CHAPTER 3

Isabella's POV

This is definitely not what I have envisioned for myself.

I have never thought of giving contract or arranged marriages a try despite how I have been so unlucky in relationships.

I have never been in a relationship before and I am a f**king virgin. I don't know if it is the excitement of having a man talk to me that is the problem that makes them go away and never come back for another date or probably because of my sticking behavior towards intimacy.

I have been sitting in my office all day long, doing absolutely nothing but crying, cursing, and wishing for the impossible.

How can I be married to my boss? And for just a year? How is that even possible?

Is it the fact that I will be under his roof that is the problem or the issue of being with him for just a year?

I can't pinpoint the reason for my sadness. I just don't feel like going through with this.

My boss is a f***ing Greek god and I am worried about my weak heart. 

When I first started work here a year ago, I had secretly admired him from afar for the first few weeks but when he showed me his true colors by shouting at me, giving me orders, and tormenting my life with loads of work to do all in the name of punishments, my crush for him began to fade away the way it came and I sank myself deeper into my work.

Grandma needs her leg surgery to be done in the next few weeks and I have nothing in my savings account. 

Absolute nothing!

My salary only helps to pay the bills; laundry, electricity bills, rent, groceries, our home management, and grandma's medications.

Aside from all of these, I have nothing else left to save.

How do I come up with money before the next appointment which is in two weeks? This appointment with the doctor in two weeks will determine the day for the surgery.

If we don't go to the hospital with the money, the doctor might send us out because we haven't been paying the hospital bills for a month now. Something came up and I used that money for something else.

Gosh! I hit my head.

Crying won't solve the problem. I need to think of an alternative.

Should I ask Juliet for advice on what to do? I have never been so indecisive in my entire life.

I have two options at the moment and I don't wish to go for any of the two; becoming Frederick's slut forever while he pays my bills and attends to all my financial needs or becoming my boss's wife for just a year.

I am chiding myself not to cry again. I have shed almost all the liquid left in me and all I want to do now is curl up in my small bed and wallow in self-pity.

The intercom ringing jerks me out of my reverie and a sudden realization that I haven't done a single job for the last 5 hours dawns on me.

Is it the boss? Is he calling to fire me? I haven't even worked on the file he gave to me this morning?

I am a dead meat. I know he will shout at me and probably fire me at the end of his long scoldings.

Tears spring to my eyes as I summon up the courage to pick the intercom up.

"H…he…llo, sir", I stammer with my lips shaking in anxiety.

I don't know what he wants to say but something stirs in me. If he fires me, I deserve it because I didn't do my job and I have allowed my personal problems to distract me from my job.

"You can go home", he dismisses me sharply, without any other word.

"What?!" My heart thumps wildly in my chest and I begin to breathe heavily at the thought of losing my job when I need it the most.

"Did you hear what I said?" He shouts at me angrily. He is still angry from earlier.

"I said leave work and go home." He repeats and I furrow my brows.

This is so unlike him. I should leave my job and go home? Is he sacking me from my job or just dismissing me for the day?

Before I can ask what he means, he disconnects the call and I slump further in the chair.

My confusion has intensified now. I don't even know what he wants me to do now. I haven't started the work yet and I was just about to when his call came in.

Should I leave it till tomorrow as he said? Can I still come back tomorrow?

My phone begins to ring and I pick up quickly, thinking it is my boss again. When I see Juliet's name on the screen and not my boss's name, I heave a sigh of relief and something clicks in me.

My boss was supposed to have an appointment by 4 pm and this is past 5 pm already. I totally forgot to go back to him so we could go for the appointment. Maybe he went there alone or with his secretary. Our boss has me employed as his Personal Assistant and also has a secretary.

Since he has called me to go home then it means he isn't back in the office here and I can truly go home.

I pick up the call.

"Hey, I am on my way to your house, are you back from work?" Her shrill voice booms into the phone.

I suddenly remember that Juliet and I planned to go out today. This will be a great opportunity to tell her about my boss and what he is offering me.

I want to know her take on the issue. If she is in my shoes, will she take it or turn it down as I did?

"I will be there soon", I only say, surprised at the sound of my voice. I just hope grandma won't detect anything. 

I drop the call and sit still without attempting to stand up and go as the boss has instructed. I open the laptop and see his image still there just the way I left it earlier this morning before he called me into his office.

He looks gorgeous. Handsome. Hot and Sexy. 

The more I stare at him, the more his eyes pierce deep into me, making me conscious of what I am doing and making me think this is not just an image.

Quickly, I scroll down.

His age, background and every other thing about the man I call my boss is there on the internet.

There is just one thing that baffles people around the office as well as the public. I won't lie that I am not baffled too.

I have never heard of him being in a romantic relationship since I started working here and I have never seen a woman come looking for him.

Why does he want to get married for just a year? Is this all for business sake?

My eyes fall on the networth and I gasp softly. He is my boss and I know he is f***ing rich but I never thought he was this loaded. He is not just a billionaire, he is a f***ing trillionaire with businesses all over the continent.

My hands shake rigorously and I stand up abruptly to pack my things.

I need to see Juliet. I need to tell her what happened in the office today. And I need to tell her all about my boss.

I need her advice, then I can make a decision.

Whatever decision I make, I hope it will favor me and I won't have any regrets at the end of the day.