Contract marriage to the Heartbroken Billionaire

KIARA’S POV I counted from one to ten in my mind, then I breathed in and out thrice to calm my nervousness before standing up from my seat. Today is the third day I will be attempting to ask my boss for help. For the past two days, I couldn't bring myself to tell him about my problem, but now I am ready to tell him if I truly want to save our home. I was 4 years old when my parents died in a car accident. My mum’s cold-hearted sister, who saw me as an obstacle, brought me to an orphanage home, so she could inherit my parents’ house. The orphanage became my home and the people there became my family. Nanny was in charge of the orphanage. I love Nanny so much. She took me in when I was little, and she showered me with lots of love. She told me I refused to get adopted by anyone and chose to stay with her. That made me grow up in an orphanage home. I’m 22 years old now, and I still stay with my nanny at the orphanage. Nanny is everything to me and I will do anything to make her happy. I was happy when I got a job as the secretary to Mr Andre Martins, the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company in New York. I was fortunate to pass the interview among over 100 applicants who applied for the post. It has been over a year of working with him. My boss hates not being professional, he is a perfectionist and a workaholic. And I make sure I put in lots of effort to please him. I became more nervous as I walked towards his door. I straightened my A-shaped black skirt and then took a deep breath as I knocked on the door. “Come in,” I heard his baritone voice ordering me to enter. I entered his all-white luxury office that speaks of wealth. On the left side of the office is a transparent glass where you can catch a wide view of New York City. It is a lovely sight to behold at night. He was busy checking a document when I entered. My boss is a strikingly good-looking man with killer blue eyes that you could easily be lost in. He is gifted with biceps that make his Italian suits fit so well and, I must confess, he is a handsome man. I once had a crush on him when I started working as his secretary, but the feeling faded away when he started giving me an excessive workload, shouting at me, and giving me orders. This took away the crush I had on him. I had to clear my throat to indicate I was right in front, so he could give me his attention. “What do you want, Miss Wilson?” he raised his head to look at me. I was tense, and I had to remind myself that I was doing this for Nanny. My best friend, Nancy, advised me to talk to my boss about the situation at the orphanage home, and she had been displeased in the last two days when I told her I did not dare to tell him, but today if I truly want to save our home, I need to ask him for help. I hope he is in a good mood as I told him what the issue is. “There is something I want to tell you, sir,” silence fell as he looked at me, expecting me to continue. “I need your favor. The lease on the orphanage home I stay in has expired, and we've been given a 2-week ultimatum to renew the lease, or we will move out of the house and my nanny…….” “What do you want?” he cut me short impatiently. He knows I am staying in the orphanage home based on the information he has about his workers, so he was not surprised at the mention of the orphanage. I took a deep breath and muttered a prayer under my breath before saying “We need $30,000 to renew the lease of the orphanage home. I want to request a loan from the company and I will pay it back with my salary,” I told him and hopefully await a positive response. I know my boss is wealthy and requesting a loan should be something he should grant me, but knowing how unpredictable he can be, I do not know what to expect from him, but hopefully, he will help me. We only have 3 days left from the 2-week ultimatum and the various non-governmental organizations we reached out to haven't responded, so my boss is my last hope except, I will go back to Bruce, who wants my body in exchange for the money. He leaned back in his chair and looked thoughtful as he examined my request. His eyes shifted to me and my heartbeat increased in anticipation. Then he told me to have my seat since I had been standing for a while. “I will give you the money,” my eyes widened as relief flushed through me and I wanted to stand on my feet and jump on him, but I had to caution my excitement, knowing that he was my boss. “Thank you so much sir, God bless you, sir,” I prayed for him, feeling so good that he would help me. “But on one condition,” my ears were attentive to listening to my boss's condition. What could this condition be? I asked within myself. “I want you to marry me,” he blurted out, looking at me squarely. “Marry you!” It sounded off in my ears and I had to say it, so I could be sure I had him correctly. “Yes, marry me,” he repeated. It sounded so absurd, and I felt irritated with his condition. Is my boss joking or what? It should better be a prank and not something he is serious about. “But it will only be for a year” he continued, without minding the look of shock on my face. “What!”