"I love you!"
Anne Thompson didn't expect to walk into this special scene on the night she was working overtime at the restaurant.
A masked man stood outside the club on the dark street, his voice was as hard as steel, cold with no emotion as he spoke.
"That is your gravest mistake. The contract clearly states you're forbidden from falling in love, it's strictly business between us. I'm afraid the contract is over." Saying this he strode towards a flashy looking car parked on the road and a guard pulled the door open for him.
The woman ran after him crying and pleading but he didn't stop even for a second.
"This man... isn't he too heartless?" Anne muttered to herself as the light from the car driving away cast onto the woman's beautiful face.
"A woman this beautiful, what man would reject her so coldly?"
Anne wondered to herself not knowing that fate would put her in the very place that woman was just a few months later.
"Get on the bed and spread your legs." The man's cold words reached her ears.
Anne was dumbstruck by that command.
A man whose face she hadn't even seen yet, whose lips she hadn't kissed would take her virginity from her and nine months later she had to give him a child.
Anne shivered and hesitated. Not even in her wildest dreams had the thought ever occured to her that one day, she would have to sleep with a man in this manner. Anne's head was filled with crazy romance and the most beautiful confession any woman has ever received, she hoped to someday get that from a man she loved, but dreams of love would have to be shattered by responsibility, the responsibility to save her brother's life.
"I don't have all night Miss Thompson, get on the bed now!" The man commanded again rigidly.
His tall and strong build was a shadow in the dark room, and his face whether good looking or hideous was hidden behind a mask.
Anne got on the bed and laid on her back, she parted her legs controlling herself not to shiver and shut her eyes really tight.
Ten million dollars was the price she was selling herself at, money she needed not for greed but to save her brother's life.
It had all happened when her brother had almost lost his life in an accident, desperately needing surgery. With the meager amount she earned at the restaurant as a waitress, she couldn't afford to pay for expensive surgery, but a chance encounter had brought her to this man.
On the night she'd lost her job, a mysterious person had suddenly handed her a card outside the restaurant with the words, "Call this number if you're willing to earn good money. All you have to do is give my boss a child and you'll get ten million dollars."
Anne would have never accepted something like this, but the doctor's grave words had pushed her to call the number.
"We need to perform the surgery immediately Miss Thompson, otherwise... I'm not sure how long he can stay in a coma. We could lose him at anytime.
Kristen was the only family she had left in this world and Anne was ready to do whatever it takes to save his life. She had immediately called that number and sealed her fate. She never expected him to be the same man she'd witnessed harshly rejecting a woman's love the other day.
The man stalked to her and his powerful body soon covered her small one on the bed.
What would her first time of having sex feel like?
Would she feel pleasure like most people did or will it be unbearably painful?
This was a business transaction after all, it was very unlikely that she would find it pleasurable.
The man was unfeeling above her, neither did he whisper sweet nothings into her ears like she had dreamed the man sleeping with her for the first time would, nor did he touch her gently, the first thing he did was tear her clothes open ripping them mercilessly. Anne sucked in a heavy breath and began to say a silent prayer, but before anything else could happen a buzzing sound filled the air as a phone vibrated from the man's pocket.
He got off her and answered the phone walking himself to the balcony. He returned a few seconds later leaving her with these words,
"I have something important to handle. We'll do this next time. Remember to follow the contract, I only want you here every Friday and for any other day you're not to step anywhere near my house until you're confirmed pregnant. Understood?"
"Y-yes." She stammered.
With that, the man left her in the spacious room inside the gigantic manor all by herself.
Anne sighed and covered herself up, her shirt had been torn up by the man so she had to cover her body with her jacket.
She returned home later that night, however someone with a foul face was already waiting by her door in her rundown apartment.
"Madam Kate, good evening. What brings you to my...?" Anne tried to brighten the atmosphere with a bright smile and cheery greeting, but Madam Kate was furious.
"Anne, how much longer do I have to wait for my rent? You're owing three months already. Am I merciless huh? Don't you think I've been patient enough with you?"
"Madam Kate, I'm really sorry for delaying this long. I know you have been really patient and I appreciate that, but please could you give me some more time? You know after Kristen's accident, I lost my job and I've paid hospital bills with all my savings, I have to..."
The woman cut her off, "Alright alright enough. Listen Anne, I'm giving you one more month to pay up, you're lucky to be one of my favorites tenants, otherwise I'd have thrown your ass out to the streets."
Anne cringed at the thought of that before brightening up
"Thank you so much Madam Kate, I'll definitely pay you back in a month."
*****
A pair of glistening black shoes could be seen as a tall man stepped down from an SUV inside the Sterling estate.
He walked with a majestic aura that couldn't be ignored. Most of the maids and guards kept their heads low in his presence, but when they gazed up at him they couldn't help but be in awe.
Was a man this handsome even human?
His eyes were like deep pools of black, cold and unfeeling in any way. A straight nose bridge framed by thick brows, and his mouth was like hard steel set in a constant scowl. He was fury and allure at the same time. Frightening yet irresistibly beautiful.
Inside the vast living room, an older man sat with two other handsome looking men.
"Grandpa, you know how Andrew can be, he's definitely going to find a way or the other to cheat so he can win this condition you've placed." Gabriel Sterling was the first to speak up.
The Sterling family were the most successful and well known in the whole country with three remarkable sons from the younger generation.
Gabriel Sterling, the eldest. Andrew Sterling, the second born and Donald Sterling. The special thing was, the three had different mothers thanks to their father's womanizing ways.
Months ago, Stanley Sterling, patriarch to this reputable family had suddenly made an announcement. The Sterling Enterprises would be handed over to one of his grandsons who meets this condition; provides an heir for the family.
None of Stanley's grandsons were in a relationship nor married, hence this was a difficult task for them, most especially for Andrew Sterling. The man currently holding the position of director at the company aiming to become CEO.
"You think too highly of me brother. But we all know, trick or not, I'm going to be the CEO of Sterling Enterprises." Andrew strode in with his majestic gait. It wasn't a hidden fact that both Gabriel and Donald were intimidated by him.
He was the most successful among them after all, the one who'd received the most awards and the favorite of their grandfather.
Stanley lit up when Andrew appeared. "Grandson, is this how you treat your grandfather? You wouldn't have come to see me if I hadn't called for another family meeting?"
"Sorry Grandpa, I've been busy." He sat himself down crossing his legs.
"All three of you, I'm sure you're aware that our family legacy must continue. That is why I've put forth this condition and I won't change my mind. I don't care if you get married or not, as long as you give this family it's future heir."
Gabriel smirked smugly.
"Consider the company as good as mine Grandpa. We all know that Andrew here has never had a woman in his life, how is he going to impregnate one?"
Andrew Sterling was the dream man for every woman, but he avoided them like a plague. People have thought about several reasons, he could be gay or just despise women but no one knew the actual truth.
Andrew neither looked perturbed nor triggered by Gabriel's words.
"I enjoy proving people wrong. Sterling Enterprises is going to be mine." His confidence oozed into the room, the kind that didn't require him to try to prove to anyone what he was capable of. This was something Gabriel despised about his brother, his confidence and arrogance.
Stanley Sterling nodded.
"I'll be waiting for the good news of my great grand child's arrival."
***
Two days later was a Monday morning. What happened that Friday night still felt like a forbidden nightmare Anne didn't dare revisit.
She had almost had sex with a stranger if the man hadn't backed out and left, postponing it to the next Friday. The contract stated that she would have to go to his villa every Friday for mating until she was pregnant. The thought alone made her shudder.
Anne had spent the weekend in the hospital next to her brother. Even though he couldn't hear her and was in a coma, she had spoken to him as if he could.
Weeks ago, she had sent in an application to Sterling Enterprises to apply for a job, and this morning she had suddenly been called in for an interview.
She wore comfortable straight jeans and a white T-shirt, and tied her long black hair into a ponytail. Her pink lips had a touch of gloss, and she grabbed her bag after feeling satisfied with her looks in the mirror.
With a cup of coffee in hand along with her credentials, Anne hurried into the building. The receptionist pointed her to the elevator, telling her to go to the tenth floor for her interview.
She was already late, and the elevator was about to close.
"Hey, please hold that elevator!" she rushed towards it, trying to steady her papers, but in her haste, she suddenly bumped into someone, spilling all her coffee on his pristine-looking suit just as the elevator doors slid closed behind her.
"Holy fuck! She's dead! Someone actually spilled coffee on Director Sterling?" someone inside the elevator exclaimed.
It was at this moment that Anne realized everyone within the elevator was huddled in the far back as if they were afraid of the man standing in front of them.
Director Sterling? Anne panicked inwardly.
Wasn't that the boss of the boss of the boss of the boss she was going to meet for an interview?
Didn't this mean she had already lost the job even before getting it?
Shit! There goes my freaking rent!