The CEO and I (Marriage by Contract)

ALEXANDER'S POV

I stood a couple of paces away from the bed. The bed my father laid on, was wired to machines that I couldn't tell what they did except to keep him alive, till this moment. The doctor called me saying he doesn't have much time left and that my father wanted to see me immediately. I grabbed my keys, left the company, and rushed over to the hospital to see this almost-dead man smiling up at me.

"You're about to die, what's funny?" I asked in a strained voice.

"Oh it's nothing, I'm just thinking about the life I lived. Your mother, God bless her soul, and then there's you." He says and I shove my hands in my pocket.

"You shouldn't think father, you should concentrate on breathing, " I say to him nervous at moving closer. I had this nightmare last week that I tangled up the wires connected to his machine and he died because of that. The remembrance of that dream made me step a few paces back, I definitely cannot be the cause of his death. "No it's okay, I had a dream last night.

I saw the pearly old gates gleaming so brightly " he said dreamily and I scoffed. "You sure you're going to heaven old mad?" I asked and he laughed. He laughed so hard that he started to cough and for a few seconds, it scared the shit out of me. I moved to call the doctor but he grabs my wrist, "No need, I'm fine" he says.

"Did you call me here to tell me about the pearly old gates?" I asked him anxious to leave this place. I hated hospitals, they gave me the creeps. Mom was here for about six months after she had a ghastly accident, gracias lord, she's fine now. Now my father was here about to take his last breath. Don't blame me if I was ready to burst out of here.

"I left you a gift, in the will," he says so animatedly and I smile. "So there's a will?" I ask and he laughs again but he doesn't cough this time. "Yes you silly boy, there's a will. It's something your mother and I discussed last night." He says and I raise an eyebrow. "So you edited the will this morning?" I asked and he shakes his head. "Last night when I woke up, I sent for the lawyer" he whispers like it's some sort of secret.

"That shouldn't be possible, you're not sane enough to do that," I say and he sighed. "Imagine my son calling me crazy" he mumbles before turning to me. "I remember every one of the passcodes to the will, every security question and answer so I'm quite sure of how sane I am," he says and we both laugh.

"Will you tell me what it is?'' I ask him and he shakes his head. "No, no, then it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, would it ?" He asked me with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. "Well ever it is, I hope it's good," I say and he smiles. "Your mother insisted, so you know it's good," he says. "I want to be buried with your mother's photo. You know the one I'm talking about, the one on my desk." He says and I sigh. "The one you both took when you got married?" I asked and he hums, yes that one.

He coughs again and this time and he doesn't stop. I see the pain in his eyes as the machines start beeping. I rush out to call the doctor but before I could make it to the door, I hear that final beep. The one we hear in movies, the one that tells us the person connected to the machine is gone from this world.

I stood from a distance as I watched my mother and younger sister Olivia say their final goodbyes to our father with teary eyes and heavy hearts. The doctors and nurses came and gave their condolences which held no meaning to us at that moment, but only made things worse because it was already a routine for them.

The burial was a quick one. My father hated large gatherings because they only brought drama, so only a few relatives were invited. We all watched as he was lowered 6 feet under, it was a sight for sore eyes. I moved closer and placed a picture of my mother beside him just as he wanted and said a final goodbye.

It's 6 am the next morning and the will was to be read to us all by 7 am at the family house. I hurriedly got out of bed, did my morning routine, and took a quick shower and by 6:40 I was out of the house and on my way to the family house. I walked into the room and everyone was sitting already, including the lawyer. After he shared his condolences, he began reading the will.

My father left half of his entire worth to the absolute love of his life, my mother. He left his charity organization and his mansion in Seychelles to my sister Olivia, she must be thrilled, I mean she always wanted those.

"To Alexander, I leave my 6 figure automobile company and two third of my net worth to you only on the condition that you get married within a month or your share of inheritance will be given out to the poor and used for community work" the will read.

At that moment my heart palpitated, my fingers went cold and time stopped. This has to be a joke of some sort. I do agree my father and I never had that mushy father-son relationship, but regardless! how could he be so cruel even in death, binding my whole life course and achievement to a contract marriage? Someone had better wake me up from this nightmare of a dream!

I stormed out of the room into the hallway with red-shot eyes fuming with so much anger as I walked out to the parking lot where my car was parked. Took a glance at my watch and it was already half past 8. Damn, I'm late for work but oh well, who has the guts to question the CEO. I zoomed off in so much annoyance because my entire life was about to take a drastic turn.

ALEXANDER'S POV

I finally got to work at about 10 minutes to 9, walked into the building, and took the elevator up to the penthouse where my office was. I walked past a couple of staff and they all greeted me but I was in no mood for unsolicited greetings because there was absolutely nothing good about my morning!

Got into my office and just stopped for a while. I took a glance around the room, walked towards my desk, and for a moment I just stood there and romanticized the slate engraved with my name and position on it. At that moment it all hit me again.

I can't afford to lose all of these, hell no I can't! I've worked so hard to get this far and no one has the right to take it all away from me!, but for that not to happen, I knew I needed a plan, and fast!

I went around the table, pulled out my chair and just buried myself into it. A million thoughts were running through my mind. I knew I needed to act fast but somehow I remained blank because, marriage?, has never even been on the table for me, but now I'm being coerced to do it within a month.

I leaned back into my chair, my hands clenched into a fist, my eyes surveying the vast cityscape outside the floor-to-ceiling window, with my mind consumed by the impending crisis that threatened to dismantle my entire empire. The weather was pretty nice for such a shitty day, I sighed.

I took a deep breath as my mind still paced back and forth, thinking of who on earth I was supposed to get married to. I scoffed at the absurdity of it all, as I replayed the words of the lawyer in my head.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. "Come in," I said. It was my secretary, Emma Davis. At that moment it all pieced together!, Yes!, Her!, I thought to myself, with my blue eyes gleaming so brightly. She's the perfect fit! Emma and I have worked together for the past 4 years, she's the one person who has had a constant presence in my life.

There was a little ray of hope now, but I knew full well it was going to be no easy task convincing her to agree to contract marriage, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Mr Alex" Emma called out and I snapped back into reality. "Forgive me, I was caught up in a web of my thoughts for a moment," I said. "That's alright, you have a board meeting in 10 minutes sir," she said. "Alright, thank you," I said as she walked out of my office. I needed to get myself together, I couldn't afford to be caught engrossed in my thoughts during the board meeting.

I walked over to the coffee machine and made myself a cup of coffee. I needed the caffeine to wake me up and give me that boost I needed and it worked. I went off to the meeting and in no time, we were done. On my way out of the conference room, I asked Miss Emma to see me in my office after she was done.

I got back into my office, took off my suit jacket, and swung it around my leather chair as I sat down. A couple of minutes later, Emma walked into my office. I felt my feet and fingers go numb as it was time to let the cat out of the bag.

"You asked to see me, sir," she said. "Yes Emma, I did. I have a proposal for you" I replied. She stood there across the table with so much confusion in her eyes as she asked "A proposal?".

I got up, hands folded behind my back, as I paced back and forth the length of my office, pondering on how to break it to her. "Yes, a proposal ", I finally answered breaking the silence. At this point, I stopped pacing, turned in her direction, and just blurted out " I want us to get married".

The shock on her face was unexplainable. I could see her fingers fidgeting even from a distance. "Us? get married?" she answered shakingly. I moved closer as I began to explain the situation and the content of my father's will to her.

"I need time to process all of this" she replied still fidgeting. "That's alright, I understand Emma," I said. "Thank you, and good day sir," she said as she hurriedly walked out of the room.

EMMA'S POV

"Such a silly dream!"I giggled. This is a dream yeah?, it has to be a dream, I thought to myself as I walked over to my tiny desk, almost missing my steps. I grabbed my phone, called my roommate Sarah, and asked to meet up at our usual spot since it was only a few minutes before my closing hour.

I clumsily arranged the files on my desk, wrote out my boss's schedule for tomorrow, and rounded up work for the day. It was half past 5 already, so I took the elevator down to the last floor and got a taxi headed to Cheers, a bar where I and Sarah always met after work.

"A glass of cold beer," I said to the waiter as I settled into the chair. Sarah hadn't arrived yet, as usual, a classical latecomer, she was never on time for anything. I buried my head in my hands as I replayed the words of my boss in my head. I scoffed at the absurdity of it all.

A thud on the table interrupted my train of thought, it was Sarah. "Hi babes," she said as she grinned so widely. "Took you forever," I said as I rolled my eyes at her. "How was work, you look like you got run over by a train, you good?" Sarah asked. "Hell no, I'm not good. The craziest shit happened at work today" I replied.

"Well, what's with the suspense, fill me in!" she said. The waiter interrupted our conversation for a moment as she brought our drinks, I ordered one for Sarah already, cause I knew she was going to be late as usual.

"My boss asked us to get married," I said. She spat out the drink stuffed in her mouth in shock. "Crap!, you've got beer all over the place now" I shouted. "Sorry babes, but you just dropped a bomb, what were you expecting," she said and once again, I rolled my eyes at her.

"Is this a joke?" She asked. "Damn, I wish it was" I replied. I explained the content of the will to her and she was dumbfounded. "So you're getting married to your boss" she teased me with a smirk on her face.

"Can we just skip that, I've had one hell of a day" I said. We chatted a little more, and after a couple more drinks we called it a day and headed home together.

EMMA'S POV

The first rays of sunlight lit up my room, and the mythical sounds of birds chirping at my window brought ease to me. I rolled over and clumsily picked up my phone, it was 7:20 am. Thankfully, I didn't wake up late today.

I sluggishly pulled out of bed, yawned, and tied my hair up in a bun. I walked over to the bathroom stealthily, trying not to wake Sarah up. I did my skincare routine, washed up, and went over to the kitchen to grab a cup of hot coffee.

I went over to the couch in the living room, slowly sipping my cup of coffee with my mind lost in space. "Mrs Reed" Sarah teased. "Oh c'mon Sarah," I said as I rolled my eyes at her. "Aren't you almost late for work honey?" she asked. "I'm all set, washed up already. I just need to get dressed and I'm good to go", I replied.

"Can you make dinner before I'm home today?" I asked with cute eyes, it was her day off, so she was going to be home all day. I can already tell I'm going to have one hell of a day. "Alright darling, I've got you. What would you like though?" She asked. "Mac and cheese please" I replied with my eyes completely lit up. "Got you!" She replied as she laughed.

"Now chop, off you go to work darling," Sarah said. I handed my empty cup to her and went off to get dressed for work. I was all dressed as I walked over in Sarah's direction, gave her a peck, and ran off. "Urgh!" I heard her scream. She hated it when I did that.

A taxi dropped me off at work, and for a moment I just stood out front and took a deep breath, it was going to be a long day. "You look like you've seen a monster," someone said from behind. I turned in that direction and it was my boss, Alexander. For a moment I lost my balance, and was almost falling off my heels.

"Good morning sir," I said in a strained voice, "Morning Emma" he replied. "We have quite a schedule today, get yourself together," he said. Did he just say that!?, get me together. I can't believe he's acting like nothing happened yesterday. Great!, I'm the only one working myself up about it.

I rolled my eyes as we both walked into the building. We took the elevator up to the penthouse where our offices were. The awkward silence on the way up was deafening. "Get me my schedule for the day," he said as he walked over to his office.

A couple of minutes later, I was in his office. "Here's your schedule sir. You have a meeting with a client by 9:30 and another meeting with the marketing team by 11" I said. "Thought I was to have a meeting with the media team as well," he asked. "Yes sir, but not until tomorrow" I replied.

"Alright then, thank you, Emma," he said. " Have you considered my proposal though?" He asked, but just as I was about to reply a knock on the door interrupted our conversation. "Come in," he said. It was his younger sister, Olivia.

"Good morning ma'am" I greeted, just as I walked out of the room. "Morning Emma" she replied absentmindedly. I guess she's still shaken up over the loss of their father. Olivia had always been so friendly to me, I hope she gets her spark back soon enough.

I walked over to my desk, and I suddenly noticed a couple of my coworkers murmuring within themselves, and staring at me with pity in their eyes. Do I have sauce or something on my face? why are they all starring ?, I thought to myself

I decided to approach Emily, our office chatterbox. She was never behind on gossip, so I was sure could tell me what was happening. "Hi Emily, have I got sauce on my face or something?". "No, you don't babe" she replied. "Great, so can you please tell me why everyone keeps staring at me," I asked.

Emily looked around like she was being cautious, turned in my direction, and whispered in a hushed tone "We all just think you're going to have a super hard time handling the boss moving forward". "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" I asked with so much irritation in my voice.

"We heard about the content of his father's will," she said. Bulls!, how in the world did they hear about that already!?. I hate how fast information spreads like wildfire around here, but I should at least be thankful they haven't found out he proposed to me yet. The thought of it alone gave me the creeps.

"Emma" Olivia called out. "Alexander asked me to call you back in on my way out," she said. "Alright, thank you" I replied. I felt my heart palpitate as I walked closer and closer to his office because I knew what this was about.

ALEXANDER'S POV

There was a knock on the door, "come in" I said. It was Emma. Alright, it's time to get this suspense over with I thought to myself.

"Olivia said you sent for me," she said nervously. I could tell she was uneasy, and I hated putting her in that position, but I wasn't left with much of a choice. "Have you thought about my proposal?" I asked. "Uhm, yes sir" she replied.

"Alright, so what's it going to be?" I said. She hesitated and just stood there fidgeting. "Emma?" I called out, she seemed to be lost in her thoughts. "I can't do it" she blurted out with fear in her voice.

I got up and paced back and forth the length of my office, I needed to convince her, I just have to. She's the perfect fit. "Why Emma?" I turned in her direction and asked. "Marriage is a little extreme sir" she replied, nervously chipping away at her nails.

"Please Emma," I said, "no one else fits into the picture. I mean we have worked together for the past 4 years" I added. She took a deep sigh.

"Alright," she reluctantly said. At that moment my eyes lit up, "is that a yes?" I asked. "Yeah it is," she said. But, "We have to keep this a secret for as long as we can" she added. "That's not a problem," I said. "Alright, good day sir," she said as she walked out of the room with a smirk on her face.