Contract Marriage with My CEO Boss

Chapter 105

Chapter 105

One year later

Katrina never slept well when Kylan had to go out of town. She didn't like being alone at night. She didn't like

worrying about if he was sleeping well, or if he was having a nightmare. Even though his nightmares only

happened now when he was overly stressed, she still worried. She still wanted him to be okay, especially when

he wasn't with her.

She missed his arms, his smell, and the quiet reassurance that she was safe. If she allowed herself to think about

it too hard, it was probably a little ally that she couldn't get comfortable without her husband's strong arms

around her, or his chest pressed to her back in that way she liked.

But she was so combined with Kylan, so wrapped up in everything that was him, in what doing life with him

meant to her.. So, when he was p she didn't sleep well.

Lately, he was gone a lot. Too much, if she had anything to say about it.

Ross Corporation had fully integrated into the military side of business, and she was happy for Kylan, really

happy for him, but it meant he had to go on several trips and listen in on extra phone calls. Which was fine. It

was.

He was a CEO, and his company was growing, thriving in ways that made her smile. But she missed her

husband. And while she knew he missed her too, it didn't make those nights where the bed was too big and too

empty, any easier for her to handle.

When she woke up to her alarm, it took her a moment to remember she was by herself. Kylan was in Boston for a

conference, and he wouldn't be back until tomorrow night. And it was fine. It was. She was fine.

But tomorrow was her first wedding anniversary, and she was possibly a little sad he hadn't been able to turn

has CEO persona off a day early

This was one of those times where she missed being his assistant. She never regretted taking the PR job. She

knew she made the right decision. She knew her relationship, her marriage with Kylan was healthier because of

it. She knew it was a smart move, and Vincent had proven to be Instrumental for Kylan.

But were she still his assistant, she would be with him. She would be able to slip beneath the sheets of his hotel

bed and she would be able to feel safe the way she would never tire of

But it was fine. She was fine.

Katrina was taking a half day an work so she could go cake tasting with Aaron and Maine. Their wedding was in

three months, and they were ironing out the last of the details. Cake just so happened to be one of them, and

she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to distract herself and indulge in something sweet.

nd she

She was the maid of honor for both of them. And it was an honor. They were right for each other in every way

that mattered, and she wanted their day to be as meaningful as her wedding had been.

She turned on her side, huffing a bit as she looked at the empty space in the bed next to her. She stretched out a

hand, running her fingers over the pillow that should occupy her husband's head.

One more day. He would be htomorrow, and she would celebrate her anniversary, and he would hug her

and this would be another conference behind her

She forced herself to sit up, rubbing the remnants of sleep from her eyes. She grabbed her phone from off its

charger at the exact moment it began to ring. She smiled at the picture of herself and Kylan on her wedding day

that she set as his contact photo. The sun was shining her foreheads were pressed together, and he was staring

at her with warmth. With love. With that safety.

Katrina pressed the "accept" icon and stood from her bed, balancing her phone on her shoulder so she could

move her covers back in place while

she talked.

"Good morning, my darling" She were the first to speak, her voice a little hoarse from disuse.

"Good morning, love. How's your sleep?"

She fluffed the last of the her throw pillows, smoothing down the lines in the duvet and then huffing. "You know

how | slept," She replied just a bit coolly

She could hear Kylan sigh on the other end of the line while she walked to her closet and began to pick out a

skirt and shirt that wouldn't suffocane her too much in the mid July brat

"When are Aaron and Maine subjecting you to an obscene amount of sugar?"

attice for a few

She peeled off her nightgown and underwear, taking hold of her clothes and then heading to the bathroom. 1

have to go into the office hours because Anna called in sick and wasn't able to finish the quarterly PR reports. So,

they'll pickup around lunch time" She brushed through the tangles in her hair, bating back a yawn. She sank

onto the toilet seat, wincing against the cold porcelain that greeted her bare skin. "Remindwhen your flight

gets in tonsorrow, please"

Just after seven. | wish it were earlier. This whole conference has been a damn headache. Vincent also steeped

my tea for a minute too long this morning, so that doesn't help a thing."

She couldn't fight the snort of laughter that left her throat. "Not the tea. What are you while

"Yeah, yeah. Tease at my expense. See if | do that thing you li

like tomorrow"

meant to do, Kylan?" She frigned horror, smiling all the

That sobered her immediately. "You better do that thing | like. You've been gone long enough this time. She

allowed her disappointment to saturate her words, standing and discarding her pajamas into the black hamper

near the shower.

"I know | have. | don't like leaving any more than you like missing me, Kate. The htomorrow, and | suppose

I'll do the thing you like."

She smiled at that. "Thank you, darling. I'll give you a call this evening. She moved to turn the handle inside the

shower, adjusting in until the temperature of the water was where she wanted it to be

"| look forward to it. | love y

you

"I love you, too. Be safe, and please be nice to Vincent." She set her phone down on the bathroom vanity,

smiling when Kylan huffed a laugh before ending the call

Six months after Oscar retired, she decided to drive herself to and from work. It just Didn't feel right, not having

him drive her anymore. She was happy he retired, happy he was healthy, but it made her sad when it was no

longer him that waited for her outside of the black SUV every morning and evening, soar candy in hand for her

more often than not

She didn't mind driving either. Honestly, having a private driver was a little bit excessive, to begin with. So, now

it was her that navigated the New York City traffic in the Bentley she couldn't believe Kylan let her handle.

It was. Strange, marrying someone who had so much monetary success. It took sgetting used to, allowing

herself to believe that everything Kylan owned was also hers. It was never about the money for her, not even

when she signed the contract so long ago Now, though, she steered the Bentley to the familiar glass behemoth

that was Ross Corporation, and she parked the SUV in the underground parking structure.

The next few hours flew by in a daze of caffeine, phone calls, emails and reports. Ryan stopped in to say hello,

and that helped brighten her spirits

Around noon, Aaron sent her a slew of texts to warn her that he and Maine would be at the office in a few

minutes and to have her ass waiting outside or else.

She rolled her eyes at that, but she still closed out of the Word document she was working on and slipped her

flats back on her feet.

She made her way down to the street below, spotting Aaron's familiar sedan waiting near the curb for her. She

watched him clamber out of the car and practically run over to her enveloping her in his arms and spinning her

around like he hadn't seen her in weeks. When really, she saw him at least once a week outside of work for her

standing date.

He planted a wet, sloppy kiss on her cheek, and she groaned, wiping the moisture off her face with the back of

her palm. But she still smiled at him, and he smiled at her.

He opened the passenger door for her, and she clambered inside. Maine was sitting in the back seat, and she

turned to give her a more reasonable greeting than her hancé had given her

Aaron navigated the New York City streets like only someone could that had lived and breathed the busy

concrete jungle life for years. Conversation flowed easily, like it always did with her best friends. With the

occasional road rage thrown out when a fellow driver did something that Aaron deemed particularly heinaus, she

traveled to a quaint bakery located at the edge of the city limits.

Finding a spot to leave the car was another beast to behold, but Aaron was also adept with parallel parking, and

she found herself walking out of the stifling heat and into the cool of the bakery in no time. The sbakery she

and Kylan also visited to pick out their wedding cake

It made her both sad and happy, being here on a day like this. Sad, because she missed her husband. Happy,

because she got to witness her most cherished friends create memories that they would look back on and

cherish, just like she did.

An attendant greeted them a moment later and led them to a back room that housed a single, covered table.

Seven or eight plates with a sliver of cake each were expertly placed all in a line, a small slip of paper detailing

what was what in front of each one. She sat on Aaron's left, Maine on his right. The attendant left to retrieve

champagne for her trio, and she grinned at her friends.

"Chocolate ganache. Hell yeah. Aaron rubbed his hands together, packing up the sampling spoon that rested

near him.

"Lemon and raspberry sounds even more delicious." She found her spoon, waiting for them to take the lead.

"I don't know. This strawberry buttercream looks phenomenal. We might need to choose a few flavors, one for

each layer of the cake, Maine, his spoon in hand, grinned at Jean

Chapter 105

The kind worker indeed returned with champagne a few minutes later, and she promptly dug into the cake

samples.

It was fun. So much fun, bring there with her friends, listening to them bicker and fit. Each slice of cake was

moist, delicious, and she didn't envy the choice that Aaron and Maine would be left with. Until they told her to

decide and she wasn't smiling anymore.

Ther

spoon and

"Absolutely not. | won't be held responsible for if the cake is a hit or miss. That's too much pressure." She licked

sicing off set it on an empty plate, pushing it away from her.

d then

Aaron rolled his eyes at her and scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're the maid of honor, Kate. So.

Honor" He shrugged his shoulders like he made perfect sense.

Maine laughed, running a hand through her hair "Let's just go with a classic lemon cake and then spice it up with

a meringue icing" She looked at her fiance for approval and Aaron posted, but then he nodded.

Katrina reached over and ruffled his hair, smiling her biggest smile and meaning it.

-0-0-0-

She didn't sleep well again that night, and she woke up far too early the next morning, considering when her

mind finally allowed her to get any rest the night before

Determined to morph her anxiety into something positive, she channeled the restless energy into cleaning the

penthouse from top to bottom in preparation for Kylan's arrival that evening

He sent her periodic texts while she scrubbed every surface, including the baseboards and each of the doors.

She focused her efforts on the line things that no one else cared about, but Kylan did. Like fluffing the curtains,

folding the towels so they hung just so, and shining the silverware.

All of which would put him in a good mood, or so she hoped.

She listened to music while the worked, her mind drifting to a year ago of its own accord.

A year. A whole year she had been married to Kylan,

It felt like no thad passed, and yet also that an eternity had, all wrapped into three hundred and sixty-five

days.

They had cso far, and they had done it together. For each other. For herselves.

It would never be perfect, but it was more than enough. More than she ever dreamed she would get to have,

especially with Kylan.

Around five-thirty, she finally deemed the penthouse clean enough for even her husband's ridiculous standards,

and so she lit a candle on the kitchen countertop and then she stripped to take a shower

She shaved every nook and cranny of her body, scrubbed, and washed her face and hair twice, and then the put

on a new black dress that was little more than strips of fine fabric. She took extra care with styling her hair and

applying her makeup, and then she checked the time. Six-forry-tive. He would be hin fifteen minutes.

A werk was too long. Much too long.

She sat at the kitchen counter, tapping her fingernails on the marble surface, and wondering when exactly she

becso damn lovesick for another human being

Her phone rang, pulling her out of her daydreaming. She picked it up, grinning at Kylan's contact picture staring

b

back at her.

"I hope you're calling to sellyou picked up my favorite bottle of wine from that place in the Upper West Side,"

she teased into her phone Kylan was quiet for a second too long and the smile drifted from her lips.