ceo

"Stop." His voice is low and controlled and furious underneath both. "Whatever you're doing in there the books, the reading, the tucking in — stop." "They asked me to read to them," I say evenly. "I don't care what they asked." He takes a step toward me and I hold my ground, which seems to make it worse. "You've been here for just less than two weeks, and you're already in Dorian's room, touching his things, letting them climb all over you like you're" He stops, jaw tight. "You're not their mother. You're on a twelve-month contract." "I'm aware of what I am," I say. "Are you?" Something sharp enters his expression. "Because from where I'm standing it looks like a woman playing a very long game. Soften up the children, charm the staff, make yourself indispensable — and then what? You think I don't see it?" Something cold moves through my chest, but I keep my face neutral. "You think I'm doing this to get to you." "Aren't you?" He says it like it's obvious, like I'm naive for pretending otherwise, and the contempt in it is so clean and practiced that for one second I almost believe I deserve it. "You should wake up from that delusion. Whatever you think you're building here — it won't work, you will never have me." He moves before I register it, closing the distance between us in one smooth step, and then his hand is at my neck, warm and deliberate, his thumb pressing lightly against my pulse like he's checking whether I'm afraid, and the answer my body gives him is humiliating. His mouth drops to the curve of my neck and shoulder, not rough — slow, purposeful, his lips dragging against my skin like he has all the time in the world and knows exactly what he's doing with it, and I shudder despite everything I know about this man and this moment and exactly what he's trying to prove. "This," he murmurs against my skin, his voice low and terrible and close, "is all you'll ever get from me." ********* Sloane Carter had her work stolen, her body broken, and her heart shattered in pieces. Then a truck ran her off the road on a rainy night, and she woke up inside the worst romance novel she had ever read. Wrong century, wrong country. Wrong body. Twelve-month contract marriage to a man carved from ice, three feral six-year-olds, and a dead man's secret buried so deep the whole empire is rotting from the root. In the novel, the heroine smiles gently, loves quietly, and dies before anyone notices she was worth saving. Sloane has bruised ribs, a stolen career, years of swallowed rage and absolutely no intention of following the original script. The cold CEO didn't bargain for a woman who'd already survived the worst he could ever be. Neither did the man who put her in that car. He thought killing Sloane Carter would silence her. He had no idea it would set her free.

She was sent to steal from him. He was supposed to never find out. Neither of them planned on the other. Isabella Reyes does not make mistakes. She is precise, trained, and coldly professional — the kind of woman who walks into rooms and reads them like blueprints, who knows exactly what she's doing and why, who has survived long enough in dangerous company to understand that sentiment is a luxury she cannot afford. When Theo Godman — billionaire, rival, and the most quietly dangerous man she has ever worked for — sends her to infiltrate the world of Zain Morgan, she accepts the terms. She has no choice. She never has a choice. The job is simple, on paper: get close, find the project, deliver it. Walk away clean. She does not expect Zain Morgan. She does not expect to feel anything. She feels everything. She hates herself for it. Zain Morgan has never been surprised. Surprise is what happens to people who haven't anticipated the move being made against them, and Zain anticipates everything — it is the architecture of his survival, the discipline that built the Morgan empire from old money and older intelligence into something the financial world orbits like a moon. When he identifies Isabella as Theo Godman's operative within four hours of meeting her, he does not feel outrage. He does not feel threatened. He feels, with the cold clarity of a man in full possession of himself and every room he stands in, the particular pleasure of a chess player who has seen the move twelve turns early. He will let her believe the path she is walking is hers. He will build every inch of it himself. What he does not anticipate — the thing that arrives without warning, without precedent, without any framework in his considerable experience to contain it — is that somewhere between the architecture and the execution, between the control and the calculation, Isabella Reyes stops being a variable and starts being something else. Something he does not have a precise clinical term for. Something that does not respond to management or containment or the cold, practiced restraint he has applied to every other threatening thing in his life. He does not know what to do with that. He has never not known what to do with something. He hates it with a ferocity that frightens him, privately, deeply. Almost as much as losing her would. THE LAST DEAL is the story of two people who are each trying to use the other — who are each, in their own precise and carefully defended ways, catastrophically bad at being used by someone they cannot stop thinking about. It is a dark story. It does not apologize for being dark. The characters make choices that are morally complicated and sometimes indefensible and always deeply, recognizably human — which is to say they make choices driven by fear and desire and pride and the particular desperation of people who want things they have decided they are not allowed to want. There is a theft. There is a betrayal. There is a board meeting, a lost empire, and a reckoning that neither of them survives unchanged. And there is, beneath all of it — beneath the strategy and the deception and the cold grey eyes and the coral red mouth and the thirty-one days counting down to everything falling apart — something that refuses to be managed or contained or filed away into the clinical privacy of a mind that has never met anything it couldn't control. Something that started in a ballroom and will end, one way or another, in ruin. The question is whose. Power. Obsession. Betrayal. And the specific, devastating danger of being truly known by the wrong person at exactly the right time. Some deals cannot be undone once signed. Some people cannot be unclaimed once chosen.

Love was never meant for someone like Caleb Garcia. At least, that’s what he believed. The city glittered beneath him, a sea of lights stretching endlessly into the horizon. From the glass walls of his penthouse office, everything looked small—people, problems, even emotions. Especially emotions. Caleb stood still, his hand wrapped around a glass of untouched whiskey. His reflection stared back at him—sharp jawline, cold eyes, and a face that had never learned how to soften. “Love is weakness.” The words echoed in his mind, spoken years ago by the one person who taught him everything about it—by breaking him.

Burned alive alongside her only son by her stepmother and stepsister, Rose is given a second chance at life. She finds herself in the past right where everything started going wrong. This time… she won’t be weak. Determined to rewrite her fate and take revenge. But everything changes the moment she crosses paths with Vincent Sterling the most attractive, powerful, and untouchable man in Country A. Vincent was on his way to obtain a fake marriage certificate. Rose uses him as her escape. This act binds them together in a sudden contract marriage. What was meant to be nothing more than a deal slowly turns into something feral . The tension between them grows, their hearts begin to draw closer, but neither of them understands what they truly feel. Is it love… or just lust? In their contract marriage lust seems to dominate their relationship, yet confusion lingers between them. As Rose walks the path of revenge for herself and her son, she doesn’t realize that every step she takes may drag the people she now cares about into danger. And when the truth finally unfolds… Will she choose revenge and risk her close ones or just give up?

Set up by her malicious stepmother and phony sister to marry an ex-convict, Janice Gladwell has no choice but to enter a flash marriage with a total stranger from a blind date. The man, Christopher Bateman, is incredibly handsome but supposedly a penniless vagrant with nothing to his name. As a fierce and independent woman, Janice works her fingers to the bone to provide for them. She even gives her "poor husband" a monthly allowance and fiercely protects him from her own family's relentless mockery. However, there is one thing Janice doesn't know: the man sleeping on the narrow sofa in her cramped apartment is actually the mysterious President of a massive business empire, capable of turning the city upside down with a single snap of his fingers. Behind her back, Christopher secretly crushes her enemies and spoils her with luxury goods under the guise of "free lottery prizes." The elaborate lie because Janice harbors deep scars from her past and has sworn an oath to hate rich men. Now, caught between sweet little lies, luxury cars claimed to be "borrowed from a friend," and absolute power hidden behind a gentle smile, a ticking time bomb awaits. What will happen when Janice finally realizes that the "useless" husband she’s been providing for is the exact billionaire she wants to avoid at all costs? How many secrets will unravel when his mask finally falls? Who exactly did she marry?

On the same day the Holt family was declared bankrupt, Hilla Holt, the most beautiful woman in New Islands, became a target for humiliation. But to everyone's surprise, Miss Holt turned the tables and got married! Her husband? A man who had been bedridden for half a year, unable to even blink—Bruce Burton. What. An. Ending. She became nothing more than a pawn in a joke. However, just when everyone expected Madam Benner to crumble under loneliness, right in the middle of all the drama, Bruce Burton woke up! Hilla Holt was supposed to be kicked out of the Burton household. Everyone waited… and waited… But instead, Bruce Burton cherished his wife so much that soon, no one dared to even look Madam Burton in the eye.

Ellen had everything. Fame, a successful acting career and a secret celebrity boyfriend. "How dare you steal my fiancé, Ellen!" Reality slapped Ellen hard across the face in the form of her best friend, accusing her of being a homewrecker. Her boyfriend was never hers. Her career was over. Her parents died, leaving her an orphan. To escape it all, Ellen moved into a modest apartment to start afresh. Her friendly, handsome new neighbour introduced himself and extended his hand while smiling confidently to her. “I trust you, Ellen. Don’t be afraid of anything anymore.” Why did he seem so familiar? Ellen began to wonder, could her new neighbour be her long time playmate in the online game 'Era of the Jade Dawn'? Flint kept his identity a secret because he's actually the creator of the game! When they meet in real life, sparks fly and he realises he needs her! He wants to protect her! No one can mess with the woman he loves!

For seven years, Sarah Arcadia devoted everything to Martin the man who she thought saved her from a deadly fire that took her parents’ lives. Out of gratitude, she became his loyal assistant, his supporter… and eventually his lover. She believed she owed him her life. Until the day she discovered the truth. To Martin, she was nothing more than a tool someone he could discard the moment a better opportunity appeared. Heartbroken and betrayed, Sarah’s world begins to crumble. But fate has other plans. Standing on the other side of the battlefield is Sebastian Monday—the cold, powerful CEO who has been Martin’s greatest business rival for years. Dangerous. Calculating. Untouchable. And strangely… interested in her. Sebastian knows secrets about Sarah’s past that even she doesn’t know. Secrets about the mysterious fire that destroyed her family. As betrayal, ambition, and buried truths collide, Sarah finds herself caught between the man who used her… And the ruthless rival who seems determined to claim her. But the deeper she falls into Sebastian Monday’s world, the more she realizes one terrifying truth: He didn’t just enter her life by chance. He has been watching her for a very long time.

Hi! My name is [Redacted], but most people just call me Focaccia Bread — or Foca. I’m writing this mostly for fun, but also to share my stories, my questionable life choices, and the music that somehow came out of them. Come along for the ride as I recount how I accidentally built a successful entertainment company and somehow helped create actual music legends. Fair warning: I do not tell stories in order. My brain jumps timelines like a fever dream, so expect chaos, time skips, and zero apologies. I’m weird. I’m quirky. I embrace it with both arms and half a bagel. I know — I’m cringe. But at least I’m free. XD If you wanna listen to the Jams (Music) appearing here, you can go listen to them in YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@FocacciaBread-Music) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ecDiwv85yqoktTR4h569L?si=CHJzNohaTwiTgukcKickMQ) and other streaming platforms.

The office turns into a battlefield. Vivian faces sabotage from within, and a mysterious figure named Daniel,a ghost from their past begins orchestrating a takeover. Despite Vivian’s public coldness and ruthless treatment, Well silently acts as her protector. He begins to uncover a web of betrayal involving the staff, realizing that the person trying to bring down the company is someone close to him.

Once, Celine and Leo were the golden couple of their high school. However, in a single night, Celine’s world collapsed. Her father committed suicide after being framed, and Leo, the only man she ever loved, was the one who sent her to prison for the death of his mother. Now, Celine has been released as a woman with no future. When her mother fell terminally ill and she was forced to sell herself at an underground auction, a man purchased her for an astronomical price. That man was Leo. Leo did not just want to possess her. He wanted to bind Celine in a marriage of torment as a form of cold revenge. Behind the walls of a luxury mansion that felt more like a cage, Celine had to survive between burning hatred and dark secrets that began to unravel one by one. Was Leo truly the monster who destroyed her life, or was he the only protector willing to be reviled to save her soul?

Lina Chen wakes from a coma with her engagement ring, her ex-boyfriend's face in her mind, and no memory of the past two years. To her shock, a ring adorns her finger—not the one her ex gave her. A pair of twins call her "mama." And a devastatingly handsome CEO, Ethan Blackwood, claims to be her husband. She doesn't recognize any of them. Terrified and disoriented, Lina rejects this strange new life and returns to her family and her ex-boyfriend, Ryan—the man she believes she was about to marry. They welcome her with open arms. But something is wrong. Ryan is unusually close to her best friend, Chloe. Her parents dodge every question about Ethan. And no one can explain why she has a scar on her wrist or why she flinches at the sight of stairs. Then the memories begin to surface in fragments. A restraining order against Ryan. Chloe's hand on her back—pushing. A letter Lina wrote before the coma: "If I forget, find me. Don't give up." Lina secretly reconnects with Ethan and the twins. He doesn't pressure her to remember. He simply shows her evidence—videos, documents, a diary—that paints a horrifying picture: her coma wasn't an accident. Her memory loss was induced. And the people she trusts most are the ones who erased her. Now Lina must pretend she's still lost while piecing together the truth. Because the closer she gets to remembering, the closer someone gets to silencing her forever. She thought she woke to a nightmare. But the real nightmare is the life she's desperate to forget.

Lyra's husband, Lucien Dallas has been acting strange since he woke up from his coma. And suddenly she is thinking divorcing him might be a bad idea. .... Lucien Morningstar has woken up in a strange world, in a strange era as Lucien Dallas, a man about to be divorced by his wife. Alone in a strange world, he doesn't understand. He has no idea what to do. A naive husband and a sly bold wife? What exactly could go wrong

[SYSTEM INITIALIZING] [Host found true calling.] [Goals Detected: Financial Independence. Social Ascension.] [Requirement Met: User has hit the lowest possible point.] Jordan McKnight spent three thousand dollars on a premium coffee date with an internet model. This purchase happened right after he spent his holiday watching a different man kiss the girl he had been financially supporting for months. He reached the absolute limit of his own pathetic behavior. He sat in his unwashed apartment and decided he could not continue living as a walking punchline. His cracked phone screen turned a soft gold. [System Linked. Active Connections: 0] [Core Mechanic: Spend money on registered beauties. Cashback scales with attraction.] [Reach 50 Percent Attraction to break even. Reach 100 Percent to double your money.] The universe decided to gamify his recovery. The Infinite Cashback System refuses to grant him magic powers or instant charisma. It simply tracks his progress and pays him to stop being a doormat. Jordan now faces his first real test. He has twenty-four hours to clean his biohazard of a bedroom and meet the model he paid to see. He also just discovered she sits two rows ahead of him in Economics class. He needs to maintain a normal conversation and stop apologizing for existing. Earning his way back to humanity will happen one awkward interaction at a time. "Okay. Let's see what you got."

Alone and desperate to get out of debt, Ava begins to work odd jobs to keep herself afloat. She calls her gift for singing a silly talent and uses it to earn small cash at local bars. But a simple song from her was able to put Leon Prescott to sleep in seconds. Leon is old, wealthy and has insomnia. He walked into the bar that night hoping to spend the money he didn’t need on girls who needed it. Ava was the lucky girl of the night. She sang to him, he fell asleep immediately. Something that never happened. He needed her, he had to find her but she was gone. Destined to meet again, Ava is handed a contract. Move into Leon’s mansion as a live-in personal assistant and sing him to bed every night and get a hefty pay. The desperation caved in and killed her independence. She accepted, thus walking into a life of love, pain, and war.

A man from the future wakes up in the body of a teenager in the year 2000—with all his memories intact. He knows where fortunes will be made, which empires will rise, and how the world will change. But wealth is only the beginning. Behind the scenes, powerful families, hidden forces, and secret organizations shape business, politics, and influence from the shadows. This time, he won’t be their pawn. He will build his own empire, challenge the giants ruling the world, and seize the future for himself.

She was never meant to be chosen. When her sister disappears without a trace, the only thing she leaves behind is a message that wasn’t meant for her: “Your match has been confirmed.” Desperate for answers, she makes a dangerous decision— She takes her sister’s place. But the moment she steps into his world, everything feels… wrong. Adrian Cole is not a man who misses details. He watches too closely. Questions too carefully. And worst of all— He acts like he already knows she isn’t the woman he was supposed to meet. As secrets begin to surface, she uncovers something far more terrifying than a missing sister… A contract she was never meant to see. A system built on control, identity, and silence. And a truth that ties her family to a past she doesn’t understand. But she’s not the only one hiding something. Because the deeper she goes, the more dangerous he becomes— Not just to her secrets… But to her heart. And when her sister finally returns at the worst possible moment— She’s forced to face the truth: Was she really stepping into her sister’s life… Or was she always meant to replace her?

Raven Zhao and Aidan Chen belong to the same circle, but he is the center, and she is a tangent. Embrace the flawed obsession. Do not push away the love I offer. Stars whisper your existence to me. How far will you go to hide? The shine in your eyes is affection. If not, hate me with all your being. Share a bond with me; I can bear it. Even if you take me as an enemy. -Aidan Chen

By day, Joon-ho runs a discreet, high-end massage clinic in Seoul, specializing in pain relief and body alignment. But behind the soundproof doors, his true gift lies in reading the deepest cravings of the women who walk through his door—and giving their bodies exactly what they need. From overworked executives to national celebrities, no woman leaves untouched—or unchanged. When Harin, his former campus crush turned office worker, reenters his life, one night of pleasure turns into something far more dangerous: connection, obsession, and a partnership that blurs every boundary between business, pleasure, and possession. Now, she’s not just in his bed. She’s in his clinic. His lap. His world. And she wants to watch everything.