Chapter 2

Frederick Sullivan was never born rich. He lived with his petite mother in port Washington, a small and quiet town tucked along the North Shore of Long Island, with a forty-minute commute into Manhattan.

His Father took off to fend for his other family, undeniably abandoning Fred and his mother. So anyone could guess that Fred would grow up to be successful enough to make his bastard Father regret leaving him.

Fred had always had a thing for food and when he realised that this could be his gateway to wealth and everything he ever wanted, he packed his stuffs and with his mother by his side, they went to the big City of New York where he would own one of the biggest food company in the Country, F&S Corporation.

Frederick Sullivan became known as the youngest billionaire in New York City at the age of 28. He owned companies in different parts of the country.

Fred was a clean-cut, good-looking man of elegance and hostility. His eyes were grey-blue, he had a strong jawline and his shoulders were broad not to talk of his great body physique which was captivating. He was a man of cold demeanour and was very intimidating.

"The Te-S company sent an email again, " said Elene, the CEO of F&S Corporation, while placing a cup of coffee on the table standing between her and her boss.

Fred stood at the other end of the large table, backing her. He was focused on the busy roads outside the transparent wall. The cars running back and forth, the busy streets and the tall buildings coming to life once again.

"Is it the same issue?" He replied, still backing her. His stern, deep voice was almost like a whisper.

"I'm afraid so" she said, "Mr Te-Sumi keeps insisting that you come meet him at Seoul, South Korea. And he has a special gift"

" No threats this time huh? I see" he said as he turned to her direction. Mr Te-Sumi, the owner of Te-S company, was a wealthy businessman in South Korea, who had been bothering Fred to sign a business contract with him. Not only that, but he was also inclined on marrying off his daughter to Fred.

He sometimes sent threats too. Mr Te-Sumi wasn't the type Fred could just tell off like that nor someone he could put on a fight with. He was an influential and critical business man, who had 40% of the global business world in his hands. Fred knew better than to go against him.

Fred needed to take action anyways. A nice and easy way to reject him was to be married already, to someone else. He needed a secret marriage contract.

In that case, it would leave Mr Te-Sumi with no choice but to marry his daughter off elsewhere.

But it wouldn't be easy to find someone good for the job. Fred had a certain irritation to people. And he needed someone with class and basic etiquette. Someone good enough to show off as the billionaire's wife without being a laughing stock.

Elene who was standing across from him would have been a good choice. She was more than just showing off. She knew everything about business and was a woman of splendour and elegant beauty.

But she was the CEO of his company. He needed someone who wasn't known. Someone he could tell the press and media that he had been having an affair with in secret. Just the perfect story.

"Send a reply then. Tell him we'll get back to him shortly" he said. Elene nodded and left the room.

He immediately noticed the pile of files on the table where Elene had stood.

With a cup of coffee in his hand, he went over and took a look at the first file. They were the resumes of the applicants for a job in the marketing department. Elene must have brought them in and forgotten them.

He was about to drop the file when he noticed something. The second resume belonged to someone familiar, too familiar. Her brown hair, hazel eyes and soft smile. It belonged to Serena Mundt.

Frederick and Serena stood, staring at each other. His stare was cold. Although in shock, she wondered why he looked at her so glacially. Did he resent her?

What was he angry about ?

Her gaze was between tender and shocked. Sure, he did resent her and wanted to hate her for disappearing without a trace and leaving him empty. But standing this close to her, watching her beautiful eyes shift from his gaze, he couldn't help but feel the urge to hug her so tightly.

He observed her from her dainty feets in flats, her petite body figure, to her slender shoulders and oh, her delicate lips that brought back memories. Ones that he had never forgotten.

"Please have a seat" he ushered

"Oh, right" she quickly sat down, feeling as awkward as ever. Was he the one who was sent to her?

He sat down across from her and provided a document she didn't notice he had been holding.

"Miss Serena Mundt" he called, "you applied for a job in the marketing department"

" Ah, yes I did" she was nervous and one could tell through her feathery voice.

"You got the job… but not the one you applied for" he said while maintaining an intimidating posture. "I have an interesting offer for you" he said as he placed a document on her lead. "How would you like a job that'll pay 5 times the normal pay of a member of the marketing department Miss Serena? "

Serena wasn't focused. Her mind was racing and she wondered if it was the same with Fred or it was just her. It's been nine damn years, how could he just talk to her like they were complete strangers.

She understood if he was angry and besides, she was the one who left anyway but did he not care to know how she'd been at least?. It's not like it was her fault why she left. His cold and nonchalant behaviour towards her made her feel like a dote.

With a blunt look on her face, she quietly read the contents of the document.

"This is ridiculous," she said.

"A contract marriage? "