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, boy.

“Some of us manage to arrive on

her. “What’s this about? I thought

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

Carter Enterprises from a small family business into a corporate empire and,

been updating my

softly. Father set

I’m not dying yet,” Grandfather snapped. “Just getting my affairs

company, but Grandfather’s controlling shares

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

“Our last quarter was our best in

cane on the floor. “I’m talking about

coughed discreetly.

exactly are you

inherit my controlling shares in Carter Enterprises, you need to be married within six

actually put down his drink. Valentina looked

him. “You can’t be

Grandfather’s expression didn’t change. “Carter Enterprises

to

not to anything or anyone else.” Grandfather shook his head. “You’re thirty-three, Alexander. Your relationships

couldn’t contain herself. “Oh, this is priceless. Is Alexander getting married? He can’t

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16:41

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forcing a smile.

Richard, Victoria’s father, chuckled from the corner of the room. “The boy does

track record?” My father set his tumbler down with more force than necessary. “Last year, we selected a perfectly suitable woman

loosened my tie slightly.

Father continued, addressing the room like I wasn’t there. “The merg- er nearly

Patricia gasped dramatically. “Penelope Langford? Such a lovely girl

wasn’t right for me,”

her. Said she reminded him of a corporate spreadsheet – technically perfect but

for sharing

her phone. “Just

Alexander marries within six months, or

nearly spilled her champagne in excitement. “Really, Grandfather? You’d give

husband Thomas straightened his posture, dollar signs practically

by your husband’s investment firm,” Grandfa- ther

absurd. You’re reducing the future of our family business to whether or not I get married? What century