a single inch of skin was exposed Good He leaned closer to the mirror and studied his reflection Tall Well dressed Perfectly composed No one looking at him would ever guess how fragile his body really was “Just pick it up and leave,” he told himself “In and out, Micheal, no drama today” He grabbed his keys and walked out The shop was small, the kind of place people walked past without noticing Micheal liked places like that They didn’t ask questions He opened the door carefully, using his elbow instead of his hand A bell rang loudly Too loudly “Coming,” a voice called Female Micheal froze Of course it was female He stayed where he was, debating whether to leave immediately when she appeared from behind a shelf, holding a box and muttering under her breath “Honestly, if people would just put things back where they found them,” she said to herself, then looked up and smiled out of habit “Oh, hi” Micheal didn’t smile back His eyes went straight to her arms Bare Uncovered Moving He swallowed “Can I help you?” she asked “Yes,” he said quickly, already uncomfortable “I’m here for an order, Whitewood” She blinked “Whitewood?” She turned to the counter, flipping through a small book “Oh, yes, I see it” She reached for the item and placed it down And that was when Micheal saw it A faint mark on the surface Barely there Something most people wouldn’t even notice Micheal noticed His chest tightened His palms prickled inside his gloves “That,” he said sharply “What is that?” She followed his gaze “Huh?” “That mark,” he said, pointing “I can’t take that” She leaned closer, squinting “Oh, that? It’s nothing, just from the packaging” “I don’t care,” Micheal replied “It’s contaminated” Her head snapped up “Contaminated?” “Yes” She laughed, a short incredulous sound “Sir, I promise you, it won’t bite” Her hand moved to wipe it Micheal stepped back like she’d lunged at him “Don’t,” he said loudly “And don’t touch me” The words came out sharp and panicked The girl stared at him “I wasn’t touching you,” she said slowly “You were about to” She folded her arms “Is this a joke?” “No” “Then what exactly is your problem?” His heartbeat thundered Too close Too much “You should be more careful,” he snapped “You don’t know what you’re handling” She laughed again, this time without humour “Careful? Sir, I work here, I handle these every day” “Then you should know better” Her eyes narrowed “Know better than what?” Micheal exhaled sharply “People like you are careless” She stiffened “People like me?” “Yes” “Oh, wow,” she said, shaking her head “You really just said that” She leaned forward slightly, not touching him but close enough to make his skin crawl “Let me guess, you walk into places, throw money around, and think the world should rearrange itself for you” “That’s not—” “You’re scared of a stain,” she continued “What are you going to do, sue it?” Despite himself, Micheal let out a short, bitter laugh “If only it were that simple” She pointed at the item “Pay for it or leave” “I don’t want it anymore” She blinked “You what?” “I said I don’t want it” “You ordered it” “I changed my mind” “You don’t get to do that,” she snapped “This isn’t a game” His jaw tightened at the word game “Package it,” he said, already turning away “No,” she said firmly “You either pay or—” He reached for the door “Hey,” she shouted “You haven’t paid” Micheal didn’t look back He couldn’t The door slammed behind him Lina Hart stood there for a long moment, staring at the closed door like it had personally offended her “Did that really just happen?” she muttered She walked over and locked the door, her hands shaking slightly “Rich, rude, dramatic,” she listed “And a thief on top of it” She picked up the item and examined it again “There’s literally nothing wrong with you,” she told it She had no idea who he was She only knew she never wanted to see him again Micheal drove home with his jaw clenched and his thoughts racing Stupid Careless Weak The gates opened silently as his car approached The mansion swallowed him whole Inside, the silence greeted him like an old friend He removed his gloves slowly and placed them on the counter His hands trembled “Get a grip,” he murmured But his body remembered what his mind wanted to forget Her voice Her nearness Her defiance Micheal turned onto his bed and stared at the dark ceiling, his mind refusing to rest. He told himself she was irrelevant, just another stranger, just another risk avoided. Yet her voice replayed anyway. Sharp. Alive. Unafraid. “People like you,” he muttered softly, testing the words. For the first time in years, his carefully controlled world felt slightly… shaken. And Lina, lying on her thin mattress with tired bones and stubborn pride, sighed into the darkness. “Crazy rich man,” she whispered. Neither of them slept. Because somewhere between fear and anger, something had already begun.. Lina Hart counted her money, wondering how one man could make her so angry in less than ten minutes Neither of them knew This was only the beginning