Contract Marriage with My CEO Boss (Kylan and Katrina)
Chapter 5

Katrina stared at Kylan, her mind whirling at a rapid rate, and her hands becoming clammy in her lap. She noticed that Kylan was watching her carefully, but she couldn't fix the expression on her face, even if she wanted to. "I don't... What is this, Kylan?" you asked quietly.

Kylan rolled his eyes. "I thought the header would make it fairly obvious," he said, now sounding rather bored. "After you and Ryan cornered me yesterday, I began to think about the proposal. And then it seemed rather obvious to me, really."

He took a second and scanned her face again. "I don't have the time to replace anyone to offer such a dumb set-up. Not only that, but I replace most women to be rather... difficult to connect with," he continued on with a wave of his hand, "when we were at dinner with Keith last night, I was reminded of how easily you seem to connect with people. You're talented at making someone feel comfortable, and even I don't detest your presence, in small doses."

Katrina knew she should be offended by the way he spoke of her, but she was far too confused and even more shocked, for it to register to its full extent.

She had encouraged Kylan to marry someone, sure. She had even droned on about why it was a good, and even practical idea. But she hadn't intended that he would approach her to fill such a role. It was highly inappropriate, for several reasons.

"I met with Ryan late last night, and then Max early this morning. While it's technically a breach of company policy normally, Max is willing to make an exception. Everyone sees the stocks dropping, and we all want to fix it," Kylan spoke curtly now, and it was clear how annoyed he still was about the current situation the company was in.

"There will be rumors, no doubt. But dealing with those is part of your specialty, correct? We'll ensure to publicly state that we've only become my fiance for a few months and that you didn't climb to your position by sucking my cock, or anything like that," Kylan prattled on with a shrug.

Katrina's face flushed crimson at the casual mention of his freaking... sex organ. What the hell was this conversation? He couldn't possibly mean what he was suggesting.

"Kylan... You can't possibly be serious. I can't... I can't... marry you," she practically squeaked. Her imagination was running wild, and she was spiraling.

Kylan huffed and shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous, Katrina. This is all purely for show. I thought that much was also obvious." He indicated the contract with the tip of his pen. "It's quite simple. May I go over it with you?" he asked with a glance up at her. She swallowed hard, willing her heart and mind to calm down. "I... Sure," she finally relented as she breathed.

Kylan nodded and cleared his throat. "Right, as I said, it's simple. There are only a few rules, and there are several benefits involved for you." He pointed to a section appropriately titled "rules", and she leaned down to follow along apprehensively.

"First, the duration of the contract will be a year after the fake wedding, with the option to extend it, if necessary. We will hold the wedding as soon as Ryan and Max deem it okay for us to "settle down". Second, we need to go on at least one date a week, and it must be somewhere public. Having the paparazzi taking a few photos is imperative."

Kylan was looking at her to ensure she was paying attention, and she gave him a weak nod to indicate she was. Sort of, anyway. Her head felt light and airy.

"Third, you need to accompany me to any galas, business dinners, and trips during the whole period. You will maintain your duties as my assistant, but you'll have the additional responsibility of acting like my fiance, to the public anyway. Fourth, you need to be prepared to hold my hand, hug me, or kiss me, if the situation calls for it," Kylan spoke clinically, and it only added to her lightheadedness.

Kissing? He was talking about kissing her, and she felt like she was going to pass out. This was not what she thought this conversation was going to entail. She was incredibly surprised Ryan and Max had both cleared the idea already, but Katrina supposed she couldn't be all that confused if she thought about it enough. The company's standing was dire, and all of them knew it.

"How is all of this sounding, so far?" Kylan paused to ask her.

Katrina took a deep, shuddering breath, and then she laughed nervously. "May I speak candidly?" she asked the CEO.

Kylan simply nodded in response, and she licked her lips.

"I'm so confused, Kylan. How are you... How are you okay with this? With me?"

She searched Kylan's face for anything that might help her understand, but his usual stoic mask was firmly in place.

"I told you, Kate. Your personality fits our objective needs. And I can stand to be near you. Also, you're an attractive woman, and I recognize that there are worse options out there for me to consider." Kylan gave another shrug of his shoulders.

She was used to Kylan's callousness, whenever he spoke. But the way he was talking about her, both confused her and made her feel... weird.

"What are the other rules?" she asked quietly.

Kylan looked back down at the contract before he continued to read. "Neither you nor I may sleep with anyone else, or date anyone else, during this time period. On that note, we are not permitted to sleep with each other, either," he explained to her. She was still struggling with the idea of kissing Kylan, let alone sleeping with him. She very nearly sank through her chair, and onto the floor of his office. "What else?" she managed to choke out.

"Above all else, you are not to fall in love with me," Kylan told her, suddenly incredibly intense and serious.

She shrank back at his gaze slightly and took another deep breath. "That... I can't imagine why that would be an issue, Kylan. You're not exactly an approachable person, to begin with," she said with sincerity.

Kylan rolled his eyes at her words. "Would you like to hear what you get out of this arrangement?" he asked you flatly.

Katrina could only nod weakly, while her mind struggled to keep up with the velocity of the conversation.

"I'm going to pay off your student loans, if there is no breach of contract ever, that is. So, I'll do it in small increments. Five-thousand dollars here and there, that sort of thing. I will also cover any and all expenses for travel, dates, dinners, and dresses you may need. If there's anything else that comes up or anything you need, I'll cover it too," Kylan still spoke so casually; she couldn't help but gawk at him.

"Kylan... That's... No... That would be far too much. My loans are astronomical. I can't accept that." She was stumbling over her words, but Katrina got them out all the same. This was too much.

Kylan rolled his eyes with an annoyed click of his tongue. "Katrina, I don't enjoy speaking about money, but simply put... Fifty-thousand dollars is nothing to me. You shouldn't concern yourself with such things. I only want to know if this is something you can see yourself doing. You're a smart and capable girl."

He paused for a moment, seeming to consider saying something else.

"I know I'm... A rather difficult individual. Never once have you questioned why, or wished for me to be different. What you say when I'm not around, is not my business. But to my face, you have been nothing but respectful, even when you disagree with me. You are, candidly put, the perfect person to pose as my fiance... or wife. You are the kind of image Ross Corp. needs to reflect. You can... You can help turn the tides, Katrina. If you're willing, that is."

Kylan looked uncomfortable giving her praise, and Katrina was surprised he had been able to be so forthright at all.

She considered his offer. The idea that her student debt could be gone, was perhaps the most appealing part of everything he said. She knew there would be details to consider, and several bumps in the road, that would inevitably make her more than uncomfortable. But now she could also understand why he approached her in the first place.

It made sense. It was freaking insane, but it... It really did make sense.

She cleared her throat and sat up straighter in her chair. "I have a few addendums to add to the contract," she said, doing her best to sound confident.

Relief flickered across Kylan's face for a fraction of a second, before his usual deadpan expression was back in place. "What did you have in mind?" he asked her carefully.

"I need you to give me control of your social media, especially Litter. If this has any hope of being successful, you can't be getting into fights on the internet anymore. I need to control and fabricate your future posts," she told Kylan, her voice deadly serious. Kylan scowled at her. "I only get into fights that are worth it," he grumbled disapprovingly.

She fought back the roll of her eyes. "Will you agree, or not?" She cut to the chase.

Kylan sighed and nodded. "F*cking hell. Fine," he snapped at her

She smirked ever so slightly. "Excellent, thank you for being reasonable." She then cleared your throat. "Also, you are to treat me with respect always, during this situation. But you aren't to treat me any differently, while we're at work."

She was serious about this one. She didn't want special treatment, especially with how many rumors she was already going to have to deal with if she indeed went public with a "relationship".

"I can manage that easily. Anything else?" Kylan asked, turning the contract around to add the addendums she proposed.

"Only one," she spoke quietly, biting her lower lip for a moment and then looking Kylan dead in the eye. "You aren't to fall in love with me, either," she said firmly.

Kylan gaped at her. "That's not a problem. I've never been in love," he responded in the same matter-of-fact tone that he had chosen to use for the entirety of the conversation.

She looked at him with mild surprise. He had never been in love? She supposed it made sense, for someone as closed off as Kylan. Even still, it threw her off balance a little bit more. Katrina licked her lips and nodded. "All right, then," she managed to say.

Kylan turned the folder around to face her again, and he held out his engraved ballpoint pen for her to take. "Well? Are you in, or are you out?" he asked her, his eyes studying her face. She looked at Kylan for a moment, and then down at the contract.

Was she really doing this? She wondered vaguely what Aaron would think, or worse... What her father would think? But she couldn't deny how much it meant for Ross Corp., or how much easier her life would be if her student loans were eradicated. There were several variables swirling in her head. Her heart told her this was a bad idea, and that this would inevitably backfire and have a bitter end. But she chose to push those thoughts out of her head, and instead, she took hold of his pen. Katrina signed her name on the indicated dotted line, and then she handed Kylan his pen back. She watched as he too signed his name.

"This will go to Max. It's all very official," Kylan informed her, closing the folder and setting his pen down.

He glanced at his abandoned tea, and then at her equally forgotten coffee. Then, he looked at her. Katrina's heart skipped a beat when she met his gaze.

"Well, you're my fiance now," Kylan commented with far too much nonchalance.

Kylan Ross, her boss, was now her fiance. Her pretend fiance, sure. But her fiance, all the same. What the hell had she gotten herself into?