THE CEO'S CONTRACT MARRIAGE

CASSANDRA'S POV

"You don't seem very happy. Penny for your thoughts?" Juliet, my best friend and my boss' sister says to me waving a hand in front of my face.

I turn to her and see her run a finger through her unruly hair. In all honesty I'm not quite sure she's even had a chance to properly look at a mirror today but by some cosmic miracle she stands out like a polished gem, attracting stares of appreciation from each person that passes by.

The intricacies of having a hot friend...

Clearing my throat, I reply, "There's no need for me to be elated after all, I'm not the one who's getting married."

She peers at me. "Not exactly, but you are the one who orchestrated this entire fiasco. You're the one that managed to accomplish the impossible."

"Oh come on... now you are simply exaggerating. It wasn't that bad."

As though what I had said had answered her suspicions, she leans forward to me across the table. "Now I know that something is most definitely wrong with you. What happened? Are you sad Jarred is getting married? Cassandra Lilly Day!!! I told you not to fall for him!..but then again...there really isn't much to fall for anyway. So I repeat what happened?"

Sighing, I use my left hand to pick at non-existent lint on my dress. The yellow color bright against my skin, making me seem happier than I actually am. "I...I just got an email saying that I didn't get the position at Hemingway. I don't know what to feel at the moment."

"Oh no...I'm so sorry Cass," Juliet says, scratching the back of her head uncomfortably. "I know how hard you worked on getting that interview. Hell, I was right beside you when you kept on googling different slides on balancing ledgers."

It had been four long months that I had spent every living day working on the presentation for the Archer company's human resources department, yet they still rejected my job transfer. It honestly hurts a lot more than it should. I mean I know that I wasn't exactly trying to get the best HR position, I still felt that I deserved to get it. I had hoped and dreamed of taking the company to heights never seen before and showing them what I've got, but I guess that I'll never really be able to.

Better luck next year... I guess

"I guess I wasn't cut out for the job," I say with a resolved sigh.

"Excuse me if I sound crass but that's a load of steaming horse shit," Juliet says so matter-of-factly that I start laughing.

"If it's any consolation, you still get to work alongside the man who runs Archer corporations."

I roll my eyes at my best friend. "Yes because I've been foaming at the mouth to continue to work with the country's coldest and most arrogant CEO."

"True...big brother does tend to be far more conceited than your average male."

"Hence the theme," I say, waving around the room with a shit-eating grin.

Juliet glances around, taking in the pink decor, napkins that are folded in the shape of a swan, and a very questionable flower arch that bore the flickering neon sign "It's my engagement bitches!" and raises an eyebrow. "If he doesn't love it, then it only proves my point that he's a monster."

Batting my eyes with faux sweetness, I ask, "Why wouldn't he love it? I only planned the party like he asked me to. If he wanted a different kind of party, then he should have said so."

Juliet shakes her head at me. "You my friend are the spitting image of the word lethal. Remind me to never get on your bad side."

I reach out and grab her hand. "The day you do, sweetie, I'd suggest you rent an underground bunker in some third world country because the repercussions won't be funny. "

Juliet contemplates on my words for a second before fake shivering and yanking her hand out of mine. "So... where's our blushing bride-to-be?"

"Jared said he wanted to go over the ground rules with her, so he decided to meet her before the announcement."

Her eyes widen just a fraction. "What?!" She exclaims so loudly it attracts a couple of stares to our table, which she shoos with a wave of her hand and a muttered sorry that I'm pretty sure was not heartfelt but because she's beautiful she somehow gets pardoned for it before turning to look back at me again. "What I mean to say is... why ever in the world would you let him do that?!" She whisper-yells at me.

"Uh... because he hasn't met her yet and I thought it wouldn't hurt anyone if the soon-to-be bride and bridegroom are on a first-name basis."

Juliet parrots my words in a sarcastic tone. "He hasn't met her yet...of course he wasn't supposed to meet her yet. It's a terrible idea."

"You think he's going to make her change her mind, don't you?"

"Knowing big brother...I have a feeling that that poor girl is probably on her way to New Mexico."

"Relax, Jules...she signed a contract. It's pretty much a done deal. She wouldn't try to run away."

"Come on, Cass, you know what Jarred can be like," Juliet says with a shrug of her shoulders.

My eyes dart between the closed elevator doors and my best friend. Julia's words have made me rethink my earlier decision.

What was I thinking...Jarred is a nightmare and more especially to the opposite sex.

"Maybe...maybe I should go check on them."

I try to bring myself to my stand, but Juliet quickly pulls me back onto my seat. "Nope! I won't allow it. Besides, tonight you are taking tonight off."

"But, you said-"

"I know what I said. Look, I'm probably wrong. Jared wouldn't risk losing everything just because of something stupid. My brother might be a complete moron at times, but I'm sure he knows when to hold back."

"Oh, now I know you are lying," I say, completely unconvinced.

Jules tosses her head back and laughs for a full minute before lifting me up and linking arms with me. "Come on, girl. You worry too much. Jared will be fine." She steers me in the direction of the main hall. "Now tell me, in the course of your party planning, did you add mini hors d'oeuvres to the catering? And if so...what kind?"

"Cassandra!" A booming voice calls out from a distance, causing Juliet and me to freeze in our steps.

We both simultaneously turn around to see Jarred walking briskly to us.

His deep, cold voice seems to have cleared out the room because the room that had initially been teeming with waiters had now been cleared out in a matter of seconds.

"Boy sure knows how to make an entrance," Juliet mutters under her breath, causing me to involuntarily smile, but I soon wipe it off on Jarred's arrival.

The air by now has morphed into something akin to tension as Jared's cold, icy glare was clearly offsetting global warming. His well-built body blocks my view of the lobby.

He comes to a halt in front of a spotlight. The harsh lighting would normally sallow one's features, but in his case, it seems to enhance it by bringing out the sheer darkness of his eyes and his sharp jaw.

Unlike Juliet with her "I probably was prom queen but I could totally pass off for the girl next door look" with her very long strawberry blond hair and light blue eyes, Jarred's kinda reminds of an ocean at night, dark, ominous, and could consume you with one false move.

He was the very embodiment of dread, and he made everyone that encountered him run for the hills without a second glance.

Well...not everyone.

Everyone except me, that is. For some reason, I'm the only one who was able to see through his BS and cohabit with him. My colleagues might have claimed that my hefty salary was the main reason I stuck around, but they'd be wrong - Jarred's presence at the office made the money barely tolerable.

The thing is, after our initial rocky few months together, he and I had somehow managed to have a somewhat (keyword being somewhat) working relationship and grow to have mutual respect for each other.

Although we were very different in all ramifications, we still managed to make things work.

Stepping in between the two Archer siblings, I ask, "Jarred, why the heck are you here? Or could it be time for the announcement?"

I raise my hand to look at my wristwatch in order to check the time. "Nope, we've still got a couple of minutes. So I repeat, why in the world are you here?"

Jarred focuses his full attention on me, his eyes never leaving mine. Most people would probably buckle under his gaze, but I stare at him head on.

"She's gone."

"What?"

CASSANDRA'S POV

"She's gone," Jarred says with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

"Who's gone? The ice sculptor? Damn it, I knew that he couldn't be trusted. I should go tell-"

"Why would we even need an ice sculpture in the first place? Not him...the girl."

"What girl?" I ask, staring right back at him with confusion clear as day on my face.

"The one who was supposed to be my wife... Meredith. She's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" I ask as my eyes scan his face for some sort of mirth or humor but find nothing.

The bastard is dead serious...

"She quit."

"What?! Meredith quit?! Why?!" I exclaim at the same time Julia lets out a sarcastic "This is just fabulous," beside me.

I use my right hand to try and smoothen out any wrinkles on my face as I try to process how Jarred, in a matter of seconds, has ruined several months of me trying to find someone who lacked sufficient brain cells to agree to marry him.

"Sorry to say this Cass...but I told you so," Jules says with a resolved sigh. I shoot her a look of annoyance which she didn't meet because she turned to face her brother. "You...you just couldn't help yourself, could you? You couldn't mask your horrid personality for even a second."

Jarred shrugs his shoulders again before responding, "It's not my fault that Cassandra decided to choose the most belligerent blonde that she could find."

"Oh, so it's my fault," I chime in as I desperately try to keep my emotions in check.

He's your boss, Cassandra...you have to remember that.

"All I'm saying is that she wasn't a right fit for the job."

"Like you are the most amazing human being that has ever walked the face of the Earth."

"Well...if the shoe fits."

"It doesn't!" I say to him, completely and utterly exasperated.

"You know Jared, this was the exact reason dad decided to put the inheritance clause in the first place. The poor man thought that at least a good woman would be able to make you soften your heart, but I guess he forgot that you actually needed to have a heart in the first place," Julia retorts harshly.

"Our father was an irate man whose irresponsible acts and several repeated vices have caused us to not have a second of peace. His only reprieve in life was him getting his dick wet at every chance he got. So remove him from the pedestal that you placed him on," Jarred responds.

Hate to say it, but one point for Jarred.

"That's no way to talk about our father," Julia says, eyes flashing.

"And that's no way to talk to your older brother."

Julia's hands clench her phone so hard that her knuckles are now white, whereas Jarred raises his eyebrows in a silent taunt.

"Enough!" I say, drawing the attention to me when I realize that this siblings' feud would not end nicely.

I turn to face Julia. "Jules...now is not the time. What I need from you is a way to fix this and as for you," I say, returning my focus to Jarred, "You don't get to be caustic because you are the very reason we are in this mess."

Julia scoffs. "Fix this?...count me out."

I fight the urge to roll my eyes heavenward as I reach for my phone and try to dial Meredith's number. Unexpectedly, it rings and it gives me hope for a second, but it is soon dashed when it goes straight to voicemail. "Damn it."

"I can't believe you expected her to pick up after an encounter with this brute... I bet you that she's probably on the next flight to Prague or anywhere that can put a good distance between her and this dummy."

"What do you suggest we do now, boss?" I ask Declan, my tone dripping with sarcasm. "As it stands, just beyond this hallway is a room teeming with tons of people and, more importantly, reporters who are just dying to hear about your engagement to this mystery woman."

Jarred does nothing but glare at me intensely, a glare which I return with a matching fervor.

Juliet taps her heels on the ground in a rhythmic motion as though to remind us that she was still present. "Like he knows what to do...oh, I just know that Ryan is going to have a field day with this."

At her words, my face falls. I didn't even think of him. Ryan Asher was their older half-brother who was trying to compete with Jarred for his position as CEO. Although he was not aware of Jarred's requirements to claim his inheritance...he isn't dumb. If he gets even the slightest inkling of what Jarred was planning, then no doubt he could ruin everything.

Okay...what the hell do I do?!

I dial Meredith's number once again for good measure, but mostly to reassure myself, but at the end of the day, I'm met with voicemail once more.

"That voicemail is the forewarning of Jarred's doom," Julia says with a click of her tongue.

"Don't you have better things to do? No catfights to settle? Or some dress to showcase?" Jared says to her.

"And miss the drama that will ensue because of your foolishness? Never, darling," she says with a flick of her hair while simultaneously offering him her brightest smile.

I try hardest to tune them out, and my legs of their own accord begin to pace the hallways back and forth as I consider my options.

I could always call Britney....but then again, Jarred said he would rather jump off a building than spend a single minute with her.

'There's Clarissa. She was madly in love with Jarred at some point,' my subconscious offers.

Yeah...but Jarred destroyed her self-confidence by calling her a pitiful nobody...

One by one, my options slowly begin to lose their feasibility and with them comes an astronomical increase in my anxiety.

Oh my father in heaven...this is so, so, so not good....

CASSANDRA'S POV

I bury my face in my palms, completely lost on what I should do.

"Now that I think of it..Cass is single," Jules says with a now devious looking smile. "I mean, she probably is the best for this considering the fact that she's the only female that isn't related to you that hasn't fled the opposite direction."

"What? No!" Jared says, dismissing it without a second thought.

Wait a minute...Jules is on to something... I'm..I'm perfect.

I mean, there's no boyfriend nor any engagement that was holding me back. I could easily take this role with no problem.

I snap my head out of my hands to face Jared once more. "Why not? I don't see you coming up with any better ideas, sunshine."

"You can't just decide to-" Jared says before being cut off by the squeal of delight coming from right behind him.

"Oh, there you guys are. I have been looking for the groom-to-be all over," says Chantal, the wedding planner, in her faux Parisian accent.

"It just keeps getting better and better," Jules says with a Cheshire smile that keeps growing with each passing second.

"Now where is our blushing bride-to-be? I must say that I've been dying to meet her," she says, smiling from ear to ear as she uses her other hand to adjust her in-ear communicators while clutching her clipboard with the other.

It's times like this I'm grateful I had the foresight to withhold Meredith's identity just because of incidents like this.

'Cassandra, listen to me...you can't possibly be considering the idea of marrying him. Hell, you don't even love him,' my subconscious all but yells at me.

So? What has love got to do with this anyway? That chemical has done more harm than good to the human population anyway.

"That..." I say, making my way over to Jared and linking my arms with his. "That, Chantal, would be me."

At my words, Jules somehow manages to choke on her own spit as she looks at us.

If shock was personified, then Jared would be it as he stares down at our entwined arms and then at me again.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" He whispers through clenched teeth, his words containing more than enough venom to shatter one's composure.

"Why... I'm trying to save your arse after your royal screw-up, sweetie," I say, giving the last word more emphasis with my eyes while giving him a saccharine-ridden smile.

'Cassandra, please don't do this,' my subconscious begs me.

I don't have much of an option here.

'This...this is marriage. It's not as simple as returning something from Brandy's. It's for life.'

It's only a few years anyway.

'Well...what about children? He's going to need some and you absolutely despise children.'

Then I can learn to love them...

'Yeah, and pigs fly right out of Jared's arse and shart rainbows and sunsets.'

Okay... good one.

'Cassandra, you are missing the point,' my subconscious retorts, and I can almost draw a mental image of it facepalming.

Turning my attention to Chantal, I shoot her the brightest smile I could muster given the circumstances as my hands snake downwards to hold Jared's hand. His hand instinctively tries to jerk away from mine, but I tighten my grip on him and don't let go.

Oh goody... he's repulsed by my touch.

"I'm really sorry Chantal...I haven't been completely honest with you."

Chantal's eyes dims a little bit as she looks at me from head to toe. I'm guessing I wasn't what she expected and to be honest I don't blame her...I wasn't expecting myself either.

"You see... I couldn't introduce myself to you as Jarred's fiance because my being his assistant not to mention the fact that and of Jarred's status has many enemies that could do a lot with that information."

"I...i understand.i would have done so in your position"

"It took a lot of guts for us to showcase ourselves tonight but we were laying in bed one day"I say trying to not let the strangled involuntary groan of disgust that had escaped Jarred on hearing my words not affect me "-and we just decided to fuck it after all at the end of the day it was him and I in the relationship and if we were to reveal our relationship to the world then no Karen's opinion should matter."

From the corner of my eye I could see Julia fighting the urge to laugh as she watched between her brother and I.

As if it was the time to be laughing at my expense...

'Hmnph...You brought this expense on yourself' my subconscious retorts

"That means that tonight must be very monumental for you guys then." Chantal says her eyes full of understanding. "I just hope I was able to bring your expectations to life."

"Oh,

you'll definitely bring up something," Jules says, the mirth clear in her eyes.

Chantal is about to say something, but she is interrupted by a voice that buzzes through her earcom. Placing a hand on her ear, she nods her head up and down for a couple of minutes.

"Uhmm, Cassandra...I've been told that you have eh.. five minutes before you make your entrance. So bear that in mind," Chantal says before walking into the main hall.

"Time to get this show on the road," Julia says as she claps the shoulders of her brother. "Good luck, big brother...you couldn't have chosen a more perfect bride," she says and strolls off, leaving the two of us in the hallway.

Unsure of what to do, we both watch Julia's retreating figure in silence. My eyes find their way to our hands for some strange reason Jared hadn't ripped his hand apart from mine. I turn my head to look at him, only to see that he was doing the exact same thing I was doing a second ago.

Jared was usually unreadable, but today I could see various emotions run through his eyes...from anger to annoyance and finally to resolve. My heart was held suspended as I waited for his reaction.

He lets out a sigh before raising our fingers upwards into my field of vision.

"Well then... Engaged we are."

Till death do us part...oh, fuck my life.