Contract Marriage with My CEO Boss (Kylan and Katrina)

Katrina spent the entirety of Sunday, tracking the reception of her relationship with Kylan obsessively. She tried not to allow it to consume her, but she knew it had.

Most of the comments on the picture, as well as the messages sent to Kylan's inbox, continued to be positive. There were some that weren't so nice, but she had prepared for as much, and the harsh words of the few who weren't a fan of their union really didn't bother her.

They weren't her target audience, and they didn't matter in the end. The fact that she seemed to have most of the public on her side was enough for her to feel like her first date had been time well spent.

She wasn't sure what work would be like on Monday, Were people at the office aware of her relationship? How many people thought she had slept her way into her position, after all!

She had dealt with a few rumors here and there, over the last three years. But they had all been baseless and therefore, they didn't cause her to lose any sleep.

he wasn't involved with Kylan anymore, and that would

Now though, she knew they still held no true weight, but she wouldn't be able to deny t

ny that she wasn't i make it much harder to quell any talk

She wasn't looking forward to Monday and the inevitable onslaught of stares and whispers that would follow her at work.

It was all part of the situation, and she knew that. It didn't mean she was eager to handle the fallout, though.

She wondered if Kylan were as worried as she was, or if he fully understood how much his life would change because of their relationship

She couldn't imagine him normally spending time thinking about things he would most likely deem as trivial, but she wasn't sure of a situation like this, that directly impacted his personal life becoming. Not so personal.

By Sunday evening, Katrina was a ball of nerves. She was on edge, and thoughts about the following morning were making her steadily more anxious as the night wore on. She simultaneously wanted to get it all over with and confront her new reality head on, and she also wanted to shy away from ever needing to do anything of the sort at all..

It was a delicate thing, balancing these emotions in her head, along with her usual PR knowledge giving pushback. The line was blurred in her mind, ever since she first signed the contract. Because it did involve her on a personal level

By Monday morning, she had no appetite. She got ready for work almost robotically, and then she headed down to the street, where Chear was waiting for her.

She pulled her coat further around her, realizing it was raining. Oscar graciously walked over to her, holding an umbrella out for her and walking with her to the car. She smiled at him in thanks, and he opened the back door for her. She climbed inside, taking a moment to adjust her skirt after

she sat down

Oscar drove her to the coffee shop for Kylan's tea, and he didn't try and talk to her, for which she was thankful. She didn't have it in her to make small talk, not when there was so much going on in her mind already,

She watched as the barista steeped Kylar's tea, still mindful of if they were doing it the "right" way. She glanced at her phone, surprised that her boss hadn't called her yet this morning. It was highly unusual to not wake up to a phone call from Kylan. He always had something to complain about or ask her, first thing in the morning.

Should she be worried that he hadn't called her yet? Was this yet another thing she needed to be nervous about? She hoped not, but her nerves increased tenfold at the prospect.

She took Kylan's tea when it was finished being prepared, as well as her coffee. She wandered back outside to Oscar, who waited with an umbrella again.

"Oscar. How did Kylan seem this morning?" She asked quietly while she walked back to the SUV,

"He seemed to be preoccupied if I'm honest. He usually has something to comphin about when I pick him up an hour before you, but he didn't today, Oscar informed Katrina, opening the back door of the car for her to enter.

She frowned and nodded her head. "He hasn't called me yet either," she told Oscar, climbing inside the car and securing her seatbelt in place.

She watched as Oscar shook out the umbrella before be stuck it on the floor of the passenger side of the car and pulled back out into the flow of traffic:

"It could be nothing, Katrina. Everyone has an off day, every so often," Oscar tried to reassure her, glancing at her in the rearview mirror for a

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"If it were anyone else, I would agree with her. But for Kylan Ross Every day is an off day, Oscar," she mused as she pulled the stopper from the lid of her coffee cup and took a long drag of the warm liquid. She immediately felt a little better, as she always did when she had her morning caffeine

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Clupter 13

Oscar nodded in agreement "You're right, I hope it's nothing though, for your sake," he said sincerely.

She gave him a small smile and proceeded to start out the window of the car for the remainder of the drive to the office.

Oscar parked the car ten minutes later, but she stayed where she was at first. She noticed that her driver hadn't made it to leave the car, either.

*Katrina.... Are you still feeling okay with the arrangement you made?" He asked her quietly,

Her head snapped in the direction of his voice, and her f she admitted with a nervous smile. face felt w

warm with sudden embarrassment. "Yes, Oscar. I'm fine. It's just. A lot to adjust to

"I can imagine it is." He paused for a moment, moving to reach into the pocket of his suit jacket. "Here, take these. They help." He turned around to hand her a small bag.

She took what he offered, smiling genuinely when she realized it was a bag of sour gummy worms "Sour? Oscar, did you buy these just for me?" she asked with a laugh.

Oscar shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her. "I thought you could use a pick me up. Plus, sour candy helps curb anxiety, and I thought you might be feeling nervous this morning." he told her.

He turned back around and opened his car door, before walking around and opening her door for her.

She stared out at her driver, overcome with gratitude for him. He was always thoughtful, but this was more than that. She got out of the her briefcase and the bag of candy both in tow. "Thank you, Oscar. You're really the best," the murmured, acting on instinet and leaning in to give him a short hug. He hugged her back for a moment, patting her back a few times and then withdrawing from the embrace. "You're welcome, Kate. Now, head inside and work your magic on our boss," he said with a smile.

No one was

She laughed and then took a deep breath. Tll see what I can do. Thank you again, really" She turned around and began the trek inside.

She slipped a gummy worm into her mouth, chewing nervously as she walked to the elevator. So far, no one was looking at her oddly. making any sort of comment. She pressed the button on the elevator and waited, adding another sour piece of candy to her mouth The doors opened finally, and she walked inside, selecting the button for the top floor of the building. Just as the doors were beginning to close once more, a hand slipped inside, and she was startled in surprise when she realized the hand belonged to her boss. He came to stand next to her and she noticed that he looked most unlike himself. His face was flushed, his hair was a bit disheveled, and his eyes were ablaze with annoyance.

"F*ck." he muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

"Sir! Are you okay! I thought you would be in your office by now," she said as she tried to conceal the surprise from her voice.

Kylan shook his head, clenching his jaw. I've been fielding fucking reporters all morning. A particularly slimy one waited for me right outside my apartment door itself. Not to the building, my actual front door." He laughed darkly. "Several more were showing up outside of Ross Corp. right now, waiting to hopefully get a glimpse of you, too.

He sighed. "This thing is already very public. I've been following along on Litter too, every so often. The doors to the elevator opened again, and Kylan waited for her to step our first.

She did so with a frown on her face. "Is that not what we wanted! From a PR standpoint, this level of interest is a good thing" she reminded her boss

Kylan shoved his hands in the pockets of his navy blue slacks and stared down at his feet, while both of them walked to his office. "It's what we wanted, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. It sets my f*cking teeth on edge," he grumbled. She glanced over at him and properly took in his appearance. She noticed he had even darker circles than usual under his eyes, and she wondered if he had slept at all last night. "Did you take your sleep medication?" she asked him. Kylan opened the door to his office, allowing her to walk ahead of him, but not before he rolled his eyes at her. "That medicine doesn't do shit, Kanna," he snapped at her, closing the door and walking to sit behind his desk.

She sat his tea on his desk in front of him, crossing her legs and picking up her tablet off its charger. "It does help, Sir. You just don't take it as it's prescribed, she reminded him, coaxing the tablet to life and opening the calendar app on the home screen.

Kylan scoffed, taking a drink of his tea. He made a face and put the cup down on his desk. "Wrong. Find a new shop to get tea from." He was staring at the beverage as if it hail personally offended him, and the supposed it had, with how seriously he took his tea drinking. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, she looked at Rylan with a carefully masked expression of

of patience.

"Sir, you have blacklisted every coffee shop within a twenty-mile radius of this office." She paused for a beat. "Why don't I start making the tea for you here in the break room? I'm positive I could uphold your standards." She did her best to side at hin, despite how intensely Kylan was now

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glaring at her.

"Just find a new shop, for f*ck's sake. And read me the damn schedule." Kylan pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes,

She rolled her eyes now that he couldn't see her, and then she stared down at the tablet in her lap. The day's schedule wasn't anything significant, and she was actually glad to see it wouldn't involve anything major, like Kylan bargaining a deal or signing a contract. It was clear he wasn't in a frame of mind to be doing anything heavy, not today.

"We do have a meeting with Ryan at the end of the day," she added as she finished reading the schedule, taking a drink of her coffee and absently fishing a gummy worm out of the depths of her coat pocket. She stuck it in her mouth, scrolling down on the calendar to see what else she needed to mention to her boss,

"The f*ck did you just put in your mouth?" Kylan asked incredulously.

Katrina looked up at him in surprise, not having realized she had even put a piece of candy in her mouth until it was too late. "Oh, um... Oscar gave

Her conversation with Oscar flashed through her mind, and now she stared at Kylan thoughtfully.

"Actually, Sir. Here

She pulled the bag of candy from her pocket. She grabbed a tissue from the box on the corner of Kylan's desk, placed it down, and smoothed it out. Then, she poured a good number of gummy worms on the surface. Kylan was looking at her like she had actually lost her damn mind, and she laughed at him.

"Don't look at me like th

that, Sir. Oscar informed me this morning that sour candy can help with anxiety. I think you might benefit from these today" She sat back in her chair and watched as Kylan considered the candy on his desk. "Candy is deplorable, It's pure sugar," he said to her quietly.

She shook her head and sighed. "Just try one, before you say anything else, she encouraged him.

Kylan looked at her with narrowed eyes, his jaw set and visibly tense. She assumed he would throw away but then he surprised the hell out of her, and he put a single gummy worm in his mouth.

the tissue and its contents immediately,

He watched her the entire time he chewed, a scowl sitting firmly on his face. He swallowed and then licked his lips. "Not entirely shit," he said lowly.

She laughed. "Til take it. Would you like more?" she offered.

He shook his horad. "This is more than enough." He paused. "Thank you," he added quietly.

She brained at him and then trained her gaze back on the calendar in her lap.