The CEO's Contractual Wife

Chapter 5

Alexander

I parked my car in the circular driveway of my parent’s estate, taking a moment to prepare myself for the inevitable Carter family dynamics.

Sunday dinner at the Carter mansion, a tradition as old as the oak trees lining the property, was something I both dreaded and looked forward to.

The mansion stood like a monument to old money, with stone façades and manicured gardens that screamed, “We’ve had wealth for generations.”

My phone buzzed with an email from work, but I ignored it. Work could wait, but family obligations couldn’t, espe- cially when Grandfather Harold was involved.

I straightened my tie and headed inside, where Martha, our longtime housekeeper, greeted me with a warm smile.

“Mr. Alexander, everyone’s waiting in the drawing room. Your grandfather arrived early.”

That was never a good sign. Grandfather arriving early meant he had an agenda.

“Is Victoria here?” I asked, handing Martha my coat.

“Yes, sir. With her husband. They arrived about an hour ago.”

Perfect. My cousin Victoria and her investment banker husband Thomas, the power couple who never let anyone for- get how perfect their life was.

The drawing room buzzed with conversation that stopped when I entered. Mother rose from her seat, elegant as al- ways in her pearl necklace and tailored dress.

“Alexander, darling. We were beginning to worry.”

I kissed her cheek. “Traffic was terrible. Sorry, I’m late.”

Father nodded from his armchair, whiskey in hand. “Son.”

That was Father, a man of few words unless discussing business or golf.

Victoria sat perched on the antique sofa, her husband’s arm draped around her shoulder in that possessive way I found irritating. My sister Valentina was there, too, scrolling through her phone.

But it was Grandfather Harold who commanded the room from his wheelchair. At seventy-eight, he might have lost some mobility but none of his mental sharpness or business acumen.

“Alexander,” he barked. “Sit down. We need to talk.”

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16:41

I took a seat across from him. “Good to see you too, Grandfather”

smart with me,

manage to arrive on

her. “What’s this about? I thought this was

waved his hand dismissively. “Dinner can wait. This is about the

Enterprises from a

my will,” he

Father set down

yet,” Grandfather snapped. “Just getting my affairs in order. And I’ve

had a significant stake in the company, but Grandfather’s controlling shares would even- tually determine who

he fixed his steely gaze on me. “You’ve done well as CEO. Profits are up. The

quarter

business.” He thumped his cane on the floor. “I’m talking about

discreetly. Victoria’s smile

are

“I’m saying that to inherit my controlling shares in Carter Enterprises, you need to be married

reactions. Mother gasped again. Father actually put down his

stared at him. “You can’t be

expression didn’t change. “Carter Enterprises has always been

committed to the

head. “You’re thirty-three, Alexander.

“Oh, this is priceless. Is Alexander getting married? He can’t even keep a girlfriend past the

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16:41

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Victoria,” I said, forcing a smile.

from the corner of the room.

down with more force than necessary. “Last year, we selected a perfectly suitable woman for

loosened my tie

wedding,” Father continued, addressing the room like

Such a lovely girl and from

for me,” I

she reminded him of a corporate spreadsheet – technically

for sharing

her phone. “Just telling it like

Harold thumped his cane again. “Enough! The terms are simple. Alexander marries within six months, or Victoria receives my controlling

spilled her champagne in excitement. “Really,

posture, dollar signs practically visible

build this company for forty years to watch it get dismantled by your husband’s investment firm,” Grandfa- ther

the Persian rug. “This is absurd. You’re reducing the future of our family business to whether or not I get married?