A hard decision to make

                          ~DANIEL~

       Last night, before I left the company, I had called and instructed my private investigator to find out everything about Jessica Adams.

And within an hour later, he had sent everything I needed to know about her to my phone.

Aged twenty four.

Lost her birth mom when she's ten from a critical illness.

Studied business management and commerce at Minot state university.

Graduated at the age of twenty two.

Graduated with a first class honor.

Worked in a few places after graduation but went back to being unemployed again.

Lost her dad from a car accident.

Has a Stepmom and stepsister.

Her boyfriend of three years just ended things with her.

Stepmom is gravely in and her life is in danger.

I got interested in the part where I read that her stepmom is sick.

Poor girl! She's been through a lot.

Witnessing her mother's and father's death must have been so heartbreaking for her, and now her stepmom is seriously ill too.

“Find out the name of the hospital where the stepmom is being treated. I want to know the doctor in charge of her treatment” I had texted and sent to my private investigator.

Within a few minutes, my answers popped up on my screen.

Royal hospital.

Doctor Spencer Tyack.

Wow! Doctor Spencer was a very good friend of mine.

And so, I picked up my phone to call him. He answered almost immediately.

“Hello to the billionaire CEO of Sutherland enterprises” he said cheerfully and I laughed.

“Hi to the famous Doctor Spencer Tyack. I'm sorry to call you this late, but I need a favour from you”

And so I had gotten the full medical condition and reports of Jessica's stepmom and the medical bills, which was a very expensive one, of course, to Jessica.

But to me, I could pull out the money without even blinking an eye.

An idea struck me then. I would use her stepmom's illness to make an offer she wouldn't resist.

I knew I was being heartless, but I had no choice. I won't let that contract slip past me.

***

      This morning, I came to the company earlier than usual. Even earlier than most of my staff.

I knew when Jessica resumed work. I knew when she went to her office and sat on her desk and began working.

I was watching every one of her movements from the camera in my office.

I was watching the way she's working so hard and very focused on the reports she was typing.

She's adjusting her glasses at intervals but that hasn't stopped her from typing, sorting out and arranging files, and being so dedicated to her work.

She was what I wanted.

A hardworking, focused and business minded woman.

If I had doubts before, watching her now cleared the doubts.

And so I painfully waited for the time I felt comfortable to make my proposition.

It's almost dismissal time before I finally gathered the courage to ring the intercom and ask her to come to my office.

When I finally asked her to marry me, her already stressed out and swollen face and the little color in her face faded completely as she absorbed what I just said.

She was shocked and I could understand why.

She's overwhelmed by everything happening. Everything was happening too fast for her.

She just started working for me yesterday and today, I was asking her to marry me.

I noticed she felt furious when I made her know I was aware of her stepmom's condition.

She had every right to be upset. It's unprofessional of a doctor to release a patient's information without the consent of the guidance.

But because of how close I was to Doctor Spencer and because I requested it as a favour, he had to do it, not before making me promise that I didn't mean any harm.

I told her why I feel the contract marriage is a win-win for both of us and stretched out my hand for an agreement, but she left it hanging.

“I'll think about this, Sir” she said and left the office with the folder in her hands.

I tuck my hand back in my pocket. 

I wasn't mad at her. I wasn't expecting her to accept so fast.

From her personality and character, it would have been weird if she had readily accepted.

But I was so convinced that she'll finally accept my proposition.

                      ~JESSICA~

I sat frozen in my seat long after I left Daniel's office.

Marry him?

Was this a joke? Some sick power move?

This was the third time I'm seeing him in my life, and I don't even know anything about him—except that he's the popular billionaire CEO of Sutherland enterprises, and he wants me to marry him?

A fake marriage? A contract marriage??

He wants me to enslave myself in some marriage while I am still dealing with heartbreak and betrayal from Albert??

I looked down at the folder again. Sarah's name stared up at me like a lifeline—and a chain.

The bills were real. I didn’t need to read them to know that. I'd lived them. Watched them pile up on the kitchen counter while I juggle two jobs and still came up short.

And now, out of nowhere, my boss—the cold, sarcastic, workaholic, detached man wanted me to marry him?

A year. A year of pretending. Of smiling for cameras and faking a life that wasn’t mine.

For money.

For Sarah and Grace.

I removed my glasses and buried my face in my hands out of frustration.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

I came to this job to build something, not trade myself in like a pawn. Not become some accessory to help Daniel Sutherland close a billion-dollar deal.

But then... What choice did I have?

Grace’s treatment would cost more than I could ever earn as a secretary—not in years. And even if I did walk away from this job, there were no other offers waiting. No miracles on the horizon.

I wiped my eyes and looked at myself in the small mirror on my table.

 My reflection stared back, tired and raw.

I remembered the way Daniel had said it. No romance. No emotions. Just business. Just a year. Like signing a lease on a condo.

The man clearly didn’t believe in love. I doubted he even believed in people.

 But he was offering me something no one else could—a chance to save my stepmom To survive.

I hated him for putting me in this position.

But I hated fate more—for making it feel like my only way out.

I stared at my hands for a long time, wore my glasses back then I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote a list.

PROS:

– Sarah’s medical bills: covered.

– Private care. Better doctors.

– Financial cushion.

– Freedom from debt.

– It’s temporary. Just a year.

CONS:

– Marrying my boss.

– Faking a life. Lying to the world.

– Getting trapped.

– Losing control.

– Getting hurt.

I bit my lip.

I didn’t trust Daniel Sutherland.

But I trusted the system even less.

Maybe... just maybe... I could do this.

If I played it smart. If I kept my guard up. If I remembered exactly what this was—a business transaction, not a fairytale.

I glanced toward his office, then slowly stood up.

I had a decision to make.

And I already knew what it was.