Love Contract

'I can't believe I lost my temper like that!

If I carry on like this, I'm afraid that I will fall in love with William, or worse, I fear that my love for him will grow deeper and deeper.

I can't let that happen. I can't risk getting too close to him again. I can't keep pretending as if I don't have any feelings for him.

Oh for crying out loud, he is the CEO of the company and I'm just an employee!

I just hope that this year passes off without a hitch and as soon as possible,'

Mary thought in his heart.

During lunch time, William ordered takeout. Judging from that, it seemed as though he wasn't going to leave his office for the rest of the day.

"Mary," Jane asked in confusion, "are you really the wife of the CEO?"

"Well... Yes. I am." Mary wondered what this was about.

"Then why didn't the boss order food for you as well?" "Oh," said Mary with a bitter smile, lowering her head. "When we're in the company, he is the boss and I am just his assistant. There is no husband and wife."

"Is that so?" Jane's bafflement was obvious, but she continued, "I guess it's true when they say that integrity and principles are the cornerstone of this company!"

'She is so cute, in an innocent sort of way,' Mary thought.

"Mary! Why don't we go out and get some lunch together?"

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea!" Mary collected all the documents from her table and stood up to head out.

"I'm so happy that you'll be joining me today, Mary," Jane said in a chirpy voice. "I am absolutely famished!"

While standing in the elevator, just as Mary raised her head to look forward without a conscious thought, her eyes met with William's cold eyes, staring at her straight from his office. Startled, she quickly pressed the 'close button' as William's face shrank and eventually disappeared behind the elevator doors.

The two co-workers bonded quite well with each other at lunch. "How long have you been working in the company?" asked Mary.

"It's only been three days," said Jane, full of food in her mouth. "The day I first started in the company you were on a business trip with the CEO."

"I see." Mary nodded thoughtfully and said, "Well, if there's anything you need help with, feel free to let me know!"

"Thank you so much!" Jane nodded her head like a chicken pecking rice and said, "That's very kind of you, Mary. You won't believe how happy I am to be working for the AJ Group."

"Really?" Mary smiled curiously and asked, "Then tell me, how happy are you?"

"I don't know where to begin." Jane's eyes lit up and she continued, "I've done some research before joining the company. Everyone speaks very nicely of you, Mary. Almost everyone said that you are a very good person. I was so relieved to hear that!"

"Really?" Raising her eyebrows with great satisfaction, Mary felt delighted, having been given such a morale boost.

"It's true! I'm not just saying this to make you happy," Jane insisted, and then continued, "The CEO, however, tut tut..."

Jane finished her sentence prematurely with a disappointed sigh, which made Mary laugh. "What's wrong with the CEO?"

"Mary, please don't take this the wrong way." "I won't."

"Then listen carefully." Jane drew her head close and whispered, "When I searched the company's information online, many people in the forums mentioned that the CEO was gay."

"Gay?" Mary was beyond startled as she had never heard a more preposterous rumor in her entire life. "That's nonsense!"

Jane burst into laughter and said, "I think so too! I mean, those people wouldn't be saying that if they saw the CEO's wife having lunch right next to me!"

"I can see why people turn to gossip more nowadays. After all, work isn't the most enjoyable activity in life."

"I guess you're right," Jane replied, nodding pensively. "Nowadays, if a man is very good looking and doesn't have many female friends, people immediately think he is gay."

"Well..." Mary shrugged her shoulders and said, "This is what the world has come to!"

"Yes, unfortunately so." Jane sighed with an ambiguous expression and said, "Whether the CEO is a gay or not? You are the only person who can say, Mary."

"Me?" Mary looked at Jane as her cheeks blushed red without her consent.

"Yes!" Jane covered her mouth and snickered. "How's the CEO in bed?"

"Ahem..." Mary nearly choked on her food and she coughed repeatedly. Where did this little girl find so much courage to speak like that? "You...

"Mary, you're blushing! Oh my god!" Jane cackled gleefully, thrilled that her joke was a success.

Mary didn't say a word to William even after she got off work.

She took a taxi home all by herself and when she got there, Mary didn't even have the appetite to eat anything. Certain that William wouldn't come home, she closed the doors and went to bed early. The schedule for the company, hospital, apartment and convenience store was full for the day. If only Mary could avoid meeting with William, she would be happy and relieved.

Mary felt that William must have hated her very much. Clearly he must have thought that the "wife" he chose was perfect. Unfortunately, he did not expect her to cause him so much stress and trouble. 'I'd better get out of his life before I lose myself in his love completely.'

It had been three full days since the two of them had started avoiding each other. Whether it was Mary who was avoiding William or William who was avoiding Mary, it was Kevin who suffered the most during this time as he was the one who acted as a bridge between the two.

"I'm dying..." Kevin walked out of the office, feeling utterly exhausted and defeated.

"What's wrong?" Mary asked, feeling sorry for him as he had clearly been through a lot in the last three days.

"Mr. Lan told me to go to the shooting site!" Kevin had a bitter look on his face. "In the past three days, I've only slept for three hours each day. Now, Mr. Lan wants me to go and watch over the site. I don't think I'm going to make it!

"Then you might as well 'devote yourself to work until death'!" Jane chuckled.

"That's such a horrible thing to say! Why are you making this harder than it already is?" said Kevin.

Jane simply responded to his pitiful state by sticking her tongue out at him naughtily.

"Kevin," said Mary after thinking for a while. "I'll go to the site for you."

"Really?" Kevin's eyes widened in utter disbelief.

"Yes, I insist. Besides, I don't have much work to do these days," replied Mary. "Just let your boss know that I'll be going to the site in your place."

"Mary, why are you being so kind to him?" Jane pouted her lips like a spoiled brat.

"Jane, please mind your own business." Kevin turned to face Mary and continued, "We have a deal! I'll treat you to dinner later!"

"Okay, no problem." "Which site am I supposed to go to?" Mary asked with a smile on her face.

"The Past of Republic of China. The shooting in Shanghai is about to end, and they will come back to A City for the next shoot."

"Got it!" Mary paused for a moment and said, "How long will I have to stay there?"

"About a week."

'One week? Well, that's good. I won't have to face William for a whole week.' Mary breathed a sigh of relief.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

"Please come in." Without even raising his head, William knew who was standing at his door.

"Mr. Lan," Kevin spoke with a guilty conscience. "Mrs. Lan told me that she would like to go to the shooting site in my place since she doesn't have a lot of work in the office. She volunteered to supervise the shooting."

Suddenly, William stopped writing and he raised his head slowly to look at Kevin. "I see."

"Well..." Now it was Kevin's turn to be confused. He didn't expect the CEO to be so easy-going today.

"Anything else?" William asked, displeased to see that Kevin was still standing there.

"Mr. Lan, if you don't mind me asking -did you have a fight with Mrs. Lan?" Kevin expressed the troubles of his mind.

As expected, the expression on William's face changed immediately when he heard this.

"Has something gone wrong?" Kevin continued, "But I checked the contract at that time too. There wasn't any problem with it."

"Kevin!" William roared so loudly it seemed as though the ceiling was going to come crashing down. "I think you need to be reminded of who you are and what you are in this company. Do you want me to speak to a magazine publishing company and recommend you? At least, you will be able to write up all the stories you want to. What do you think?"

"Sir!" Kevin rushed to explain himself. "Sir, I... I didn't mean to offend you by saying that. I just remembered that I still have some work to finish. Well, I won't keep you waiting, please carry on, sir!" Kevin turned around and scampered out the door with his tail between his legs without giving William the chance to say anything else.

William snorted irritably and glanced at Mary without a conscious thought.

He hated her a little. Why did she say those words that day? He had been upset for a few days! 'Don't think this is going to make me fall in love with you!'

"Ring, ring, ring..."

All of a sudden, William's phone started ringing. As he looked into the screen, he felt even more perturbed-the caller was another troublesome guy he didn't want to deal with right now.

"Hello? What do you want now?" There was a clear hint of impatience in William's voice.

"Can't I call you even if I don't want anything?" Lucas replied, on the other end of the line.

"I'm very busy," said William, rubbing his temples. "I don't have time to talk nonsense with you."

"Do you really think I have nothing better to do? I'll have you know that I am a very popular doctor, okay?" Lucas was so angry he jumped to his feet and continued, "I was just calling to give you some news. It's about your mother-in-law!"

"You found a way to cure her cancer?" William's voice was proof that he was in high spirits Although he wasn't in good terms with Mary, the man still had his principles. Since he promised to help her, he wouldn't go back on his word.

"Unfortunately, not yet." Lucas continued, "I've read all the information, but I'm not God. Let's talk about it after I return home and see the patient."

"You're coming back?"

"Yes!" Lucas smiled and said, "I'm coming home to see your wife!"

"Fuck off!"

"I didn't think you'd be so angry! If you speak to me like that again, I'll personally ask your wife to kick you out of bed!" Lucas continued to tease William. "That's enough," William replied dismissively.

"What's wrong? You don't have any snarky comebacks? Cat got your tongue? Ha ha..." Lucas danced happily on the other side of the line.

"If you keep this up, I'm going to have to beat you up as soon as you set foot out of that plane."

"How can you be so heartless? I was just joking," shouted Lucas.

"The whole marriage was a sham. We are both just pretending to be married, that's all."

Lucas couldn't believe the words that were coming out of William's mouth. This information hit him like an unexpected thunder cracking in a clear sky. "What... What did you just say?"

"Yes, you heard me! Let's talk about it when you come back."

William hung up and threw his cellphone on the table before Lucas could say anything else.

"Hello? Hello? William!" Lucas jumped to his feet and cursed at William. "Because of the time difference, I had to call you in the middle of the night, just so you could hang up on me again? Fake marriage? I wonder what he's talking about!

William couldn't focus on his work anymore after that.

'Fake marriage...fake marriage. I must have been out of my mind to agree with this shambolic marriage. I should have just taken Frank's advice and gone to live in Norway, instead of waiting for another year!'