Chapter 1

My mom spent my childhood listening to billionaire romance audiobooks. By the time I was old enough to understand what a “cold CEO” was, I was sick of the phrase.

When a heroine cried because she was a stand-in for a dead first love, I’d say, “She should bill him for emotional damages.” When Mom sobbed over a breakup, I’d open a spreadsheet and estimate the divorce settlement.

“You’re going to scare every man away,” she’d say.

She was right. I had the kind of face that made strangers think I was judging them, and no guy had ever risked approaching me.

Then, at my college graduation party, a group of rich young men spotted me across a hotel bar.

“You look exactly like Vivian,” one said.

The best-looking man stepped closer. “You remind me of someone I loved and lost. Stay with me, and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

I opened my payment app. “A million dollars up front. Plus triple rate for the substitute-girlfriend work, emotional labor, and wasted time.”

He blinked. His friends called me a gold digger. The man—Ethan Cole, heir to Cole Holdings—kept staring at me.

“Fine,” he said. “Six million.”

The transfer hit my account. I smiled. Mom’s shopping list was about to get very short.