Shayla

I jump awake when I hear my alarm chirping away on the bedside table next to me. I reach over and feel around for my phone; eyes still closed, I managed to find it and snooze the alarm. Ahh silence. Just as I’m about to doze off again, I remember it's my first day at my new job, and I jump out of bed excited. It was seven-forty-five, and I had to be there at nine o’clock. Satisfied I had enough time I drag myself to the bathroom to shower and get ready.

I stare at my reflection in the mirror as I brush my teeth. Eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and a weekend of heavy drinking had me looking like something out of the night of the living dead. After a steaming hot shower and two mugs of strong coffee, I was feeling a little better. I was trying to convince myself the fluttering around in my stomach wasn’t nerves. Why would I be nervous? I can do this job in my sleep. Ugh, butterflies explode in my stomach again at the thought of work.

I was applying my mascara when my bedroom door bursts open, and Jo walks in with Aimee in tow. I jump at the intrusion and get mascara all over my eyelid ruining my eyeshadow I spent a good ten minutes blending.

“Where in the seven kingdoms of HELL have you been?!” Jo hollers glaring at me, her eyes wide and hair tousled from sleep.

“Shayla we were worried sick! We thought something awful happened to you!” Aimee chastises me.

“Jesus Christ, you scared the bloody shit out of me. And you ruined my mascara!” I grumble annoyed, picking up a cue tip to remove the black blob on my eyelid.

“Stuff the mascara! Where the fuck have you been all weekend? We thought you brought that hot guy you left with back to the apartment, but you weren’t home.” Aimee explains walking over to sit on my bed. “Then we figured maybe you went back to his, and you’d be back Saturday, but you didn’t show up, and your phone was off.”

“Do you have any idea, how scared we were, that you were face down in a ditch somewhere,” Jo adds, placing her hands on her hips to illustrate her annoyance.

“You should have thought about that before you let me go off with a stranger. What the hell were you thinking letting me go off with some rando?”

“You seemed really into each other, and he was hot, so we thought you’d gone to get a little nookie,” Aimee says with a shrug and smirks. “Speaking of, how was the nookie? Must have been good if he didn’t let you leave all weekend.”

“Oh my god!” I pick up a brush and throw it at her which she dodges skilfully, and grins quite pleased with herself. “You know why I wasn’t back Saturday. Let me tell you why— because I was in Vegas.”

“Vegas?” They say in unison, and I nod. “As in Las Vegas…”

“Yes! Vegas, as in Nevada, Las Vegas!” Jo looks over at Aimee, who stares at me, her mouth agape. “I can’t remember a damn thing. I was so drunk I somehow ended up on a private jet flying to the fucking states.”

“With that guy?” Jo questions, a dumbfounded look on her face.

“Yes, with that guy,” I say, pulling my lacy black top on. “That’s not even the worst part, oh no, it gets better. We got married by Elvis. Like legally married.”

Silence.

They gape at me. “You…you got married?” Jo sputters, shaking her head. I nod and apply my lipstick.

“So, wait, let see if I got this right. You met a hot guy at a club, who flew you in his private jet to Las Vegas and married you?” I nod, and she chuckles in response and scratches her nose. “Tell me you at least putout?”

“Aimee!” I exclaim, rolling my eyes and hurl a bottle of primer at her; she falls on the bed and laughs heartily.

“Shayla. Who is this guy?” Jo asks, and I shrug. I pick up his card from the table and hand it to her.

“I don’t know who he is. All I know is his name, Tristan Cole something.”

Jo stares at the card, and her eyes grow wide. “Oh, my God. Shayla…” Jo gasps, staring at the card in her hand and looks at me. “Tristan Cole Hoult! That’s who you’re married to?”

“No fucking way!” Aimee howls, jumping to her feet and snatches the card from Jo. “I knew I recognised him! Oh my god. Shay, do you have any idea who this guy is?”

I shrug and shake my head, staring at the both of them in bemusement. “No, am I supposed to?”

“Um, yes!” They both shout together startling me.

“You of all people should know, Shayla! He’s a renowned architect and the man is also a billionaire! He’s the hottest and most sought after CEO in the country. Look, this is him, right?” She shows me a photo on her phone, and I nod.

I frown and look between them. My head was starting to hurt again. That’s why he looked familiar to me. I’ve seen him in magazines. Oh shit. “Yes, that’s him.”

“Oh my god, you lucky bitch!” Aimee hops up on my bed. “Not only did you sleep with him, but you’re also married to a billionaire, Shayla!” I roll my eyes and pick up my jacket. “I can’t believe it.”

“Jesus. I can’t deal with you two. I have to go to work. I don’t want to be late on my first day.”

“Don’t go. You’re rich now.” Aimee sings jumping on my bed and dancing.

“Aimee, get the hell off my bed! I just made it up.” I grab her leg; pull it, and she tumbles over and rolls off the bed.

“Ouch. I think you broke my arse.” She pouts, rubbing her behind gingerly.

“I have to go. I’m already running late. Fix my damn bed.” I say throwing my pillow at her head and walking out of the bedroom.

“Yes, Mrs Hoult,” Aimee calls out and giggles when I flip her off as I walk to the front door. I can’t even think about the whole Cole fiasco right now. My head was a scrambled mess, and I’m pretty sure I'm still a little drunk. I need to focus on my career if I ever want to make it as an architect. I can barely remember how to spell my name at the moment. I am never drinking again.

I make it to work with five minutes to spare. Please don’t ask me how fast I was driving to make it on time because I’m expecting a fair few speeding tickets in the post.

“Shayla.” I spin when I hear my name, and see the girl that greeted me the last time I came in. Heather, I think her name was.

“I’m Heather. If you’re ready, let me show you around first and then we can go through Mr Hoult’s schedule for the day.”

“Yes, of course. Sounds good.” I follow her through the glass doors, and we walk through an open plan office with several fancy cubicles, high-tech computers with two monitors that are for drawing your designs.

“So, this is your desk, and you already know where Mr Hoult’s office is.” I nod, smiling, my eyes taking in the office, as she continues to go on and on about his schedule. “He’s very peculiar and likes things a certain way. For example, he has his coffee black, with skimmed milk on the side, ready on his desk at seven-forty-five. He has a sesame bagel with smoked salmon, and fat-free cream cheese at eight o’clock every morning, religiously.”

“Got it.”

“Excellent. A little helpful advice, he works a lot, like around the clock. So, he’s often quite grumpy because he’s tired. If you see him loosening his tie, and rub his temples, it means he’s angry steer clear unless he calls for you. If he does— do not speak. I found nodding helps. Do not enter his office without knocking; wait for him to gesture you in. Understand?”

I look over at the empty office and gulp. Oh boy, this man sounds like a real headcase. It sure is going to be a hoot working for him. I follow Heather back to the open office. “Well, I think you’ve pretty much got the gist of the job. I’m sure you two will get along great. He should be out of his meeting shortly, and we can head over and introduce you to him.” Heather explains as we walk over to the kitchen area where the coffee machines and fridges stocked up with drinks and shelves stocked with snacks. At least they look after their employees.

I was enjoying my caramel latte and people watching when Heather came bouncing along. “He is out of his meeting. Let’s go and get you acquainted.” I nod and follow her through the office toward the CEO’s office. I was real baffled every time she said the words ‘introduce you’ like I hadn’t met him at the interview. Maybe she forgot.

We walk into the office I had my interview with the silver fox. The painting on the wall caught my eye, and I was admiring it when I just about noticed Heather say my name. “Mr Hoult, this your new executive assistant, Shayla.” I spin and look at him. Our eyes meet first. I let my gaze wander the length of him, and my heart sinks to the pit of my stomach.

“You.”

“You?” I shake my head and look over at Heather and back at the six-foot-something man standing in front of me. “No. No, my boss was an older guy, you’re-”

Cole nods slowly. “You must have met my Father. Tony Hoult. He was interviewing for me whilst I was out of town on business.”

I stare at Cole and curse the fate that keeps screwing with me. “So, you’re my boss?”

Cole nods and fiddles with his cufflinks, his brows fused tightly. “It sure looks that way.”

“You’ve already met each other-”

“Heather, leave us.” He commands, his eyes never leaving mine and Heather scampers out of the office leaving us alone.

“This is a joke, right? Because this can’t be happening,” I mutter, pacing back and forth. “It can’t be.”

Cole rubs the back of his neck, watching me pace frantically, mumbling incoherently to myself like a lunatic. “Shayla, why don’t we sit?” He offers, and I shake my head.

“No. I can’t sit.” I reply, brushing my fingers through my hair in frustration. “I feel as though I’m inside a nightmare I can’t seem to wake up from.” I stop pacing and look at him. “Are you like …stalking me?”

He laughs—and I don’t just mean a chuckle, I mean a full-on belly laugh. “Stalking you?” He says in between breaths as I stand there and watch him unimpressed. “I should be asking you that question, sweetheart. You’re the one that keeps showing up everywhere. It can’t be a coincidence.”

I scowl at him and slap the folder in my hand on his desk somewhat hard. “Excuse me? Are you insinuating that I’m some psychotic fan girl or something?” I ask, taking a step toward him and he watches me closely. “I think you will find that it was you who approached me at the club,” I say poking his chest, and he smirks and arches a brow. “And it was also your idea to leave the club together,” I add, poking him again and his smile grows into a grin. “It was also you that kissed me, so please explain how I come off as the stalker here?” I finish, placing my hands at my hips and stare up at him expectantly.

Cole licks his lips and shrugs, “I was just kidding, but it’s nice to see you have a feisty side, sweetheart. I adore that in a wife.” I sigh and roll my eyes. I’m going to kill this boy.

“I’m not your wife.” I grouse heatedly. “Come to think of it; I’m not your assistant either. I quit.” I tell him and turn to leave, but Cole grabs my arm and stops me.

“Shayla, come on. I’m only teasing you. We can work this out, come and sit for a minute, will you, please?” I tug my arm out of his hold, walk over to his desk, and sit on one of the cream chairs opposite. Cole comes and stands in front of me, leaning on his desk, he crosses his arms over his chest and regards me seriously. “You don’t have to quit. We’re both adults. We can still work together.”

“How? How can we possibly work together after everything that has happened? We’re married, remember?” Cole shrugs.

“Yeah, so? Who here knows we’re married beside us? You’re overreacting. Besides, my father hired you for a reason, so you must be good at what you do.” I sigh heavily and shake my head.

“Overreacting? I married my damn boss. I went from being an assistant to the office slut who has slept with the CEO.” Cole straightens from his leaning position and runs his fingers through his hair.

“Shayla, you’re overthinking it. No one will find out what happened between us, I promise you.” He assures me, he seems genuine, but the nagging feeling I have at the pit of my stomach is making me feel uneasy.

“Fine,” I relented with a sigh. I narrow my eyes. “You must have thought I was a right dimwit for not knowing who you were. Why didn’t you say something?”

“I thought no such thing,” He smiles warmly. “If anything, it felt good to be treated like a normal human being rather than a--”

“Notorious playboy billionaire?” I finish, and he chuckles a little lowering his gaze to the black Louboutin leather shoes on his feet. “I go just a touch deeper than that, but yes. I may have liked that you didn’t seem fazed by the fact that I had money.”

“Why would I be? Just because you have money doesn’t make you better than anyone else. When cut, you still bleed red like the rest of us mere mortals.”

Our eyes meet; we stare at one another for a long moment. Cole smiles and shakes his head, seemingly pleased by my response. He walks around his desk and sits in his chair. “It’s almost lunchtime. Would you like to go out for lunch?”

“Lunch?” I intone, and he nods leaning back in his chair.

“Yeah, we can go to the breakfast bar.” I groan and stand up. “We can share some pancakes.”

“I hate you,” I utter and turn to walk to the door. I hear Cole laugh behind me.

“Hey, what happens in Vegas...”

“Shut up.” I walk out of his office and look back to see him watching me with a grin on his face while shaking his head. The girls are going to have a fit when they hear about this.

I walk to the bathroom and dial Aimee’s number. She answers after two rings. “Yo ho, what’s up?”

“What’s up? Let me tell you what’s up. Remember that billionaire I accidentally married?”

“The hot billionaire, yes.”

“Well, that ‘hot billionaire’ is not only my dear husband…he’s also my new boss,” I tell her and hear her coughing and sputtering on the other end, clearly choking on something. “You dead?”

“I’m good. I’m okay. What do you mean he’s your boss?” She questions, clearing her throat.

“He’s my boss. The man that interviewed me was his Dad--Tony Hoult. How did I not connect the dots here Aimes? For fucksake. I’m a smart girl--at least I thought I was. I held his card in my hand, and it didn’t click. He probably thinks I’m a fucking idiot. Jesus, I’m mortified.” I mumble, closing the lid of the toilet and sitting on it.

“A lot has happened in the space of four days. My mind can’t cope with all this; I don’t know how you’re dealing with everything so calmly.” She says in an attempt to make me feel better.

“Calmly? I’m freaking out Aimee. I can’t work here. It’s too awkward working with him side by side day in, day out. I can’t do it. I’m going to quit.”

“Shayla, no. Don’t forget; you need this job. Remember how excited you were to finally be in a job that is in a field you’re interested in. This job will open all sorts of doors for you in the future. Just focus on your work, and I promise you in the end when you’re a kick-arse architect, it will all be worth it.” I nod and sigh. She was right. As much as the situation sucks, I need to stick it out as long as possible. “So what if you slept with him, he’s slept with dozens of girls. He clearly doesn’t care, why should you?”

“Yeah, you’re right. I mean, he did promise what happened will stay between us.” I tell her.

“There you go. Just chill and enjoy your first day, it’s all going to be okay.” I sure hope she was right because I honestly can’t take much more. Knowing my luck, he’ll end up being my long-lost brother or something, on top of everything else. I shudder at the mere thought of it.

Heaven forbid.

Cole

“Tristan, we’ve had this conversation before. I’ve had it with your philandering ways. If you want me and your grandfather to take you seriously and pass on our shares to you, you need to prove you’re responsible enough to run a multi-million corporation. You’ll be thirty soon, the time for you to settle down has come. I let you have your fun and sow your wild oats so that you’ll get it out of your system before you settle down.” My father scolds me whilst cutting into his fillet mignon steak. “Hollie comes from a respectable family who has been our dearest friends for generations. She’s a beautiful young lady, and she shares the same passion for architecture as you do. What more could you ask for in a life partner?” He adds, lifting his green eyes to look at me.

I clench and unclench my fist under the table. I feel my annoyance grow more by the minute. “Well, I would like to be attracted to my future wife for starters. I also want to marry someone I love, Dad. I have zero interest in Hollie. She’s not my type, and we have absolutely nothing in common other than our careers. Why would you want me to marry someone I don’t even love?” I ask, and he sets his fork down and wipes his mouth before speaking.

“Son, love doesn’t just happen overnight. You need to work at it, and it grows as you get to know the other person. You loved Sophie and look how that turned out? She left you devastated. You’ve not been the same since she broke your heart.” I feel my insides recoil at the mention of my ex. “I don’t want to see you hurt like that again. Do you think your mother and I were in love when we married? No, we weren’t, but we grew to love each other, and now I couldn’t imagine my life with anyone else.” He explains, looking at my mother, who smiles at him lovingly and takes his hand when he holds it out for her.

“Dad, I’ve known Hollie since we were kids and I don’t see myself loving her…ever,” I tell him earnestly, but he shakes his head and holds his hands up.

“Enough Tristan. I’ve said my piece. If you want our shares, you’ll marry Hollie as planned, and that’s final. The arrangements are in place.” He says and goes back to eating his food. I look over at my mother who shrugs and smiles apologetically at me. This is ridiculous. This marriage fiasco started when Grandpop was diagnosed with motor neuron disease and was given less than a year to live. Guess what his dying wish was? To see his first-born, favourite grandson married before he dies. His shares will not transfer over to me until I am married, and if I don’t, it goes to my idiot cousin Harry who will run the company I have spent years building up into the ground quicker than I can blink. It’s times like these that I wish I had a sibling. My Dad wants to retire early but won’t give me full control of Cult Designs until I’m married.

“Excuse me,” I mutter, dropping my napkin on the table and stand up.

“Honey, you’ve not touched your food.” My mother says, looking up at me. I shake my head and rub the back of my neck tiredly.

“I’m not hungry,” I tell her. “I’m going to take off; I have a ton of work to do for the presentation tomorrow.”

“Hollie and her parents are coming over the day after tomorrow for dinner. I expect you to be here. We’ll discuss the details of your engagement.” My father states as I walk off out of the dining room. I wave them off without so much as a glance and leave the house.

I feel like I’m suffocating. I jump in my Audi R8 and speed out of the gates. They’ve got me corned with this marriage bullshit, and I can’t seem to find a way out of it. I’ve been fighting them for weeks. I don’t want to be stuck marrying a girl I don’t love or even find the least bit interesting. She’s a beautiful girl, yes. She’s smart and accomplished. Any other guy would give their right leg to marry a girl like that, but not me. She’s not for me. If I get forced into marrying her, I know I’ll struggle to stay loyal, and I am not the kind of guy that cheats.

After an hour of driving around mindlessly, I find myself at my best friend Josh’s house. I’m currently sprawled out on his sofa sipping on my fifth bottle of beer staring up at his plain white ceiling.

“How the fuck am I going to get out of this?”

Josh sighs and leans back on the sofa and sips his beer. “Well, you’re not. You’ll have to marry Hollie, my brother. We both know how stubborn your Dad is. He’s not letting this go.”

I close my eyes and nod. Josh was right; my Dad will not let this go. Especially if it means losing the company, he has worked so hard to build to his brother-in-law's son. “Damn it. Please, tell me there’s a better solution, anything but this.” I frown when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out and see a text from Shayla.

I open the message and read it.

Shayla:

‘I’m going to be late for the meeting tomorrow morning. Some idiot stole all four of the tires off my car.’

I sit up and frown, and despite my bad mood, I laugh. This girl has the worst luck in the world. I type a message back to her.

Me:

‘Ouch. I’m sorry to hear that. I can have someone over within the hour to replace the tires for you.’

I send the text, and a reply comes right away. I open the message.

Shayla:

No. That’s okay. I’ll sort it. I can find somebody to fit new one's tomorrow. Just tell your lawyer I’ll be a little late.’

I smile and shake my head. She’s so stubborn it's infuriating.

Me:

‘I’ll pick you up on my way. We can go to the office together after.”

I set my phone down and look at Josh, who was watching me with a smile on his face. “What?” I ask cagily, sipping my beer.

“Your mood just drastically changed. Who are you texting?” He asks and swipes my phone off the table when it vibrates. “Shayla?” I reach over and try to take my phone, but he moves it out of reach. “Hang on is that the hottie from the club you disappeared with.” I nod and grab my phone from him.

“Yes, that’s her,” I say and read her text. Of course, she’s saying no. I text her back quickly telling her I will pick her up at nine and that I wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Why are you going to the lawyers with her?” Josh questions raising a curious brow at me. I was too distracted arguing with Shayla over text.

“Uh, to sign some papers for a divorce,” I answer distractedly with a shrug and he kicks my knee. I scowl at him.

“Divorce?” He sits upright and stares at me in bewilderment, and I realize I just let our secret slip out. “When did you fucking marry her to get a divorce?!”

“When we flew to Vegas…” I trail off, and his eyes widen as he waits for me to continue explaining. I sigh, “This is all your fault. You forced me to go out and got me stinking drunk. After we left the club, we kept drinking and ended up on my private jet flying to Vegas to get married.”

“Holy— you got married? Like legally married?” Josh questions getting to his feet, he throws his head back and laughs when I nod.

“Yes, Josh. I’m legally married. And like that was bad enough she shows up at my office as my new executive assistant. My Dad hired her while I was in Paris. What are the fucking odds of that, tell me, please?” Josh covers his mouth with his hand and shakes his head.

“Odds? Bro, this girl is either one psychotic stalker and planned this or fate’s just dropped a motherload of an opportunity in your lap.” I watch Josh as he moves around the room.

“Josh, she didn’t even know who I was. And she tried to quit the moment she saw I was her boss. She’s not a stalker, and she certainly didn’t plan any of this.” I explain, running my fingers through my hair.

“Cole, are you an idiot bro?” I scowl at him hard. “Do you not realize all your prayers have been answered. This whole Hollie debacle is solved.” I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees and watch him closely.

“How so?”