Taming the Billionaire

Winnie. Today was supposed to be the grand opening of my bakery, but I could just go ahead and forget all about that. Apparently, I didn't have a building, not the bakery and not the apartment above it, just a really costly oven that was currently sitting pretty in a building that I had no rights to and was generating interest every second that went by. My dream had always been to run a pastry shop. I'd started messing around with flour and butter even before I was five. Watching my grandmother create so many wonderful smelling things had kick-started my love for baking. She had taught me everything I knew and before she had died, she had made me promise that I'd own a bakery one day. I had gone to culinary school right out of high school and gotten a job afterwards at a small cafe that sold a minimal selection of baked goods. All the while, I had been on the lookout for the perfect space to run my own shop. Nothing had felt right, and for me who had always worked with intuit

Ares. I had never been one for impulsive decisions. In fact, it went against everything I stood for. The girl that stood in front of me was everything I was staunchly against and yet, my brain had decided that she was the perfect candidate. The perfect candidate to be my wife. Now, you may be wondering why I needed a wife, it all went back to my father and his mission to control my life even from the grave. I had just stepped out of a meeting with Jude Kerrigan, my childhood friend turned attorney. He had called me at dawn and demanded an urgent meeting. There were very few people in the world who could make that demand of me and Jude was one of them. Apparently, my father didn't think I was fit enough to be CEO of Masters Global. Hence, the stupid contingency that I had just found out about. Apparently I had to be married by my thirtieth birthday if I wanted to retain my position as the CEO. I was turning thirty in three days, which didn't give me a lot of time to explore my

Winnie. The cheque burned a hole in my pocket as I hurried away from the building and it felt like everybody around could tell that I was carrying a super expensive cheque. Was it real? The question resounded in endless loops in my head. A big part of me said no, but a small, silly side kept on insisting that it was real. I hated being unsure and not like I had anywhere else to go. I was jobless and homeless, what would a detour to the bank hurt? And If I was truly carrying a real cheque for a million dollars, did that mean that I was going to agree to the crazy man's harebrained scheme? He could be into women trafficking for all I knew. Nobody in their right and clean mind offered all that money for marriage. What had he said his name was again.I dug out my phone and decided that Google was my best friend as of that moment. A quick Google search later and my mouth was on the ground. How hadn't I recognized the name? In my defence, I wasn't religious about following up with wo

Beaches of Normandy.Ares. I released a sigh in successful completion of another business deal. The only reason I wasn't even in the slightest bit what people described as happy was because it felt like a futile investment in its intrinsic sense. Throwing away a good million dollars just to milk a woman's emotion into staying with me felt useless. As I could have had her in less than an hour if I just decided to flirt with her for as much a minute…I hated having to do so much legwork for so little purpose. Yet at the back of my mind, I remembered the greater good it would do for me. Not necessarily her existence, but instead her image. Her standing next to me holding hands would surely send those who doubted me into a frenzy. And it was assured they would be even more suprised at how fast I could do it... In just less than three days left to my existential deadline? And the death of my dreams as well as everything I've ever worked hard for? Yet I pulled through and did what had to b

Ares. I knew she'd be surprised to see me and she'd be wondering how I knew her whereabouts. But I'm fucking Ares, the CEO of Masters Global. I can get any information I want with the snap of a finger. “Hello wife”, I said with a smirk on my face, enjoying the surprised look on her face. “Happy to see me?”, I added. She couldn't say anything.“Wanted to remind you of our outing tomorrow at Gregory Park. I'll send a driver to pick you up by 2:30pm, don't be late”. “Lest I forget, remember to wear something nice”, I said again without the smirk leaving my face. I left her there and headed back to my car and zoomed off anticipating the outing tomorrow. I really couldn't wait for the papparazies and the media to carry the news tomorrow.“This is gonna be fun”, I said to myself.Winnie.“What the fuck just happened?”, I said aloud. “How did he find me?”, I kept talking aloud to myself still in shock. I didn't care about the stares I was getting from people.I finally got to my hotel roo