4– Kayden

I won.

That was the thought that crossed my mind as I watched Gabrielle, my Gabrielle, scribble her signature onto the documents.

They thought they had cornered her into this. Her boss was sweating bullets, and my lawyer thought he was saving the day. But this had been my endgame from the very start.

Two years ago, I saw her across a crowded room at a charity gala. She had looked unimpressed by the room full of athletes and billionaires, completely focused on making her rounds like someone who had a job to do and no time for games. 

I had tried to catch her eye, to flash the smile that usually got me whatever I wanted, and she had walked right past me without a second glance.

Her beauty was everything I coveted. And as a competitor who refused to lose, I didn’t know how to stop until I had what I wanted.

It took me many months to figure out she was working under Arthur Sterling. It took many more of asking for favors and pulling strings behind the scenes to finally get her assigned as my personal handler six months ago.

And then the real torture began.

I played the part of the reckless, arrogant athlete because it was the only way to get her to look at me, to get her to touch me, to get her to snap. 

I pushed every boundary I could find. I wanted her to crack. I wanted her exasperation, her fury, anything that meant she actually saw me. 

But for six months, she remained impenetrable. 

She drafted my NDAs, she glared at me with disdain, and she kept me at arm's length.

I knew I had to do something drastic if I wanted her to look at me and not see a project. 

So I forced the issue. I made sure the angle of the kiss was clearly captured, and I made sure my guy at the gossip blog had the file within minutes.

I didn't want to ruin her, and a part of me hated the panic in her eyes today, but desperation made a man do ugly things. Now, she was legally bound to me for thirty days. 

Thirty days to prove I wasn't just a headline.

Thirty days to make her see me.

Thirty days to make her fall for me.

Every single day for the next month, I’ll invent a new way to win her heart. And this new project of mine? It would be titled: Thirty Ways To Win A Heart.

“How are we playing this now that everyone has signed?” my agent asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Whatever needs to be done should be done quick. We have to head to the Arena to start prepping for tonight’s game.”

“We can go to the arena together, and a video of me watching him practice can be leaked,” Gabrielle chimed in, her voice clipped and professional.

“That doesn’t work,” Arthur shot the idea down immediately. “Your first official announcement as a couple shouldn’t be a video of you watching him from the sidelines like a fan. We need something more intimate. Use your head, Gabrielle. This is your job.”

“Well, pardon me for being slow. I’ve never had to clean up a PR mess that involved me,” Gabrielle bit back.

I held back a laugh.

The girl was so brazen. The sheer fire in her attitude made my blood rush every single time she opened her mouth.

"We need to decide on how to go about this and get the first post up before noon," Arthur breathed, giving Gabrielle a stern look before turning his gaze to me. "I already have some people running with the romance angle. We need to confirm it as soon as possible.”

“How about we capture a natural moment where we’re both in bed as a couple?” Gabrielle suggested after a brief, tense silence. “It’d be a selfie, of course, if we want it to look authentic. One of us can pretend to still be asleep while the other takes an unaware picture of the cuddly moment.”

“Good idea. Let’s run with it!” Arthur exclaimed.

“So,” I perked up, crossing my arms. “Which one of us is going to be asleep, and which one is clicking the camera?”

“It’s only natural that the one who is obsessed with being in a relationship with me clicks the picture. It’d look much nicer from his angle,” Gabrielle said. It was obvious she was throwing a jab at me.

“Is that so?” 

I stood up and closed the distance between us, stepping into her designated three-foot bubble despite the warning flash in her eyes. I reached out, my fingers catching the lapel of her expensive shirt.

"What are you doing?" she hissed under her breath, her jaw clenching.

“Don’t tell me you plan on looking this stiff in the 'natural, just-waking-up' picture idea you just pitched?” I murmured back, letting a slow, genuine smirk touch my lips. I let my knuckles brush against her collarbone, feeling her breath hitch. "If you're trying to sell the world that we've been deeply in love, you might want to ditch the funeral attire. No woman deeply in love with her man wears a button-down choked up to her throat so early in the morning, and definitely not while in bed.”

"I am dressed professionally," she gritted out through a bitter smile.

“Yes,” I agreed. “And you look absolutely gorgeous. Except this is not the time to be dressed professionally.”

“Kayden—”

"Don’t argue with me," I teased, letting my hand slide down to lightly catch her hip, pulling her an inch closer than our rules allowed. I leaned down so my lips brushed the shell of her ear, keeping my voice low enough for only her to hear. "Go upstairs, Gabrielle. Put on one of my shirts, let it hang off your shoulder and sprawl yourself out on my bed.”

Her brows drew together. “Excuse you?”

A breathy scoff escaped my nostrils as I stepped back, letting my eyes trail down her frame. “If we're going to play this game, Gabrielle, you're going to look like a woman who actually belongs to a man like me."