Love Contract

Chapter 3 Pleasure Doing Business With You

In the past two days, Mary had been preparing her handover.

As long as the gossip regarding the popular star, Victor Qiao, that represented the AJ Group was solved, then it would be all fine and dandy.-

'Damn you, Victor, ' Mary thought, cursing the star. Right now, there was a big headline that was slapped across every tabloid reading, "Victor, a rising new star, was caught with a model late at night!" It even had his pictures and everything!

Mary was furious, but had no choice but to deal with it. Why were men such womanizers?

"What are you doing?"

A low voice came from behind her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She screamed, almost falling from her chair. Her face was drained of all color as she glared at William. "Would it hurt for you to make a sound? Holy shit! You scared the hell out of me!"

He stared at her emotionlessly as if he didn't get why she was frightened.

As she stared into his eyes, she could feel the atmosphere around them dropping by a few degrees.

"I —I was working, so I didn't hear you... And..."

Mary found herself at a loss for words as she smiled awkwardly at the man in front of her.

William glanced at the newspapers on the table, frowning. It was Victor Qiao. The man was trouble, that was for sure. "Is the news difficult to deal with?"

"Huh?" It took her a few moments to realize that he was referring to the article. "It's difficult, especially since the news was so recent. We can only reduce negative impact for now."

"Right." William nodded before peering at her. "Can you cook?"

"No." Mary gazed up at him, widening her eyes. "Well, the contract didn't specify that I should cook, so I thought..."

Hearing that, William was speechless. He felt as if he had just married an idiot. She wasn't like this in the company. In fact, he thought that she was incredibly capable. He shook his head. Did he make a mistake?

"Um...you haven't eaten yet?" she asked with uncertainty.

"No, I haven't." William crossed his arms.

"I haven't eaten either. How about we eat outside?" "No." William was stubborn.

"How about I go buy some ingredients and cook?" Mary decided to ask cautiously.

William snorted and said nothing. As an assistant manager of the Public Relations Department, Mary knew all the cues from studying people's expressions. If she didn't understand what William meant, then she might as well just call herself incompetent.

A wide smile entered her lips. "I'll be back soon. Is there anything you want to eat?"

"Anything is fine," he replied flatly.

"Okay, I'll be going now." Mary changed her clothes and rushed to the supermarket.

Seeing her out, William strode into the restroom at ease.

Mary complained her entire way to the market. 'It's not that I don't have the ingredients. It's just that I can only cook the Spicy and Sour Shredded Potato! What the hell am I going to do now?'

It was all William's fault. She was so afraid of him that she didn't even know what else to do.

After choosing for a long time, she found herself grabbing a handful of potatoes. Before going back home, she rushed into a restaurant to buy some well-cooked food. When she arrived, William was taking a shower. As she heard the running water from the bathroom, Mary couldn't help but let her thoughts wander on how William looked. His bronze muscles mixed with moist air and droplets of water...

"Shit!" Mary scolded herself. This wasn't the time to think of him!

Immediately, she peeled and sliced the potatoes without any delay. She arranged all the dishes at ease before waiting for William to come out of the shower. Seeing all the food lined up, Mary almost felt like home.

Warmth glowed in her heart.

"Is dinner ready?" William walked out, rubbing the back of head.

"Yeah." Mary turned around.

However, she couldn't help but let her eyes wander at the bathrobe he was wearing. The wide bathrobe didn't do a good job in covering up his well-built stature. 'Holy shit, ' she thought, shaking her head.

"Dinner's ready."

William wrinkled his nose as he stared at the dishes on the table. "Where did you buy them? Didn't you say that you would buy ingredients and cook?" he demanded.

"It was already too late for me to cook, plus, I made those shredded potatoes," Mary said carefully as she motioned to the only dish that was prepared by her. It felt as if she was reporting her work to

her boss. Sweat dribbled down her forehead.

Without saying anything more, William sat down. They began to eat.

The chef at the restaurant she had ordered in was very good.

The Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet was the best thing she had ever tasted!

The two of them ate quietly. The only sound that echoed in the room was the sound of their bowls and chopsticks knocking against one another. William was only eating the shredded potatoes in front of him, while Mary ate the other dishes presented on the table.

"You cooked the potatoes well," he

complimented.

"Thank you." She smiled faintly. 'I can only cook that dish. If I didn't cook that well enough, what would become of me?' she thought.

"You..." he started, wanting to say that she had a good appetite, but he stopped himself.

"What?" Mary raised her head.

"Nothing." William shook his head, deciding to swallow his words. "Well..." Mary kept silent for a while before saying, "I actually wanted to ask you something." ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

"Say it,"

he said lightly. "Why did you ask me for a fake marriage? And don't give me that 'mind your own business' crap. I deserve a reason."

William darkened. After a long while, he said, "It's because you won't bring me any trouble."

"Um..." The corners of her mouth twitched. "I don't quite understand."

"You're single and pretty. You also need my money. In short, you fit my standards very well," he said seriously.

Cold sweat dripped down her forehead. "Thank you for your praise, Mr. Lan."

"You're welcome." Wiping his mouth, he stood up. "Come to the study once you clean up."

"Okay." Mary nodded. 'Not only am I his nominal wife, but I'm also his nanny, ' she thought bitterly.

In the study, William had busied himself in reading the documents presented on his desk.

She knocked on the door.

"Come in." His voice reverberated across the room. "I'm here," she said. "What do you want to say?"

"I want to announce our marriage in public tomorrow. Do you have any objections?" he asked, leaning back onto his seat.

"No." She shook her head. 'I'm already earning from you. I might as well do as you say.'

"From now on, we're a couple, got it?"

William stretched out his hand as if he wanted her to shake on it. Startled, Mary grasped his hand, surprised by how warm it was.

They shook their hands. "Pleasure doing business with you."