Contracted by the Cold-Hearted CEO

Contracted by the Cold-Hearted CEO

Baxter Brothers

5.0
Comment(s)
102
View
20
Chapters

When struggling artist Aria Lane accidentally ruins a priceless sculpture belonging to cold, ruthless billionaire Dominic Blackwell, she thinks her life is over-until he offers her a strange deal: become his live-in "fake" fiancée for one year to secure a merger, and in return, he'll pay off all her debts and fund her dream gallery. But the more she plays his perfect partner, the more she learns about the shadows behind his empire... and the secrets he keeps even from himself.

Chapter 1 Accidental Encounter

Aria Lane didn't belong in places like this.

Blackwell Tower soared above the city like a monument to power, every surface polished to a mirror shine, every step she took echoing against marble floors she was pretty sure cost more than her entire annual income.

She adjusted her rain-slicked coat, clutching a wrapped canvas in her arms like a shield. This was supposed to be a quick drop-off. One of her clients-an assistant to someone high up-had commissioned an abstract piece for an office wall. The building receptionist directed her to the thirty-second floor, and that was supposed to be it.

But now she was lost.

She wandered down a hallway that screamed "restricted," but no one had stopped her yet. Her boots clicked nervously with each step until she found a large room at the end of the corridor. It was sleek, modern, and painfully sterile. One massive piece of artwork stood at the center-an abstract sculpture made of glass, steel, and something polished black like obsidian. Aria paused, drawn to it.

It was breathtaking. Sharp, chaotic, and yet... controlled.

She stepped forward, forgetting where she was. Her artist's eye traced the curves, the lines, the tension within the form. She had no idea what it meant, but it made her feel something-and that was the whole point of art, wasn't it?

Then her bag shifted.

She turned.

And the bag's strap snagged a jagged edge of the sculpture.

CRASH.

The sculpture fell, shattering into pieces so loudly the sound echoed like gunfire.

Aria froze. Her lungs stopped working. Panic clawed at her chest.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "Oh no, no, no-"

Her fingers trembled as she reached out instinctively, as if she could put it back together. Her stomach twisted into knots. That wasn't just modern art-it was money. Real, horrifying amounts of money.

And then she heard him.

"Do you always destroy things you don't understand?"

His voice was deep. Calm. Controlled like a blade against skin.

She turned slowly. And there he was.

Dominic Blackwell.

In the flesh.

She knew the face. Everyone did. Billionaire. CEO of Blackwell International. Infamous for being both brilliant and cold. Headlines called him "The Ice King." Aria had once joked that if you stood too close to his photograph, you'd get frostbite.

Now he was standing a few feet away, dressed in a black suit with subtle silver trim, his dark hair perfectly tousled, and those storm-gray eyes locked on her like she was something under a microscope.

"I-I'm so sorry," Aria stammered. "It was an accident. I didn't mean-"

"You didn't mean to cause seventy-two thousand dollars in damage?" His tone was so smooth it was cruel.

Her jaw dropped. "That's how much it cost?"

"That's how much it's worth. But that's not what bothers me," he said, stepping forward. "What bothers me is your lack of spatial awareness... and how you managed to wander into my private office."

Her face flushed. "I didn't know-I was supposed to deliver a painting and got turned around. I thought-"

"You thought," he repeated, cold amusement in his voice. "That explains everything."

Aria took a deep breath. "I'll pay for it. I promise."

Dominic tilted his head. "With what? Your art degree?"

She flinched, then straightened. "I'll work. I'll do whatever it takes. I'm not some thief."

A long silence passed. His eyes stayed on her. Calculating. And then-surprisingly-he smiled.

Not kindly.

Not warmly.

But like a man who'd just found something very interesting.

"I believe you," he said.

"You do?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes. Which is why I'm offering you a way out."

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I have a business merger that hinges on my image. Investors like clean reputations. Family men. People with roots. I'm offering you a contract."

"What kind of contract?" Her voice was wary.

"You'll be my fiancée."

Aria blinked again. "Your what?"

"Fake, of course. Public appearances only. Press events. Family dinners. You'll play the role I need, and in return, I'll forget today happened. I'll even pay you."

Aria opened her mouth. Then closed it. What?

"This is insane," she whispered.

"Is it?" Dominic said smoothly. "You're an unknown artist with no formal gallery. You can't afford seventy thousand dollars. You don't have connections. But what if I told you I could give you all of that?"

Her heart raced. "Why me?"

"Because you're no one," he said coldly. "Which means I can make you into anyone."

Aria stared at him, furious, humiliated... and intrigued. Her gut screamed to run.

But her wallet whispered: this is your only shot.

And her pride? That burned most of all.

"What happens if I say no?" she asked quietly.

Dominic took a step closer, his voice dropping to a near-whisper.

"Then I make sure you're sued, blacklisted from every gallery in the city, and left with a bill you'll never pay off."

Continue Reading

Other books by Baxter Brothers

More

You'll also like

Rejected Heiress: My Heartless Family's Regret

Rejected Heiress: My Heartless Family's Regret

Cassandra
5.0

For seventeen years, I was the pride of the Carlisle family, the perfect daughter destined to inherit an empire. But that life ended the moment a DNA report slid across my father’s mahogany desk. The paper proved I was a stranger. Vanessa, the girl sobbing in the corner, was the real biological daughter they had been searching for. "You need to leave. Tonight. Before the press gets wind of this. Before the stock prices dip." My father’s voice was as cold as flint. My mother wouldn't even look at me, staring out the window at the gardens as if I were already a ghost. Just like that, I was erased. I left behind the Birkin bags and the diamonds, throwing my Centurion Card into a crystal bowl with a clatter that echoed like a gunshot. I walked out into the cold night and climbed into a rusted Ford Taurus driven by a man I had never met—my biological father. I went from a mansion to a fourth-floor walk-up in Queens that smelled of laundry detergent and struggle. My new siblings looked at me with a mix of fear and disgust, waiting for the "fallen princess" to break. They expected me to beg for my old life back, to crumble without the luxury I’d known since birth. But they didn't know the truth. I had spent years training in a shark tank, honing survival skills they couldn't imagine. While Richard Carlisle froze my trust funds to starve me out, my net worth was climbing by millions on an encrypted trading app. They thought they were throwing me to the wolves. They didn't realize they were just letting me off my leash. As the Carlisles prepared to debut Vanessa at the Manhattan Arts Gala, I was already making my move. "Get dressed. We're going to a party."

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book