Page 1 of A Bride for the Billionaire

Chapter One

CALEB

"What the fuck is this?" I snap as I look down at the wedding invitation in my hand. ‘Daly Foster & Tillie Stephens invite you to celebrate their wedding with them.’ I throw the invite back on the desk. "Why would they invite me to their wedding unless it's to gloat," I grunt, running a hand through my hair.

Tillie was engaged to me at one point, then I found her cheating with Daly Foster, the gut that I've hated since Kindergarten. And now they are getting married? I laugh. "They deserve each other, I wonder how long it will take them to cheat on each other, if they haven't already."

My door opens and my assistant Sheila walks in. "Are you talking to yourself again?" She laughs. She's been with me for ten years and I class her as part of my family.

"Did you see the invite from Tillie?" She nods her head. "Why the fuck didn't you just throw it out?"

She sits down opposite me, crosses her legs and leans forward. This could have been suggestive on a younger woman, but Sheila is in her fifties and she would punch me if she thought I thought of her that way. Which I don't.

"I have a proposition for you." She looks at me over her glasses and I laugh. She reminds me of my mom before she passed away.

"Sheila, do you want to go to the wedding with me?" I raise my eyebrow in question.

She shakes her head, "Absolutely not. But have you heard of the Wife for Hire Agency?"

"What the hell is that? I'm not ordering a prostitute." Is she mad in the head? Does she think I need to get a prostitute? "What is wrong with you today?"

She laughs. "It's not a prostitute agency, or an escort agency. Wife for Hire is an online agency that will find you the perfect wife.

Whether you need a temporary arrangement or looking for the real deal, the agency can help with anything. Their website is very discreet and sleek. You need a special passcode to view their catalog of women which is provided by Miss May. Miss May will meet with you via a Zoom meeting at first and then she will invite you into the office to meet your 'wife'."

"What do I want a wife for? I'm not ready to get married, not after the way Tillie behaved." I shake my head.

"Look, Caleb. If you want to get back at Tillie and Daly then you need to go to their wedding. You need to show up and show them that they mean nothing to you - that you don't care if they are getting married. You can network and do what you want, but you need to go to that wedding. It will show that you are a bigger man. They think that by sending you the invite you are not going to attend, but they are rubbing it in their face. So you should rub it into their faces that you met just the right person and that you are happy. Do you remember a time when you were happy, Caleb?"

"Yes, but that was a long time ago and it's my fault that it ended the way it did." I sigh as I think back to before Tillie, before I was a successful businessman. I had been in love with someone and I tore her heart out when I left her in our hometown to make it big in the city. Did I think about her, yes I did, often and mostly at night in my dreams. Do I wonder what she's doing now? Of course I do. Do I actively want to seek her out? Yes. But will I? No. I know that that door is well and truly padlocked and nothing I could do would get her to open that door again.

"So, speak to Miss May and see if she has someone who you can call your wife and take her to the wedding. You only need to be with her for a week before and maybe a week after. You can learn a bit about each other or give her your history so that she can answer some questions about you if Tillie or Daly ask. Then you can pay her and be on your merry way. You don't sleep with her, I'll book you a suite with two bedrooms, you just need to make it look real outside of the suite."

I think about what she's said and wonder if this is something I could do? Could I pretend to be with someone? It's only a day or two. "Okay, I'll schedule a call with Miss May and see how it goes."

"Great, in the meantime I'll reply to this invite to let them know that you will be going and bringing a plus one. We don't have to put a name on it yet. They are going to be mad, because they don't think you'll go and it will cost them another grand or two for two places. You'll have upset the table plans and lots more."

"You look secretly happy about that, Sheila." I look at her and smile.

"I never liked Tillie, you knew that. But you still wanted to marry her. I thought you would marry for love, not for a trophy wife, Caleb. I was disappointed in you."

"Sheila, you know how it is. Anyone who dates me, dates me for money. How do I know the genuine ones who want me for Caleb and not Mr Masters, the business tycoon and billionaire. It's hard to find someone who wants me for me." I lean back in my chair.

"Caleb, you don't give yourself enough credit. You're a good man and you could find someone to fall in love with. It happened once, why can't it happen again." She stands and leaves the room.

I stay sitting back in my chair, thinking about the one who got away. I wonder what she's doing now.

Chapter Two

CORA

"What do you mean you're evicting me? Surely there's a process. This is not right. You can't do this." I'm barely holding back the tears. I missed one payment and my landlord wants to throw me out on the streets. Actually, he is throwing me out on the street. He's given me two hours to pack my stuff and leave. "What the fuck?"

"Next time you rent somewhere make sure you pay your rent on time." The landlord is a cruel man, he sits on the couch and waits while I pack my shit up into boxes that he brought with him.

As I'm packing I call my best friend, Louisa. "Lou, can I stay with you tonight, my landlord has thrown me out of my apartment."

"What the fuck, Cora? Of course, you can. I'll come over and help you pack up, you can put it in my car. You can stay as long as you like."

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