One Midnight Kiss: A Billionaire Fake Fiancée Holiday Romance

The room was buzzing with Christmas cheer when I stepped into Williamson & Rodgers’ annual holiday party, but I felt like an imposter. I didn’t belong here in Natalia’s plastic world of advertising.

This wasn’t me.

I belonged elbow deep in circuit boards, the smell of whiteboard markers filling the air. All of these people were so fake. Maybe it was wrong to use a wide brush to paint everyone here, but it just felt very uptight. Very corporate. Everyone seemed to be playing a role, including me.

I scanned the crowd for Natalia, my reason for being here. I drank my glass of scotch, savoring the burn, and scanned the room. Natalia was across the bar, laughing with a group of her colleagues. She looked like a vision in the green dress she’d borrowed from Christa, shimmering under the dim lighting. The sight of her like that made my chest ache with a feeling I didn’t want to acknowledge.

How did someone like her work at a place like this? Corporate America, all smiles and back pats until the knife came out. I bet it killed her a little inside every day. She pretended to be one of these corporate types, but I’d seen the real Natalia. I’d been in her house that was nothing like the cold, clinical office she worked in.

Aaron was here, too. I smirked, watching him flit around the room, a nervous tick in his jaw as he kissed every ass he could press his lips to. He had no idea I was the reason his phone had crashed last week. I wiped it clean and left a little virus behind for good measure, a warning after what he had tried to pull on Natalia. I wished I could let him know it was me that fucked up his phone. That would have been satisfying, but that would cause problems for Natalia. I would just have to enjoy the quiet satisfaction knowing I fucked up his world.

I moved through the party, weaving between people on my way to Natalia. As I got closer, I overheard snippets of conversation. I heard Natalia’s name. I stopped and paid a little more attention to the two guys talking about her. Their words made my fists clench. They weren’t discussing her work or her intelligence. It was something far cruder.

“Man, that dress is doing her favors,” one of them muttered, his eyes glued to her from across the room.

Aaron chimed in, smirking. “Yeah, too bad she’s got a stick up her ass most of the time. Real ice queen, that one.”

The other guy laughed. “I bet she’s a freak in bed.”

“Dominatrix,” Aaron joked. “I would not be surprised to find out she had a whip and chains in her bed. I don’t think you could handle a woman like that.”

“I would put that bitch on her knees…”

I stepped forward, ready to grab him by the collar and beat the shit out of both of them. But her boss, Dave, intercepted me with a wide smile. “Fox Samuelson! I’m so glad you’re here!”

I forced a smile, trying not to look over his shoulder at the group of lecherous idiots. “This is quite the party,” I said, not even trying to hide my anger.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“Those guys are assholes, and I would like to tell them so,” I said. “Do you know how they talk about their female coworkers? Namely Natalia. They are vile. Disgusting. They need to be put in check.”

Dave nodded. “They are.”

“You know?” I asked with surprise. “Why aren’t you doing something about it?”

“This isn’t the tech industry. Natalia holds her own. She always has. The corporate world is cutthroat, and she handles it just fine. She is the strongest person I know. I’ll talk to them, but honestly? She doesn’t need me to defend her. She’s held her own here since day one. I’m guessing she’s been through some shit that made her like that.”

I nodded, biting back a retort. I knew she could hold her own. Hell, she probably had a better idea of how to handle them than I did. Still, it didn’t sit right with me, letting it slide. “Doesn’t make it okay,” I said. “They need to be put in check.”

He clapped me on the shoulder. “You’re a lucky man. Congratulations on your engagement. Natalia is an incredible woman. She’s going places, Fox. Might be gunning for my job sooner than I’d like.”

I gave a half-hearted smile, but the truth was, I didn’t care about her career trajectory here. All I could think about was how wrong this place was for her. It felt like a cage, even if it was made of gold.

“Thanks,” I said. “But please do talk to them. She can handle it, but she shouldn’t have to.”

“Understood,” he said. “I’ll mention it.”

I rolled my eyes and walked away. Mentioning it didn’t do shit. The guys should be fired. I was a CEO. I knew the risk Dave was taking by letting that kind of harassment continue, purely from a liability standpoint.

I moved away from Dave and headed straight for Natalia. She turned to me, her face lighting up when she saw me.

“You look ready to leave,” she said, tilting her head, reading me like a book.

“I am. But I know you’ve got a few more people to charm. Don’t mind me. I always get a little squirmy in these uptight situations.”

“Just a couple more hands to shake,” she said. “You’ll survive without me for a few minutes?”

I grinned. “You’ve kept me waiting long enough, don’t you think?”

Her lips twitched, and she glanced over my shoulder. “Try not to start any fights, okay? I know that look.”

I held up my hands, feigning innocence. “I’m just here to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Ho ho ho.”

She smirked. “Sure, you are. Be good.”

“I’m an angel,” I said.

“Well, hold on to your halo for a couple more minutes,” she said with a laugh.

I watched as she walked away, greeting more of her colleagues with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. I had other plans. My eyes scanned the room until I spotted him. I made my way toward Aaron. He was leaning against the bar, looking smug.

I stepped in front of him, blocking his escape. “Aaron.”

He glanced up. I saw a flicker of fear in his eyes before he forced a smirk. “Fox. Enjoying the party?”

I was about to lay into him when I heard Natalia call my name. She was making her way toward me.

“Good talk, champ,” I said, slapping a hand on his shoulder and squeezing, probably harder than necessary. I plastered on a smile when Natalia approached, her eyes darting between Aaron and me.

“Ready to go?” she asked, sensing the tension.

I nodded, slipping my arm around her waist. “More than ready.”

We left the party without another word, stepping out into the chilly Seattle night. She shivered as we walked down the sidewalk. I shrugged out of my jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Sure, I did,” I said. “What kind of fiancé would I be if I didn’t?”

She looked away, her smile faltering. The word fiancé still seemed to throw her off. Maybe it was the reminder that this was all a game, a ruse I had started. Not even intentionally. It just kind of happened after all that nudging from Christa. But it didn’t feel like a game to me anymore.

“My place?” I asked as I raised my hand to hail a cab.

She smiled. “Sure.”

I liked that she didn’t hesitate. I wasn’t going to make a big deal about it. Things were going well between us. I didn’t want to disrupt the harmony we had established just because I was catching feelings.

The cab pulled up, and we slid into the back seat. Her hand found mine, fingers intertwining as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I squeezed softly. She leaned her head on my shoulder, both of us at ease.

At my apartment, I poured us both a drink. Natalia kicked off her heels, sinking into the couch with a sigh. I watched her, my heart pounding in my chest, the words I needed to say lodged in my throat. I was so afraid to ruin this. I knew I could be blunt, and I didn’t know how to use flowery language that could soothe any situation.

“Why do you stay at that place?” I asked finally, settling down next to her.

She raised an eyebrow. “You mean my job?”

“Yeah. You don’t need it. You could do anything, work anywhere.”

She took a sip of her wine, staring into the glass like it held the answers. “I like the challenge. The pace. It’s fast, it’s demanding. I thrive in that environment.”

I nodded slowly, mulling it over. “You could work for me.”

She laughed, and the sweet music of it made my heart stutter. “You don’t have a head of marketing. That’s why you hired my firm.”

“I could create the job,” I said, dead serious. “Just for you. When you think about it, it makes sense. We’ll be rolling out more products and we can never stop advertising. It would save money having in-house talent. We’ve considered it before, but it’s a good idea. You would be paid very, very well. Not to mention the extra perks, just for you.”

She shook her head, still smiling. “You’re impossible.”

“On the contrary. When it comes to you, I am very easy.” I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wanted her closer. I wanted her with me, in my world. And more than that, I just wanted her.

I’m kind of tired of dancing around what we are to each other. Doesn’t she get how much I like her?

I had fallen for her, that was clear. I fell hard. It was a reality I had been trying to ignore, but it was just there. I understood she was afraid to get hurt, but honestly, this girl was shattering my heart with each second that passed with her inability to just let me in.

I was starting to regret putting the ring on her finger. It might have sabotaged me from getting the chance to actually do this right. What if I wanted to propose for real someday and the stupid fake ring ruined it? What if we continued down this road of lies and games of pretend, and it ended up costing me more than I was willing to pay?

I realized that I would burn Hanna to the ground if it meant I could burn down Natalia’s walls, too. To get her to trust me, I had to drop my guard first. I needed to be willing to let her stomp all over my heart if there was ever going to be a chance between us.

“Natalia,” I said quietly, mustering up the courage I needed to get the words out. “I want this to be more.”

She looked up at me, startled. “More? What?”

“More than just sex. More than a fake engagement.”

Her expression twisted, like I’d hurt her somehow. “I thought you didn’t care about all that.”

“I care now,” I admitted. It felt like ripping my chest open, exposing my heart, but I needed her to see it. “I want you. And not just for tonight.”

She leaned forward and put her glass down, standing up abruptly, like she couldn’t stand to be near me. “Fox, I can’t⁠—”

“Yes, you can,” I interrupted and jumped to my feet. “You’re it for me, don’t you get that? I’ve never felt like this about anyone. I thought I did once, but it was never like this.”

She spun the ring on her finger, a nervous habit I had noticed. I put that ring there, and now I wondered if it was a mistake. What if I had ruined things before they ever started?

“I was going to go back to Paris this year,” I blurted out, desperate to make her understand. “I thought maybe I would find the woman I met there last year. We barely spoke and I never got her name, but I was convinced she was the one for me. All year, I’ve been waiting to go back to Paris to find her. I told her I would meet her at the same place, but looking back, I realize that was a fairytale. You are the real deal. Whatever this is—it’s real. I want to be with you.”

Natalia’s face went pale. She took a step back, grabbing her coat and practically running for the door.

“You’re leaving?” I asked in disbelief. “Now?”

She didn’t answer. The door slammed shut behind her. I stared at it in disbelief. I expected there to be some surprise and maybe even hesitation, but her running out on me was a shock.

Now what?