Contract Marriage with My CEO Boss (Kylan and Katrina)

Chapter

32

Katrina was drained the next morning while she got ready for work. By the time Kylan had taken her home and she showered, it had been well after msdnight. Which meant she only got a measly six hours of sleep before her alarm was pulling her nut of her slumber far

too soon. and groaning the whole

When she bundled up in her coat and slipped on

She went through the motions of getting ready reluctantly, yawning her flats, she was contemplating calling into work for the first time ever.

But she knew she couldn'. She needed to be there to help the contract get into the right hands. Kylan counted on her for tasks like this, more than he did most other things. She couldn't let him down, even though every fiber of her being wanted her to go back to the warmth of her bed.

Katrina absent-mindedly took the elevator down to the lobby of her building, waiting for Kylan's morning phone call as she did. She was staring down at her phone as she walked, not paying any mind to the people around her.

"You have a terrible habit of not looking where you're going," Kylan said to her left, and she jumped.

"You have a habit of startling me," she chastised him with a sigh.

Kylan shrugged and held a coffee cup out to her. She took it squinting her eyes at her hous. "You got me coffee?" she asked him slowly.

"You didn't get enough sleep," he explained with another shrug. He held now free hand out to her and she took it hesitantly.

He got her dinner last night. And now he bought her coffee this morning. Why was he being so nice to her!

Thank you. Sir

You didn't

t get enough sleep either, though," she pointed out to him as he opened the door of her building and guided her to the

Once inside and on the road, Kylan ran a hand through his hair and then shifted to look at her. "I don't need sleep." He brushed her off. "I'd like to talk to you about our next date, be changed the subject.

She nodded and turned to look at him too. "Alright. What did you have in mind?" she asked him.

Kylan looked irritated: his jaw suddenly clenched. "As you know, Ross Corp. hosts a charity ball every year on the day before Halloween. It's themed, for some f*cking reason, and this year's theme is a masquerade." He didn't sound thrilled in the least as he spoke. "You never go to that ball," she said with a small smile. "It's not your scene," she added simply,

"No, it most certainly isn't. However, Ryan is insisting we go before our actual wedding"

Kylan's disdain grew the more he spoke, and Katrina fought back a laugh. He allowed himself to be put off by the strangest things sometimes, and she wondered if he knew that

"Now, I've already picked out your mask and gown. They'll coordinate mine. I have them dropped off at your apartment in time for the ball tomorrow." He was rushing now, no doubt trying to rip the figurative band-aid off as quickly as possible,

"Alright, Sir That all sounds fine," she responded calmly. Truthfully, a masked ball sounded like fun, really. She never got to go to any of Ross Corp's functions like this one, not with Kylan as her superior.

Kylan grunted once and then paused. "What are your plans for Halloween?" he asked her suddenly.

Her eyes widened slightly. "Oh, um. That's my birthday. I usually spend the day with Maine and Aaron, Sar. W We watch ridiculous old horror movies and eat our weight in junk food she told him, growing sheepish as she spoke

Kylan stared out the window of the car, propping a hand under his chin as he usually did. She watched as he took a noticeable deep breath.

"Would she mind if.. If I stop by for a minute that night?" he asked, still looking out the window as he talked. It almost sounded like he was nervous which she knew was absurd.

"Absolutely. Sir. That would be fine too," she told him honestly.

Kylan nodded and kept his gaze outside, staying silent for the remainder of the car ride.

-0-0-0-

Submitting the contract went by without a hitch, and she felt an incredible weight lift off her shoulders as soon as the job was done. The rest of the day was easy, with only a few calls she needed to sit in on and various emails to answer throughout the day. By the end of the day, her lack of sleep was catching up to her and she was all too happy when Oscar finally took her home. She ate a bowl of cold cercal for dinner and glanced at Kylan's Litter before she took a shower and called it an early night. When her alarm roused her the next morning, she was far less grumpy than she had been yesterday. She took a moment to collect herself, yawning while she stretched. Her phone chimed at that moment with a message notification. The dress and mask should be on your doorstep." Kylan texted her. Chapter 37

them now? Thank you. Sir. 111 go get

She wanted to see if Kylan would say anything else but determined that was the extent of the conversation when he hadn't responded after a few minutes. She grabbed a role from within her closet and walked to her front door, unlocking it and then staring down. An overly large, white box with a black ribbon wrapped around it sat on her doorstep. She bent down and picked it up with both of her hands. surprised by how heavy the contents within were. What had Rylan picked out for her, exactly!

She knew when Ross Corp. held a ball, it was always a big deal. Ryan never spared the expense to show off to the rest of New York City, not when it was the company's reputation on the line.

She carried the box to her kitchen counter, her stomach churning with anxiety the whole way. She set it down lightly and then she forced herself to untie the ribbon and pull off the top of the box.

She couldn't help the audible gasp she let out when her eyes fell on what was in the box. Never in her life had she ever even seen something so ridiculously gaudy up close. With widened eyes and a racing heart, she pulled out the silver mask first. It was gorgeous and the material didn't feel cheap at all. She turned it every which way, noticing how it glinted in the daylight flooding in through her living room window.

She swallowed thickly, setting the mask down, and then she used both of her hands to take out the incredibly fluffy ball gown next. It was beautiful, heavy, and all-black with lace designs throughout its skin. She didn't feel fit to wear a dress like this. It was too much, far too much. She knew it no doubt cost Kylan a small fortune, and the thought made her stomach churn uncomfortably.

This outfit was for a single evening, and she didn't know how to justify an expense like that, though she knew Kylan would only roll his eyes if she tried to protest the amount of money he spent on her.

This was the sort of gown a princess wore, not a damn assistant in New York City.

She licked her lips and carried the dress to her bedroom, hanging it up on the door of her closet. She glanced at the time and realized she only had twenty minutes now to get ready for work

With one last look at the dress she was certain she'd somehow ruin by the end of the night, she forced herself to walk away and get ready for work instead.

-0-0-0-

She couldn't focus, not as she answered emails, nor as she helped Kylan prepare a few different standard reports that she had created with him a hundred times before.

Kylan had enough by midafternoon. "The f*ck is wrong with you today. Katrina?" he snapped at her as she zoned out yet again.

She was startled in her chair in front of his desk, feeling her face flush warm. "I'm sorry, Sir. I'm distracted today," she told him apologetically. Kylan narrowed his eyes at her. "Obviously. But the question is why are you distracted?" He asked, turning his gaze away and typing on his computer once again.

She watched him for a moment, pondering if it was worth it to be honest with him. "The dress for tonight, it's it's a lot," she admitted quietly. Kylan's fingers paused on his keyboard, and he looked back over at her. "Is it not to your liking?" he asked her flatly.

She shook her head a few times. "No, no it's.. Well, it's completely gorgeous. I just can't help but feel like.. Well, like you could have bought. something far simpler, and it still would have sufficed. Her face grew impossibly warm now, and she made herself not look away from him, even as he stared at her with an odd mixture of amusement and annoyance.

"Katrina, this is the first date we've had in front of Ross Corp. in its entirety, as well as several other executives from different companies we're looking to impress. We have to make a bold statement tonight, and unfortunately, that means putting on the proper act. This includes the dress I picked out for you," Kylan explained to her, his eyes never leaving hers.

She nodded her head in understanding. "When you put it that way, it makes sense. I'm sorry, Sir. I should have realized why you chose what you did. It's just so fancy, I'm not sure how to even pull something like that off."

She found herself being far more open with him than she intended, and she took a deep breath and stood from her chair. "Im sorry. Sir. I'll go finish the rest of the emails and head home to get ready

Without waiting for him to respond, she turned around and left for her office.

-0-0-0-

A night like this, called for her to pull out all the stops. As soon as she got home from work, she was back in the shower to shave every unwelcome hair from her body. She shampooed her hair twice and added an extra layer of conditioner for good measure When she was done with her shower, she stood in front of her bathroom mirror in her towel and got to work on her hair. She curled her hair in tight ringlets and then ran her fingers through the pieces to break them up a bit. She sprayed a ridiculous amount of hairspray over the expanse of the curls and then switched to do her makeup.

She applied a smokey eye, knowing it would be visible beneath her mask. Touching up her blush, she then put on bold, blood-red lipstick. She

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spritzed setting spray all over her face and then glanced at herself in the mirror. She hardly recognized her reflection, but even she had to admit that she looked good.

She turned away from the mirror and walked to her closet. She put on her favorite strapless, black bra and a matching pair of underwear.

She looked at the hanging dress wearily, knowing it was time to put it on. She did so carefully, the material of the dress feeling as expensive as she knew it really was. She was able to reach the full zipper on the back thankfully, and she was also grateful when she realized the gown would only just barely brush the ground if she wore a pair of three-inch, red heels.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

She glanced at herself in her floor-length mirror near her bathroom, and her eyes widened. She felt beautiful.

She walked to her bed, not at all used to the heavy material of the ball gown, and picked up the silver mask, slipping it over her head carefully and adjusting it to sit properly over her eyes and hair.

She looked straight out of a romance novel, and it made she smile slightly. She pulled the mask back off and fixed her hair. She grabbed her small, black clutch and put her phone inside.

She only had ten minutes before Kylan was set to pick her up, and so she decided it was now or

ow or never, and she left her apartment.