CEO's Contract Bride

The Offer

Chapter 1

Amanda’s POV

I dropped my phone from my ear with a smile, another happy client, I could not say that I did not enjoy my job, I loved to bring people together and see them happy with my services, the couple I had spoken to just now were my 24th successful client.

Well you are probably wondering  what is that I do right about now, I am what you call a modern day cupid, I tinker with the strings of love and find the perfect matches for my clients, I used the power of the social media and find the most suitable candidates and then I arranged for them to have meetings until they finally find the right one for them, so you could say I somehow made the world a better place, but for a price of course, I also needed to survive and since I lost my parent at the age of 18, it has been just me and my little sister Jessie and I had to take care of her.

I used to have a job in a fancy business firm, the salary was great and I even had a nice apartment in the heart of the city, life was good and we were living fine, then one day, I got called into the manager’s office and he told me that the company was downsizing and I was unfortunately on the list.

So that was how I lost my job and my nice apartment soon followed when I couldn’t afford the rent anymore, so we moved from the heart of the city to a tiny apartment away from the city, and I have been living there for the past 3 years with Jessie.

Jessie was the reason I was still trying so hard, she was my little bundle of joy though she hated it when I called her that, she was 18 now and in her senior year in high school, a very bright student and also a part of many activist groups, she told me once that I was polluting the ocean because she saw me using an exfoliating scrub, she said I was responsible the death of millions of fishes in the oceans, well that was just Jessie.

A smile crept into my face as I stretched my slim curvy body on the bed, this was one of the reason I loved this job, I could work from the comfort of my bed at any time, I am sure you are wondering how I came to the modern cupid, it was really simple, it was something that happened on impulse, I was sitting in my apartment alone a year ago after coming from another one of my part time jobs when the idea suddenly popped into my head, I grabbed my phone and quickly wrote a quick job description and how I was good at finding you your perfect soul mate, I had laughed when I had posted it, so imagine my surprise when I got a reply the next morning from a woman called Stacy,  she soon became my first client and that was how it all began and I could not really complain, I had fun and met a lot of people and the pay was not bad since it was keeping me afloat.

I stood up from the bed and walked to the kitchen wearing sweats and a tank top, my hair was tied in a messy bun on top of my head, it was almost noon and this was the first time I was leaving my room today, I grabbed a carton of milk from the fridge and walked back to my bed, I drank the cold liquid, as it went into my stomach, I felt alive.

I lay on my bed checking my messages when a call notification popped up on my screen, it was an unknown number but this was nothing new, I was a business woman after all, I always had clients seeking my services all the time, with a smile, I answered the call.

“Hello good morning, this is Amanda Collins, how may I help you?” I said,

“Good morning Miss Collins, I am Harriet Brown and I will like you inquire about the services you offer” a young woman’s said from the other end,

She spoke in a very posh accent, I had a feeling she was a high paying client and I loved high paying clients, they were definitely my favorite type of client, so with a bright smile on my face, I said “And what would you like to know Miss Brown?”

The woman on the end cleared her throat and said “I heard you were one of the best matchmakers in New York City and my boss is willing to hire your services, you can tell me when you have time and where you would like to meet and we will be there”

The smile on my face got even wider, this was exactly the type of clients I loved, they were always so professional all the time, just like me, I quickly gave the woman an address and a time to meet tomorrow and then we ended the call.

I gave a little excited squeal of excitement and jumped off the bed to run to my closet, I leafed through the clothes until I finally found the one I was searching for, it was one of my most pretty dresses, it was black polka dot gown that stopped just below my knees, the sleeves were small and comfortable, it was one of the dresses I had bought during my golden days, I had a feeling the dress made me look very responsible.

I had to look to responsible when meeting clients and if tomorrow’s client was anything like I thought then I really needed to look responsible, I laid the dress out on the bed and fished out my black heels that looked very nice on me, I was a tall woman so I counted on heels to make me look taller.

Once I had laid out my outfit for tomorrow’s meeting, I smiled, there was no way I would not look posh tomorrow, I always felt like a million dollars when I wore this particular outfit, now that the clothes for tomorrow had been sorted out, I believed it was time to find my curling iron and off I went to find it.

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The next day by 10:00 am I was already seated comfortably at the café I had asked to meet, the café was called Jean’s, it was a modern café with beautiful atmosphere, I loved coming here, it had always been my favorite café when I was living in the city, the owner was a funny man in his late 30s, he had named the café after his first daughter, the main reason I had chosen this place was pretty simple, it was posh.

My clients turned out to be running late, it was a good 20 minutes after 10 before they finally arrived, I disliked been late and I hated been kept waiting, I had chosen a seat by the window, I looked up from my phone in time to see a black car arrive, it was a beautiful car with black tinted windows, I didn’t know much about cars but even I could tell that it was a very expensive car, I watched with interest when a man opened the back door for a woman to step out, the woman looked like she was in her late 40s, she was dressed in a blue gown and she had silver heels on, a smile passed my lips, this was woman was rich, no doubt and if she was my client then I was in for some interesting payment at the end.

I watched as the woman walked into the café, she had a young woman following behind her, they looked around the café and when the woman’s eyes fell on me, she smiled and walked over to me, when she was close, I stood up with a smile.

“I am so sorry Miss Collins, I did not intend to keep you waiting but I was a little held up, my apologies” the woman said with a smile,

“It’s not a problem, I didn’t wait long Miss Brown” I said with a smile and gestured for us to have a sit,

The woman gave a small laugh and said “I am afraid I am not Miss Brown, that is my secretary” she gestured to the young woman standing behind her,

I smiled at the professional looking woman in a black suit, she gave me a curt nod and looked straight ahead “I am sorry for my mistake ma’am” I said to the elegant woman seated before me,

She simply smiled and waved a hand indicating it was nothing “I had asked Harriet to call you, I need you to find a wife for my son, it is possible you have heard of him, William Knight” she said, her blue eyes twinkling as she spoke.

There was only one William Knight, he was the famous billionaire, his face was always on TV, from what I read about him on social media, he was a frightening man with an attitude problem and they had not failed to mention how handsome he was, I could believe that if the woman seated before me was indeed his mother, suddenly my throat felt dry, I had expected a big client but this was unexpected, these people were billionaires and the son in question had been referred to as monster on several occasions, I loved my job but I hated drama and complication more and this was a job that will bring both.

Clearing my throat, I said “Forgive me ma’am but I don’t think I can accept this job”

The bright smile remained on her face “I can understand your hesitation since the news surrounding my son is not very appealing but I can promise you he is not all so bad” she said,

I opened my mouth to refuse again but the woman quickly added “And I am willing to pay you well for your services, does a million dollars sound okay to you?”

The words died in my throat, one million dollars was a lot of money, it could help her get her life back on track, she needed that money, she really did, complication and drama could not be so bad “I will see what I can do ma’am” I said with a smile,

The woman’s smile was still very much in place when she said “Splendid, then you come to my house tomorrow and I will introduce you to William, and please dear, just call me Hillary”

I couldn’t believe this was happening, I was going to the Knight Mansion, everyone knew the house, I heard it was located in the heart of the city and from the pictures I had seen of it, it was very, very beautiful.

I smiled and said “I will be by 10:00am tomorrow, is that okay with you?”

Hillary Knight smiled and said “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow Miss Collins”

“Please call me Amanda and I also can’t wait to start working on this” I said, a smile playing on my face as I thought about all the things I could for Jessie and I with the one million dollars I was going to receive as payment.