The Billionaire's Contract Maid

AMBER HART POV The silence in the room was suffocating. Kalix didn't blink. He just stood there by his desk, looking at me like I was a bug he wanted to crush under his expensive shoes. My hands started shaking, so I locked them behind my back. "I’m Amber, sir. The new housekeeper. Mrs. Gable recommended me to Martha." Kalix looked at the broken lamp on the floor, then back at me. A harsh, humorless laugh escaped his lips. "The new housekeeper. And you’ve been here for what, ten minutes? You already managed to destroy property." "It was an accident. I tripped on the rug," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. I sounded a lot braver than I actually felt. Inside, I was screaming. If he fired me right now, I’d be sleeping on a park bench with two massive suitcases in the freezing cold. I couldn't let that happen. "I don't care if you tripped or if you flew," Kalix said, his tone icy and completely indifferent. He stepped out from behind his desk, walking slowly toward me. He

AMBER HART POV Fiancée? Nobody mentioned anything about a fiancée. Martha definitely left that part out of the orientation. I stood frozen in the kitchen doorway, holding a dish towel, as the woman stormed deeper into the foyer. She looked like she skipped straight off a fashion runway—perfectly styled blonde hair, diamond earrings that probably cost more than my entire life savings, and a scowl that rivaled Kalix's. "Where is everyone?" she shouted, snapping her fingers at the security guard. "Bring my bags up to the master suite. Now." "Uh, Ms. Vance," the guard stammered, sweating through his uniform. "Mr. Smith didn't inform us you were returning from Paris tonight. He's currently in his study working on a major merger—" "I don't care if he's conquering Mars," she interrupted, rolling her eyes. "He's my fiancé. He can take a break." Her sharp eyes suddenly darted over to the kitchen entrance, locking directly onto me. She looked at my grey uniform, her expression ins

KALIX JACE SMITH POV My private office on the top floor of the headquarters was completely silent, but my mind was moving at a thousand miles an hour. Marcus was pacing in front of my desk, holding a tablet that showed the real-time stock updates. "The immediate backlash from the Vance family is dying down. The romantic angle neutralized the narrative that you were being backed into a corner, Kalix. But the board is still frantic. They want proof that this isn't just a sudden stunt to dodge the merger." "Let them watch," I said, leaning back in my chair and checking my watch. It was barely noon. "The press conference bought us the time we needed. Victoria’s father can’t initiate a hostile takeover while the public believes I am expanding the company through private family assets." "And the girl?" Marcus asked, stopping his pacing to look at me directly. "Amber. She handled herself well on stage, but she's a variable, Kalix. She was dusting your shelves forty-eight hours ago. Are yo

AMBER HART POV The morning light filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the East Wing suite was a lot softer than the harsh fluorescent bulbs of my old apartment. I sat up in the massive king-sized bed, stretching my arms over my head. My body didn't ache from running around with heavy trays for once, but my mind was already racing. It had been four days since the dinner with Arthur and Thomas. Four days of living in a strange limbo. I wasn't a housekeeper anymore. Martha had strictly forbidden me from touching a broom or clearing a plate, claiming that if any of the other staff saw Kalix’s fiancée scrubbing a floor, the gossip would leak to the press within an hour. Instead, my new schedule consisted of trying on clothes sent by luxury boutiques, reading books in the sunroom, and pretending that this massive, echoing estate was my home. It was exhausting in a completely different way. The silence in the house was loud, and the constant acting made me feel like I wa

AMBER HART POV The limousine ride back to the estate felt longer than usual. The quietness inside the car wasn’t the suffocating kind anymore, but it was thick with something I couldn't quite name. Kalix was still scrolling through his phone, his thumb moving rhythmically against the screen. The blue light from the device illuminated the sharp angles of his face. He looked completely back in his element, calculating numbers and reading market trends while my heart was still trying to slow down from the confrontation with Victoria and her father. I looked out the window, watching the streetlights bleed into long, blurry lines against the wet glass. One million dollars. I kept repeating that number in my head like a mantra. It was the only thing keeping me grounded. I needed to remember that every soft look Kalix gave me under the chandeliers, every time his hand steadyingly held my waist, it was all just PR. He was saving his empire; I was saving my future. It was a fair trade. Th