Chapter 0002

Hannah

"Give me one good reason not to fire you."

Tobias's words make my heart pound a mile per second.

I'm sitting on a massive chair inside his office, and his gaze is digging into mine. He looks as friendly as a wolf, and that face I found so beautiful earlier is now scary and intense.

"I really need this job, Tobias—err, I mean, Sir."

He lifts an eyebrow, and I stare down into my lap. I'm sweating despite it being rather cold inside his office.

But can anyone blame me?

Tobias is too frightening to keep eye contact with, especially now when he is wearing an expensive suit that seems to scream, "Man in charge!"

"Hm, if that's true, I would expect you to put more effort into keeping your position, Miss Darling..." he looks at me again. "Did you use a fake name when you were hired?"

"No, Sir," I grimace. "My surname is Darling."

"And you're a college student?"

"Yes..."

"I see..." he absentmindedly taps his chin while scanning my papers without even a hint of a smile. "Plenty of student loans to pay off, then?"

My shoulders slump in defeat. "That's a rather personal question."

He lifts his chin, eyeing me. "I know, but I'm your boss... also, are you really not planning on using that against me? Any other person in your position would use that to play with my emotions and manipulate me into feeling sorry for you."

Tobias's words are shocking. And the fact that he can say that while deadpanning is scary. It also tells me everything I need to know: this man won't get manipulated easily.

"Um, something tells me that you would see through any lie I gave you," I give him a hesitant, nervous smile. He is watching me like a hawk, and I quickly continue talking. "But I really need this job. I know that I'm at fault here. I made a mistake walking into that room. I'm not stupid, and yes, you have every right to fire me, but I'm desperate for money."

"Desperate, you say?" Tobias is watching me with renewed interest now. He reminds me of a cat focusing on its prey. "How desperate?"

My heart is thumping against my ribcage.

I'm nervous, but I must speak up and convince Tobias not to fire me. I'm drowning in student loans and food expenses. And that's not mentioning the rent on my apartment. I also have a cat named Jerry, so living in the dorms is out of the question.

"I would do anything to keep this position," I mean those words and look straight into Tobias's green, intense eyes. "Anything."

His lips curl by the corners to form a wicked smirk, and his fingers intertwine underneath his chin. It gives him a villainous look. "How about marrying me then?"

"E-excuse me?!" I ask in a high-pitched scream. I'm pretty sure this guy just asked me to marry him, which definitely can't be happening!

I half-expect hidden cameramen to jump out from the door behind his desk or the curtains blocking the sunlight.

But that doesn't happen.

Instead, I have Tobias smiling at me, but it's not friendly. It's cunning in a way that gives me shivers.

"A year after my wedding, wife, now ex-wife cheated on me with my best friend and business partner."

I stare at Tobias in shock, who looks perfectly calm despite the terrible thing he told me. His eyes roam over my face as if he is trying to read me, and once he finds whatever he is looking for, he continues talking.

"It pains me to see them together, but we are all owners of this hotel chain. I don't have enough money to buy them out. Yet. I plan on doing that in the future, but until then, it would make my life easier if my ex-wife didn't know seeing her makes me miserable. That's where you come in. It would save some of my pride if I married you and pretended to be perfectly happy and, most importantly, over her."

I blink, unsure whether this is some sort of dream. It must be, so I continue to gawk at Tobias, but when he doesn't vanish, I lift my hand and smack myself straight into my face—so hard that the chair moves, and I tumble down onto the floor.

Oh, and I also manage to hit my head against the chair!

"Ouch..." I mumble.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Tobias bark.

"Checking if this is a dream," I rub my stinging cheek while lying on the floor. Tobias looks furious. Anger is ticking against his jaw, which makes me lower my voice. "It seems this is not a dream..."

"No, it's reality, but I'm starting to wonder if something is wrong with you. Why would you hit yourself?!"

Before I can respond, he has risen to his feet. He walks around his desk and squats before me. I'm unsure what he is doing and sit up in fear, staring at his scowling face.

"What do you want?"

Ignoring my question, he tilts his head. "Did you hit your head hard?"

"No, not that hard."

"Did it hurt?"

I nod.

"Let me take a look," his voice is so surprisingly gentle that I blush and sit perfectly still as he comes closer. My heart is beating way too fast. I'm nervous even though there is nothing sexual in the way he touches me. He simply reaches out his hands to softly hold my head while scanning the back of it. "Hopefully, you won't get a bump."

Butterflies swarm my belly when Tobias carefully inspects my head and brushes my hair out of the way. Despite his cold expression and intimidating demeanor, he is gentle when handling me.

Perhaps Tobias isn't as bad as I thought?

I think that and blush when he leans back from me. There is a ghost of a smile fleeting over his lips. "You must be the clumsiest woman that I've ever met. It's a wonder you're still alive at this point."

Okay, scratch the above. I'm injured, and Tobias is insulting me! He is definitely evil.

I pout. "That's a rather rude thing to say."

He frowns. "No, it's the truth, Miss Darling. First, you waltz into the wrong room, and now it turns out you can't even sit on a chair without damn near killing yourself."

"I wasn't trying to kill myself, and I'm not always this clumsy!"

"Not always this clumsy?" he rolls his eyes, muttering, "Why do I find that so hard to believe?"

"It's the truth..."

His lips twitch. It looks like he is about to smile but is holding himself back for some reason. "Pretty sure you're lying."

I gasp. "You checked my record, didn't you?!"

My boss made a list of items that we housekeepers have accidentally broken, and I'm on top of that record. But I'm only clumsy because I'm overwhelmed by studying and working.

"I did," Tobias admits and sighs. "But I know that you have a lot on your plate, Miss Darling," his eyes look into mine once more. "Which is why I'm offering you a solution: marry me."

I furrow my eyebrows. "You weren't joking?"

"Do I look like the kind of person that would joke about that?" He deadpans, and despite not knowing Tobias that well, I get the feeling he is laughing at me.

But I'm sure I must be mistaken.

Tobias doesn't seem like a man that possesses much humor. No. I bet his hobbies include cricket, but only on Sundays! Oh, and drinking tea and occasionally laughing at people hurting themselves in videos! I bet he also enjoys scaring his employees.

With those assumptions in mind, I give him a tight-lipped smile. "No, you don't seem like the type to joke about that." You don't seem like the type who jokes at all. "So, if you are serious, I would like to know what's in it for me more than keeping my job."

The intense look in his eyes returns. "You misunderstand me, Miss Darling. If you married me, you wouldn't have to work at all. I will take care of all your loans and expenses. I will even let you move in with me. It's important to act like a real couple to convince everyone around us that we are very much in love."

Pretending to be in love with this breathing ice shard of a man will be hard, but I don't mention that. Instead, I slowly nod at him. "And how long would we stay married?"

He shrugs. "Until I've gotten rid of my business partners. Give me a year, maybe a little more, and consider us done. But don't worry, I will keep paying your bills even after our divorce."

"Okay... This is a lot to take in," I sink my teeth into my bottom lip. My head is spinning, yet I manage words. "Not going to lie, this sounds like a terrific deal for me, but... Why don't you just find a woman that you love?"

"Honestly? I'm too busy with my career, and I don't believe true love exists in his world."

For the first time, I see a flash of emotion on Tobias's face. It's not happy ones, though. I see pain, hurt, and darkness, but it doesn't take long before his face becomes devoid of emotion again.

"I loved my ex-wife more than anything. I genuinely thought Sarah was my soulmate, but I was terribly mistaken. She broke my heart, and I'm tired of her laughing at my face. I want her to think I'm happy, so what do you say? Do you want to marry me?"

Laugh because who wouldn't?

This is bizarre and utterly crazy, but Tobias's deal isn't bad. I can definitely handle being married to him for a year in exchange for having him take care of my expenses.

I catch his gaze and smile. "Yes, I will marry you."