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THE CEO'S CHRISTMAS GIRLFRIEND
Last Updated : 2026-09-22
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Adriana Bennett has spent three years working for Adrian Blackwood, the ruthless billionaire CEO who seems incapable of smiling, trusting people or saying anything that isn’t strictly necessary. She knows better than anyone that Adrian doesn’t date. So when he suddenly tells his grandmother that he has a girlfriend, Adriana assumes it is another one of his carefully calculated lies. Until his grandmother demands to meet her. Desperate to avoid another Christmas filled with matchmaking and family pressure, Adrian makes Adriana an offer she cannot afford to refuse: pretend to be his girlfriend for three days at his family’s estate. Three days. No feelings and absolutely no crossing the line between employer and employee. But Christmas at the Blackwood estate has other plans. A family emergency turns three days into three weeks, trapping Adriana under the same roof as the man she has spent years trying not to notice. The longer they pretend to be in love, the harder it becomes to remember that their relationship isn’t supposed to be real. Then someone begins destroying Adriana’s reputation. Money starts appearing in accounts connected to her name. Private information about her life reaches the press. The Blackwood family begins questioning her motives, and Adrian’s enemies suddenly have everything they need to attack him. Someone wants Adrian to believe that the woman closest to him is betraying him. “But what happens when the evidence against Adriana is too perfect?” “Can Adrian protect the woman he was never supposed to love without destroying the trust between them?" "And when the Christmas contract finally expires, will Adriana walk away from the man who taught her what it means to be loved or discover that the fake relationship was the most real thing either of them had ever known?"
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CHAPTER 1 — THE GIRLFRIEND WHO DOESN’T EXIST
ADRIAN POV
The problem with Christmas was not Christmas. It was my grandmother.“Adrian, tell me you are not planning to spend Christmas alone again.”I closed my eyes. Of all the calls I could receive in the middle of a billion dollar acquisition meeting, this had to be the one.“Grandmother,” I said quietly, “I’m in a meeting.”“I know.”Her voice came through the phone with the same authority that had once made me sit straight at six years old.Across the conference table, twelve executives suddenly became fascinated by their documents.Nobody dared interrupt me. One look from me had been enough to stop a vice president from speaking five minutes earlier.Now I was standing at the head of the table, phone pressed to my ear, listening to the only woman in Manhattan who could make me feel like a disobedient child.“You have been in meetings for the last three years,” she continued. “That excuse has become boring.”“I have work.”“You always have work.” She said.“I run a company.”“And I raised a man who apparently thinks running a company means forgetting how to live.”A few people lowered their heads. I caught my assistant’s eye.Adriana was standing near the glass wall with my tablet in her hands. She was pretending not to listen. She was terrible at pretending.“Grandmother, what do you want?”“Christmas.”I frowned. “What about it?”“I want you at the estate.”“No.”The answer left my mouth before I could soften it. There was silence then she laughed.Not a happy laugh. The kind that meant she had already won.“You haven’t even heard the rest.”“I don’t need to.” I said, my expression hardened.“You do.”“Grandmother.”“I’ve invited six young women.”My jaw tightened. Across the table, someone coughed. I slowly turned my back to them. “Six?”“Beautiful, educated, respectable women.”“I don’t need a woman.” I whispered.“You need a wife.”“I need peace.”“You’ve had peace for too long.”I rubbed my forehead. This was exactly why I avoided family gatherings.My grandmother had never accepted that I could control my own life.She had watched me build Hawthorne International from a company my father left half-finished into one of the most powerful private investment firms in New York.I had negotiated acquisitions worth hundreds of millions. I had fired executives twice my age without blinking.I had walked into hostile boardrooms and walked out with control but every December, my grandmother reduced all of that to one question.When are you getting married?“I’m not meeting six women because you decided to turn Christmas into a marriage auction.”“Seven.”I stopped. “What?”“Seven women.”I stared at the window. “You invited another one while we were talking?”“I was thinking about your cousin’s recommendation.”“Grandmother.” I called softly.“Yes?”“Cancel it.” I said, my voice shook with authority.“No.”“I won’t attend.”“You will.”“I won’t.”“You will, because if you don’t, I will personally come to Manhattan and embarrass you in front of your board.”I almost smiled. She knew exactly where to strike. “You wouldn’t.”“Try me.”I looked across the room. My chief financial officer suddenly became very interested in his pen.Traitors. Every one of them. I lowered my voice.“I’m not marrying someone just because you approve of her.”“I didn’t say marry her.” She said to me sternly.“You invited seven women.”“To meet you.” She replied.“Exactly.”“You can meet them and say no.”“I already know the answer.”“You haven’t met them.”“I don’t need to.”“You are impossible.”“And yet you love me.”“I love you enough to tell you when you’re behaving like an idiot.”I leaned against the table. “Then tell me something useful.”She became quiet. I knew that silence. It was the silence of a woman preparing to ruin my day.“I heard your father is bringing Eleanor.”My expression changed.That name alone was enough. Eleanor had spent the last year appearing at every family event, every charity dinner, every board related function where she thought I might be present.She had made no secret of wanting me and my father’s support of her was even less subtle.My grandmother continued. “If you arrive alone, Eleanor will make sure everyone spends Christmas discussing why.”I looked toward the ceiling. “Perfect.”“I am serious, Adrian.”“So am I.”“You need someone beside you.” She muttered softly.“I don’t.”“You do.”“I said.” My voice barely above a whisper.“I want to meet your girlfriend.”The words came so casually that for one second I didn’t understand them. “What girlfriend?”“Your girlfriend.”“I don’t have one.”“I know.”I blinked. She knew?“Then why did you say.”“Because if you don’t have one, you need to find one.”I stared at the phone. Something inside me snapped. Maybe it was exhaustion or it was the seven women.Maybe it was the thought of sitting across from Eleanor while my father watched me like a failed investment.Whatever it was, my mouth moved before my brain caught up. “I already have someone.”Silence. The entire room seemed to disappear. I heard my own breathing then my grandmother said softly,“You do?”I swallowed. “Yes.”Adriana’s head lifted. She had heard that. Of course she had.My grandmother sounded delighted. “Why didn’t you tell me?”“Because I wasn’t ready.”“For how long?”I looked at Adriana. She was staring at me now. Not blinking and moving. I made the worst decision of my life.“She’s private.”“How private?” She asked immediately.“Very.”“What’s her name?”My eyes landed on my assistant again. Adriana’s expression changed immediately. She knew exactly what I was about to do.“Adrian?” I closed my eyes. “Adriana.”My grandmother repeated the name. “Adriana?”“Yes.”“Your girlfriend’s name is Adriana?”I opened my eyes. My assistant looked horrified. “Yes.”A smile spread across my grandmother’s voice. “Oh, I like her already.”I said nothing.“When will I meet her?”“Grandmother.”“Christmas Eve.”“That won’t work.”“Christmas Eve.”“I have plans.”“Cancel them.”“She has plans.”“Then cancel hers too.”I looked at Adriana. Her eyes widened. I had never seen fear on her face before.Now I understood why. I had just dragged her into a lie without asking permission.My grandmother continued. “And Adrian?”“Yes?”“Bring her to the estate.”I said nothing. “I want to meet the woman who finally convinced my grandson to stop hiding behind his company.”The call ended. I slowly lowered the phone. For several seconds, nobody spoke then my CFO cleared his throat. “Sir.”“Out.”Everyone moved. Chairs scraped. Files disappeared into briefcases. Nobody looked at me.They had enough survival instinct to know when to leave. Within thirty seconds, the conference room was empty. Except for Adriana.She remained by the glass wall. Her fingers tightened around my tablet. “You lied about me.” Her voice was quiet.I walked toward her. “I know.”“You told your grandmother I’m your girlfriend.”“I know.”“She expects to meet me on Christmas Eve.”“I know.”She stared at me then she laughed once. There was no humor in it. “You’ve lost your mind.”“I haven’t.”“You just invented a girlfriend during a board meeting.”“Family meeting.”“That doesn’t make it better.”“No.” She placed the tablet on the table. “You need to fix this.”“I will.”“How?”I didn’t answer because I had spent my entire life solving problems with money, lawyers, influence and control but this problem was different.My grandmother would not accept money. My family would not accept a lawyer and the woman I had just invented needed a face. A real one.I looked at Adriana again. She took one step backward. “No.”I raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t said anything.”“You don’t have to.”“You’re my assistant.” I said, my voice sharp,“Exactly.”“You know me better than almost anyone.”“That is precisely why I’m saying no.”I almost smiled. She was usually careful around me. Now she was frightened enough to forget.“You also know my family.”“I know enough to stay away from them.”“You know how to behave around them.”“I know enough to know they will destroy me.”I studied her. She wasn’t wrong. Adriana had spent two years protecting my schedule, fixing my mistakes before they became disasters, and quietly absorbing the pressure that came with working for me.She was efficient. Loyal. Careful and most importantly, she knew how to lie without making it obvious.But there was something else. Something I hadn’t considered until that moment.She had no idea how dangerous my family could be. Neither did she know that someone had already been trying to make my life harder.Earlier that morning, one of our confidential acquisition files had been leaked.Only three people had access to it. My legal director.chief financial officer and me.Yet the leak had appeared in the hands of one of our biggest competitors before breakfast.Someone inside my company was working against me and now, somehow, I was about to bring that person closer to the one woman I needed to protect.Adriana folded her arms. “So what are you going to do?”I looked at her. For the first time that day, I didn’t have an answer then my phone rang.My father’s name appeared on the screen. I answered. His voice was cold.“Your grandmother just called me.”I said nothing.“She says you’ve finally brought someone home for Christmas.”I glanced at Adriana.My father’s next words made my stomach tighten. “Adrian, before you bring that woman to the estate, you should know something.”“What?”“We already know who she is.”The call went dead. Adriana stared at me. I stared at my phone and suddenly, my grandmother’s little Christmas game didn’t feel like a family problem anymore. It felt like a trap.Latest chapter
THE CEO'S CHRISTMAS GIRLFRIEND CHAPTER 4 — LEARNING TO LIE
The first rule of pretending to love someone was simple. You had to know them well enough to lie.“You’re doing it wrong.”Adrian looked at me. “I’ve been doing this for three hours.”“And you’ve been doing it wrong for three hours.”His jaw tightened. I tried not to smile.We were sitting in his private office with two cups of coffee between us, a notebook on my lap and six months of a relationship that had never existed spread across the desk.Adrian pointed at the notebook.“What exactly am I doing wrong?”“You’re answering like you’re in a business interview.”“I am answering your questions.” He replied quietly.“You’re supposed to sound like my boyfriend.”“I am your boyfriend.”“No.” I shook my head. “You’re a CEO pretending to be my boyfriend.”He leaned back. “What’s the difference?”“Everything.”He stared at me. I stared back then he said, “Show me.”I wasn’t expecting that. “Show you what?”“How I should behave.”I closed my notebook. “Fine.”I stood and walked around the des
Last Updated : 2026-09-22THE CEO'S CHRISTMAS GIRLFRIEND CHAPTER 3 — THE CONTRACT
By nine the next morning, my name was on a contract I never imagined I would sign.And the man sitting across from me was supposed to become my boyfriend.“Read it again.”I looked up from the pages. “I already read it twice.”“Read it again.”“Adrian.”“Adriana.”I stared at him. He didn’t smile. Neither did I. The contract sat between us on his desk. Twenty three pages.Twenty three pages explaining how I was supposed to pretend to be the girlfriend of the man who signed my paychecks.I turned the first page. “You really had your lawyer write all this overnight?”“Yes.”“Does your lawyer ever sleep?”“Not when I pay him enough.”“That explains a lot.”His mouth almost moved into a smile. Almost then his phone rang. He glanced at the screen. “It’s Marcus.”His lawyer.Adrian answered. “Yes.” A pause. “No. She needs to approve everything herself.”I looked at him. That surprised me. He listened for another few seconds.“Send the revised copy.” He ended the call.I frowned. “Revised?”“
Last Updated : 2026-09-22THE CEO'S CHRISTMAS GIRLFRIEND CHAPTER 2 — THE IMPOSSIBLE PROPOSAL
ADRIANASome offers sound ridiculous until you desperately need what they can buy.“Close the door.” I stopped with my hand still on the handle.Adrian’s voice had that calm edge it always carried when something was about to become my problem.I turned around. “Is this about your father?”He looked up from his phone.“No.”“Then what is it?”“Sit.”I didn’t move. Yesterday, I would have sat without questioning him. Today was different.He had invented a girlfriend. Me and apparently, his father already knew who I was. I wasn’t sure which part frightened me more.Adrian leaned back in his chair. “You heard what my father said yesterday.”“I heard enough.”“Good.”“That doesn’t mean I understand it.”“You don’t need to.”“That’s convenient.”His eyebrow lifted.I immediately regretted the sarcasm. Most people were terrified of Adrian Hawthorne.I was too. I had simply become better at hiding it. He pushed a folder across the desk.I stared at it. “What is that?”“An agreement.”I looked a
Last Updated : 2026-09-22THE CEO'S CHRISTMAS GIRLFRIEND CHAPTER 1 — THE GIRLFRIEND WHO DOESN’T EXIST
ADRIAN POVThe problem with Christmas was not Christmas. It was my grandmother.“Adrian, tell me you are not planning to spend Christmas alone again.”I closed my eyes. Of all the calls I could receive in the middle of a billion dollar acquisition meeting, this had to be the one.“Grandmother,” I said quietly, “I’m in a meeting.”“I know.”Her voice came through the phone with the same authority that had once made me sit straight at six years old.Across the conference table, twelve executives suddenly became fascinated by their documents.Nobody dared interrupt me. One look from me had been enough to stop a vice president from speaking five minutes earlier.Now I was standing at the head of the table, phone pressed to my ear, listening to the only woman in Manhattan who could make me feel like a disobedient child.“You have been in meetings for the last three years,” she continued. “That excuse has become boring.”“I have work.”“You always have work.” She said.“I run a company.”“A
Last Updated : 2026-09-22
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