Everyone in the boardroom stopped talking when Ethan Kade, the rich CEO of KadeTech, leaned back in his leather chair, smiled, and said, “I’ll marry the first girl who walks through that door.” The words hung in the air like a dare, a challenge, or maybe even a confession that was buried by pride.
People at the conference table looked at him, not sure if he was kidding. After all, Ethan Kade wasn’t known for being sentimental. People knew him for his numbers, his cutthroat business transactions, and the fact that he was the youngest tech billionaire in New York. In his gleaming, titanium-covered life, love, romance, and even relationships didn’t seem to matter.
But now he had spoken it. And no one had the guts to laugh.
Ethan hated weddings. He had just gotten back from his younger brother’s wedding in Tuscany, which was way too pricey. Love was like a prize, and people toasted “forever” like it was a brand of champagne.
He didn’t enjoy how everyone kept looking at him and wondering when it would be his turn, like getting married was something he should have done a long time ago. Like marriage makes someone complete.
He chuckled and rolled his eyes the whole time, and when he got home, he hated anything that looked like commitment even more.
When his executive assistant Travis joked that Ethan would never settle down because he was “afraid of real connection,” Ethan lost it.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll show you that all of this is nonsense.”
“How exactly?” Travis wanted to know.
He said, “I’ll marry the first girl who comes through that glass door,” pointing to the door of the conference room.
People in the room whispered in disbelief.
“Are you serious?” Lauren, his marketing manager, inquired.
Ethan said, “I’m not joking.” “Come in, we’ll talk, and then I’ll ask you to marry me.” That’s all there is to say. Love is work. That’s it. I’ll sign the papers, put on the ring, and smile for the cameras. “Let’s see how long it lasts.”
Everyone stared at him with a look of disbelief and worry on their faces. Ethan, on the other hand, didn’t mind. He meant it, or at least he thought he did.
There were footsteps echoing down the hall outside the room.
Someone was coming.
The team turned around in their chairs to see who fate—or craziness—would pick.
Then the door opened.
Ethan stopped moving, though.
evacuezy iry heir.
She shouldn’t have been there at all.
She wasn’t wearing expensive clothes or a stiff blazer. She was wearing jeans, a gray T-shirt with a fading bookshop logo, and a lot of mail that had been deposited in the wrong spot.
Her hair was messy from the summer heat, and she had a loose ponytail. She stopped and looked around, her eyes wide with surprise at the unexpected attention.
She picked up the letter and said, “I think this is the wrong floor.” “I’m from…”
“Who are you?” Ethan stood up and interrupted.
He shut his eyes. “I’m Olivia.” Lane for Olivia. “I work in the cafeteria on the fifth floor.”
Everyone in the room laughed loudly, but Ethan didn’t join in. He didn’t even move.
His heart, which typically only raced ———- to be quick, jumped.
There was something about her that made me want to learn more. Something that didn’t mesh with his plans for the year and his goals for the quarter.
He should have laughed and said it was all a joke, but the words he had just shouted—”I’m going to marry the first girl who walks through that door”—felt like the world was telling him to do it.
He didn’t know what to say for the first time in a long time.
Olivia raised an eyebrow as she became more and more confused. “Is this a meeting of some sort?”
“Yes,” Ethan said, becoming better. “Yes, it is.” And now you’re a part of it.
Ethan thought about the scene again at work. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, like how she inclined her head in interest, how honest she was, and how little she cared about him.
As he went in, Travis said, “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
“I said I would,” Ethan said.
Ethan, she works at a coffee shop.
She is a woman. You remember that was all that was important?
But you did stop. You thought about it.
“I didn’t think she would show up.”
“So, are you really going to ask her to marry you?”
It was impossible to tell what Ethan was thinking as he glanced out over the Manhattan cityscape. “Yes, I am.”
And with that, the man who thought love was a joke began to plot to ask a stranger who brought him the mail to marry him.
But he didn’t know that Olivia Lane was more than just a barista.
He had no idea what she was keeping from him.
Ethan Kade, a software billionaire, stated he would marry the first woman that walked into the conference room as a joke. When he found out that the woman was Olivia Lane, a quiet barista who was giving him missing mail, he was astonished. But he made a promise, and now he’s getting ready to keep it. He doesn’t know that Olivia Lane isn’t who she says she is.
Two days later, Ethan stood outside the coffee shop on the fifth level of his building. He had never been there before that day. When he went in, a dozen interns and associates who were interested looked at him. Some acted like they didn’t see anything, while others talked quietly into their phones.
Olivia was cleaning the espresso machine that was behind the counter. She was humming to herself and had her hair up.
He coughed.
She was shocked and looked up. “Oh. You again.
He smiled and said, “Me again.”
“Are you still trying to turn that meeting into a soap opera?”
He pulled a tiny velvet box out of his pocket and added, “Actually, I came to ask you to marry me.”
Olivia gazed.
Then she laughed. “Really?”
“As serious as I said it.”
“That’s just crazy.”
“I know,” she said. “But it’s really good.”
She bent over the counter, and her face softened. “Hey, Mr. Director, I don’t know what you’re doing. You can be bored or trying to make a point. But I don’t want anyone else to gamble on me.
Ethan said, “This isn’t a bet.” “It’s… a statement.” A leap. And I want you to come with me.
He paused. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“Then let me find out.”
Three weeks later, Ethan and Olivia had a small wedding on the roof of KadeTech’s main office. It happened all at once. There were a lot of stories about “Tech mogul marries mystery girl from coffee shop.” People who write about politics thought it was funny. Analysts made educated assumptions. What about Ethan Kade? He smiled for the cameras, held her hand, and acted like it was meant to be.
But something was going on behind the scenes.
Because Olivia was not who she said she was.
Her real name wasn’t Olivia Lane. She was Anna Whitmore, a former investigative journalist who disappeared from the public glare after authoring an article that almost brought down a multibillion-dollar biotech company that KadeTech had indirect ties to.
Her most recent piece has gotten her into a lot of legal jeopardy. Threats. A burned-down apartment. She had gone into hiding, changed her name, and taken a low-key work at a coffee shop as “Olivia.”
And then, by pure chance, she walked into that room.
Ethan Kade was now her husband.
She told herself at first that she would get out of this quickly. A few planned events. A tranquil divorce. There might even be an agreement concerning money. But it got harder the longer she stayed.
She expected Ethan would be a harsh, cold businessman, but he wasn’t. Yes, he was very intense. But also careful. Not strong. He didn’t get much sleep. He wanted to learn about literature. He let her talk, and sometimes he would look at her as if he were trying to figure out how someone like her had come into his life.
What scared her the most was that she began to feel sorry for him.
But her history wasn’t done with her.
One night, Ethan saw a manila envelope on the kitchen counter made of marble. There was no way to send it back. There were three things inside: a picture of Olivia or Anna standing in front of a courtroom, a copy of the article she wrote under her own name, and a note that said,
Does your new wife still think it’s okay to keep things to herself? Ask her about Halvex Biotech.
Ethan read the contents two times. And again.
There was a storm coming in his eyes. She had told him a falsehood. Her name, her story, and the mail that was sent to the wrong address. Was it meant to be? Or was it a lie?
He was there when she arrived home that night.
“Who are you?” he said while holding up the picture.
Anna—no, Olivia—stopped.
He put the letter on the table. “Be honest with me.” The whole truth.
He exhaled heavily and looked down. “I didn’t want this to happen. I promise. I didn’t know who you were at first.
“Do you think I will believe that?”
“No,” he said softly. “But I didn’t mean to hurt you by lying.” I was hiding. kaca…str-would. Recap. I never thought I’d be in that room. “I never thought you would choose me.”
They didn’t say anything to one other.
Finally, he whispered, “I was trying to get away.” Then I came into your world and knew I didn’t want to leave anymore.
He stared at her. He married her on a whim, and now she knew half of his secrets. She had secrets of her own, too. Secrets that could hurt other people.
But a part of him hurt at the thought of losing her.
“I don’t know if I can trust you,” he said.
“I don’t hold it against you,” he said. “But I didn’t come here to kill you.” I came to stay alive.
He turned away and clenched his jaw.
Then he continued in a low voice, “But maybe we should stop hiding together.” Us both.
After six months:
They didn’t split up. They didn’t live in a storybook either. Ethan, on the other hand, called and ended KadeTech’s agreement with Halvex Biotech. Anna wrote one last essay, this time using her true name, and it told the truth about Halvex and brought her out of the shadows.
How about Ethan?
He didn’t think of love as a transaction anymore.
The girl who walked through the door changed his life in more ways than one.
She rescued him.