His Contract Wife

12: 45 pm.Where was Carlson?Leilani May Collins loathed tardiness. She and Carlson agreed to meet at this spot by 12:30 pm, but she came fifteen minutes earlier. Her phone vibrated, and she snatched it off the table before it could ring out and disturb the other diners. A peek at the screen showed it was Carlson. She hit answer.“Hey,” she said into the phone.“Hey, Leila.” His voice sounded the same as it did on their previous calls. Freya, her best friend, might have put the idea he might be a catfish into her head. “Sorry, I’m running late.”Leila stopped tapping the silk-covered table and refolded the napkin. If Carlson wasn’t so handsome and probably a potential love interest, she might have left. She sipped from her glass of water that had gone warm. He was one point down in her book.“All right. How long until you get here?”“Ten minutes top,” he replied.When she’d waited thirty minutes already for him? She was here, anyway, so she might as well stay.“Fine. I’ll be waiting.

The air grew charged, and the caterers worked faster. She muttered her thanks when a server dropped a bottle of wine on her table.Faint voices snapped her to the present, and she turned to the entrance. The song changed as the bride and groom danced in. The man smiled at his wife, and she grinned back. Leila didn’t know them. They were Freya’s friends. More people trickled into the garden, filling up the space fast.Her fingers brushed the wallet in her bag. It would be a miracle if she found the owner. Feeling those curious eyes on her again, she grabbed the glass and poured some wine into it. Not in the mood to drink, she held the glass to her lips, peering at him from above the rim.Thick brows. Full lips. Chiseled jaw. Delicate nose. High cheekbones. His hair was gelled back, giving her the perfect look at his features.The MC said something Leila didn’t hear because she was focused on this man, but it made some guests snicker. His lips quirked, like he knew the effect he had on

Friday came slower than Kelvin wished. His date with Leilani was slated for 5 pm, but he had been at the chosen restaurant since 2 pm. Amara, his assistant, sat across from him in their private booth, sorting through files and making notes on her iPad. Bottles of water, wine glasses, and two chinaware with leftovers from their late lunch littered the table. The white covering reminded him of the tablecloth from Saturday’s wedding.Never again would he make a bet with his younger sister. Yet he couldn’t fight off the twitch at the corner of his lips.Leilani.A thrill rushed through him at the thought of seeing her again today. She requested another date before she would agree to his proposal. He was fine with whatever she demanded, as long as she would marry him.A waiter came to clear their table, and Amara thanked him. He barely spared the man a glance. Soft music played in the background. He preferred silence while he worked, but he couldn’t ask other patrons to leave. His new offi

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize I had to be here…”Leilani trailed off, and her almond-shaped eyes widened at the sight of him. He rearranged his facial muscles into a blank canvas, but couldn’t stop the wild racing of his heart. Amara looked even more stunned, her mouth slightly open instead of directing his wife to her seat. He flipped open the pages of the file on his desk, his confusion growing. None of the names or pictures resembled his wife’s. What department was she from?Fear trickled into his bloodstream. What if she was from a department he was laying off all its staff? The AC thrummed in the background to combat the heat of the sunny weather, but his palms sweated. She was not supposed to be at this meeting or building. They hadn’t talked about work at their last date, and now he wished he had been more intrusive or forward.“Yes?” he said, finally finding his voice. “Do you intend to spend the whole day at the door?”Everything in her hands crashed to the floor. He sent a

A normal person would have refused that deal, but Leila stopped considering herself sane the moment she signed that contract with Kelvin McKenna. They only went on one date, for God’s sake, and now he was her boss. Her best friend didn’t know because he convinced her to do it before telling Freya. And she agreed.Did she make a mistake?Why did he make her team leader?Leila was thinking about this as she entered the large office she shared with her colleagues. The whirr of the AC and disgruntled murmurs rented the air as a few of Tech Valley staff packed their belongings into boxes.What did she miss?Lily, a fellow teammate under Quincy, was perched on her desk, waiting to hear the results of their meeting. Kelvin said she could select whoever she wanted on her team, but first, she had to discuss that with Samantha.“So?” Lily asked once Leila was seated. They were not the best of friends, but she would be on her new team. “HR sent emails already, but I’m not checking mine. What’s g