Contract Marriage With My Billionaire Boss (Venus and Aaron) novel Chapter 74

Chapter 74

VENUS

The hallway was quiet.

Too quiet for a building pulsing with billion-dollar egos and boardroom bloodbaths. The kind of silence that settles just before something shifts.

I turned the corner.

And there he was.

Aaron Sinclair.

Dressed in a charcoal suit that looked like it had been stitched straight onto his sins. His tie hung loose at his throat, like he’d tugged it in frustration or maybe heat. His hair was slightly tousled, the kind of mess that came from raking fingers through it too many times. He was checking his watch, probably counting down the seconds before he ruined someone’s fiscal year.

Then his eyes lifted and found mine.

And everything stilled.

He didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Just looked slowly and thoroughly until his gaze landed where that faint hickey peeked through my concealer like a scarlet secret.

I swallowed. “Afternoon.”

“Afternoon,” he echoed, voice low and deliberate. His eyes didn’t waver.

“Rough night?” he asked. The smirk tugging at his lips hinted at amusement, but his tone was anything but playful.

I narrowed my eyes. “You’re the reason I’m late.”

“Guilty.” His voice was smug silk.

He stepped forward, slow and precise, until I had to tilt my chin to meet his gaze. Until I could smell him-cedar, musk, and control.

“I didn’t see you when I woke up,” I said, voice softer than I intended.

“You needed sleep.”

“I needed you.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

But Aaron didn’t retreat. His hand slid around my waist, drawing me into his heat.

“We’re not doing this here.” I whispered, pulse pounding.

But he was already leaning in, brushing his mouth over mine in a kiss that was soft-too soft-and gone too fast.

Then he kissed me again.

Deeper. Possessive. Branding. His hand fisted in the back of my blouse. Mine curled into the fabric of his jacket, gripping him like he was the only solid thing in a world about to spin out of control.

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Chapter 74

He kissed me like a man erasing every line between power and hunger.

And when he finally pulled back, his eyes were darker. Guarded and unreadable.

I blinked up at him, breathless. “What was that?”

“You’ll see.”

Then I turned.

And saw him.

Dorian.

Standing at the far end of the hallway. Watching. Still. Silent.

Expression unreadable.

But I felt it. The calculation.

Of course.

I stepped back from Aaron fast, heat blooming across my throat.

I should’ve known.

Aaron didn’t kiss me just because he missed me. He kissed me because Dorian was watching.

Because in a world ruled by perception, image is power-and Aaron Sinclair never played a game he didn’t plan to win.

“Wow. Subtle,” Connor’s voice cut through the tension. He was leaned casually against the wall, grinning like he’d just watched a juicy season finale. “Want me to hold up a sign that says, ‘I slept with my boss?”

I groaned. “Connor…”

Aaron didn’t react.

Then a throat cleared playful and amused.

Rosemary.

She strolled toward us, heels clicking with practiced elegance. Her gaze swept from me to Aaron and back again.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” she said sweetly.

“You’re early,” Aaron replied, clipped but not unkind.

“I never miss the fun part,” she smiled.

“Rosemary.” I returned her smile.

“Venus.” She pulled me into a warm hug. “You look well.”

“You too-”

Another throat cleared. Less amused.

Richard and Caroline had arrived, flanked by a few other board members.

KA

062

Chapter 74

55 vouchers

Caroline’s smile was brittle-sweet. Richard looked like he wished the marble floor would open and swallow him.

“Caroline. Richard.” Rosemary’s tone was all velvet and venom.

“Rosemary,” Caroline said, voice smooth as lacquered glass, though her gaze cut toward me with something sharper beneath.

“If we’re done with the family reunion…” Dorian’s voice sliced through the hallway like chilled steel.

He stood by the boardroom door, holding it open, gaze impassive.

Aaron gave me a small nod. Silent. Subtle.

I squared my shoulders and followed Rosemary inside, pulse thudding.

Whatever this meeting was, it wasn’t about numbers.

It never is.

The moment we entered the boardroom, the atmosphere changed. The room tensed.

Caroline took her seat with a tight smile. Eyes sweeping the room like a queen about to pronounce judgment. Then she zeroed in on Rosemary.

“Well,” she began, voice louder than necessary, “what a surprise to see you here, Rosemary. Considering you’ve missed the last few shareholders’ meetings.”

Her tone was dipped in syrup, but everyone in the room could taste the poison.

“I was under the impression your… health was failing.”

Every head turned. The tension was palpable.

Rosemary didn’t blink. Her lips curved into a calm, unshaken smile.

“Oh, Caroline,” she said lightly, “thank you for your concern. But no, my health is perfectly fine. I simply had better things to do.”

Caroline’s jaw twitched. “Better than fulfilling your responsibilities here?”

I glanced toward Aaron, half-expecting him to step in, to defend his mother.

But he didn’t speak.

He reclined, expression unreadable, fingers steepled in front of him like a king watching pawns move.

Because Aaron knew.

Rosemary didn’t need defense.

“I assure you,” Rosemary continued, voice still velvet, “everything was handled. Connor represented me quite capably.”

Connor raised a hand. “Still emotionally traumatized, but yeah. I did alright.”

Caroline’s lips flattened. “How convenient.”

Rosemary’s smile sharpened like a scalpel. “What’s convenient is that you’re still here, considering you’ve contributed so little over the years.”

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Chapter 74

The boardroom stilled. That glass-breaking kind of silence.

Richard sank into his seat, staring at the table like it owed him an escape.

Dorian didn’t flinch. He opened his file, attention fixed on ink and numbers, not blood and politics.

I watched it unfold like a tennis match played with daggers.

This wasn’t just business.

This was war with a shared ex-husband in the trenches.

Aaron finally cleared his throat. Crisp. Clean. Final.

“If the drama is over…”

His gaze landed coldly on Caroline. “Can we begin?”

She said nothing. But her posture tightened, chin lifting in silent defiance.

Aaron tapped the screen behind him. A slide flickered to life.

His tone dropped into full command.

“Quarterly performance. Financial projections. Strategy updates.”

And just like that-the meeting began.

But no one had any illusions.

The real conversation hadn’t started yet.

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