Chapter One

Claire was a bit tipsy in the dimly lit bar. Her eyes fell on the handsome stranger sitting in the corner, and she wanted him. She knew it was the alcohol, but she couldn't care less, especially after finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her with her best friend.

Staggering over to him, she took the empty seat in front of him. "Hey, handsome," she said.

He said nothing and just stared at her.

"Want to have a fun night with me?" she continued.

He said nothing, but he started to consider it. It wouldn't hurt to have a one-night stand with the pretty woman in front of him. It might help him take his mind off his father's death and the inheritance issues going on in his family that he was tired of.

“My place?” He finally spoke

“Yes” She replied and they left the bar together to his place.

As she stirred awake the next morning, the presence of a stranger beside her flooded her with regret and embarrassment. Quietly, she slipped out of bed, dressing swiftly to avoid disturbing him, then tiptoed out of the room. It was only outside the building that she realized she had left barefoot, having rushed out without her shoes. She looked up at the house. “Wow, he must be really rich.”

But there was no time to waste; she had to rush down to work. It was her first day as an office worker. Rushing out of the compound, she got a cab that took her home. She quickly got ready and made it to work just in time.

She had barely settled in after seeing her team manager, who assigned tasks to her, when she started hearing murmurs about the new CEO.

"I heard he’s coming to the office today. I've been dying to see him," one person said.

"I hope he’s as handsome as I’ve heard," another person said, and Claire just listened. She dared not chip in, but it made her curious about the new CEO too.

"Claire, get the files on the table down to the marketing team now," her manager's voice snapped her out of her trance.

She quickly got up and did as she was told, but on her way out, she bumped into someone, her face colliding with his chest. He smelled familiar. "Where did I smell this cologne?" Claire thought to herself as she took a step back and looked up to see a familiar face staring down at her.

"The guy from last night?!" she exclaimed in her head.

He looked down at her as if he had a lot to say but said nothing. His face was dark, and his expression quickly became unreadable.

"You... you work here?" Claire stammered.

"It's not anything you should concern yourself with. Continue what you were doing." He replied in his deep voice.

She moved out of the way, and he proceeded with his secretary following behind him. The secretary clapped to get everyone’s attention before announcing, “This is Mr. Alexander Steele, our new CEO.”

Surprised gasps and reactions filled the room, but Claire was the most shocked.

“I’m Alexander, and if it’s not obvious yet, I’m very different from my father. I took my time to visit each team because I don’t want excuses later on. I need everyone to buckle up because it’s going to be a tough ride. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” everyone chanted.

He turned around and took his leave. He did take a quick glance at Claire before he left, though. He could see the surprised look on her face. He had barely reached the elevator when his phone rang. It was his father’s lawyer who read the will.

"Hello."

"Mr. Steele, I heard you went into the office today."

"Yes, I did."

"I told you it was written in the will that you have to get married before you can properly take over the company and everything else that was willed to you by your late father. Your stepmother and children have been trying to kick you out from the sides. They said you'll never get married because you don't have anyone to marry. This might help them win the case if they decide to take you to court. You might lose all your inheritance."

He didn’t say anything for a while. "I'll get married tomorrow," he finally said.

"What?"

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

He hung up after that. He called his secretary, who was behind him. "Get me a list of eligible women that I can marry tomorrow and draft a three-month contract agreement."

“That’ll be hard, sir. No woman from a wealthy family is ready to marry you due to the rumor that your position in the company is unstable.”

He scoffed. “This company is mine, and no one will take it from me.” He stopped and shook his head, as if he got an idea. “The new employee on the editing team. Get me her file and everything about her.”

Claire was engrossed in her work when her intercom rang. She quickly picked up, and a deep voice sounded over the phone. “Come up to the 40th floor.”

“But that’s the CEO offi..” she was trying to say but she got cut off.

She quickly made her way up and entered the office. His back was turned against her when she entered.

“Sir,” she said in a low voice, wondering why she was there.

He turned around and offered her a seat, which she took, still unsure why she was there.

“You left your shoes at my place.”

She almost choked on her spit because she didn’t expect him to bring it up so casually like that, making her cough repeatedly.

“Is that why you called me here?”

“No, I called you here because I have a proposal for you.”

“And that is?”

“For you to marry me.”