Pick a husband

Why did it seem like the old man was eager to sell them away?

"Little assistant, I've been good to you, so I'm sure you'll choose fairly." Gabriel remarked with a wink. He was the playboy between the Sterling brothers, so she wasn't surprised.

As for Donald, he continued to stare at his phone disinterestedly, as if nothing being said in that room concerned him at all.

"Chairman Sterling, that won't be necessary. I just need to get home right now. There's something important I need to do." As Anne spoke, she began getting off the bed, but the older man rushed towards her and reached his hand out to gently push her shoulder back so she could remain on the bed.

"Careful, stop trying to move. Your wound is still fresh."

Anne wasn't feeling much pain anymore, and she could perfectly stand and walk. She wasn't certain if the bullet wound was as intense as the elder man made it seem.

"Grandpa, the doctor said the bullet merely grazed her. Let her go," Donald spoke blandly, uninterested in anything in the room and certainly not wanting to be tied down by marriage. His young age did not exempt him from the terms the old man had set for making an heir.

"Shut up, little brat. Do you even know how a bullet wound feels?" Elder Sterling shot at his grandson before turning to Anne.

"Little girl, I've told you to call me grandpa like these brats do. And if you're not attracted to any of my grandsons, that's fine, but I can't say I'm not disappointed. These three idiots might not deserve you, but I would love to have you in our Sterling home as my granddaughter-in-law. How about this... when you're fully recovered and you resume work, start at the public relations department? I want to make you manager there, but there might be some discord with the board if an assistant is suddenly promoted to department manager. So why not start as a normal staff member for a few months? It still has better incentives and higher pay than your current position."

"But grandpa, she's my assistant," Gabriel grumbled. It would be such a shame; this girl seemed to tick Andrew off. He was beginning to have fun having her around, but his grandfather was taking her away.

"Only speak when you're spoken to, Gabriel." Elder Sterling chastised, then the displeasure on his face quickly changed to a smile as he turned to Anne.

"What do you say, little Anne? Will you accept my offer?" The older man's eyes lit up.

Anne couldn't help but be reminded of her own grandfather. It was a pity the man had already passed long ago, and she barely remembered him enough to hold onto his memories, but she couldn't help but feel drawn to the elder man and how gently he was being with her. Perhaps older men were always alike—they all became adorable.

But she couldn't believe she'd managed to get a promotion this fast. It wasn't every day that one got this opportunity, and Anne wasn't stupid enough to turn it down, not when she was desperately in need of a good job.

"Thank you very much, Chairman Sterling, for your generosity. I'll work hard to deserve this position."

Andrew snorted lowly, but he didn't say anything. Anne knew he was judging her for accepting the job so fast, but she couldn't expect a man like him to understand the kind of life she'd had to live or the desire to save her brother's life.

Anne's wound had been just a scratch from the bullet; hence, she was discharged quickly by the hospital staff when she requested it. But immediately she got home, she found a black Mustang waiting outside her apartment.

A man in a black suit stepped out of the car and opened the back door for her. She recognized this man. He was the butler at Black Thorn Manor, where the masked stranger lived.

Anne was surprised. Wasn't she supposed to go back on Friday? Why were they here a day earlier?

"Miss Thompson, master is here to see you." The butler gave her a polite bow, waiting for her to sit inside the car.

She could see the cold man inside the car, wearing his black full mask that concealed his entire face—except for his eyes, nose, and mouth. Her heart made an involuntary thud within her ribs, and she wiped her sweaty palms against her pants.

She nodded at the butler and got into the car. Perhaps it was the way she had to twist her body to sit down, but she suddenly winced in pain.

Elder Sterling had vehemently refused to let her leave the hospital this fast, but she'd left anyway after he was gone. She had to go home, change, and then visit Kristen at the hospital.

"Master, what brings you here? I was supposed to go to the villa tomorrow." Anne addressed the man the way the contract had stipulated. She didn't know his name nor who he was at all, nor did she know the face behind that black mask. He was a total mystery to her.

The man's aura was aloof and cold, making the atmosphere in the car unbearably chilly, causing her to shiver slightly. Anne didn't know how anyone could tolerate being in the presence of a scary man like him.

She remembered the first time she'd seen him from afar. A woman had told him she was in love with him, but he had coldly rejected her. The mere fact that the woman had the courage to even confess to him was something to commend.

"I had the contract drafted, so naturally, I can make changes whenever I want. We're going to the manor tonight. The sooner we have sex, the faster you'll get pregnant." The man's voice was a mix of warm and hard, jolting Anne from her thoughts. It felt as if she'd heard his voice before, but the mask on his face seemed to muffle the sounds in a way that made him sound unreal.

She swallowed hard at his words and hurriedly spoke before he would order for the car to start. "Can't it wait till tomorrow?"

Apart from the fact that Anne wanted to visit Kristen tonight, she was also freshly wounded. Sleeping with someone in this condition would certainly hurt her, especially someone as cold as he was—he wouldn't care about her injuries.

"There are thousands of fertile women on the streets, Miss Thompson. You're free to back out of the contract, and I'll find another." He said uncaringly, as if she were something he could replace with a single snap of his fingers if he wanted to.

"No, no, no! I'm not backing out." Anne quickly interrupted. Her brother's brain surgery would cost millions, and because only an international doctor had performed and succeeded in the surgery, she would have to spend even more. She definitely needed the job as a surrogate to pay for all of that.

However, the way she had replied quickly made Andrew scoff softly.

As expected, she was greedy for money. She couldn't even accept losing the contract, even though she was nursing a wound.

What kind of woman was she, and how greedy for money was she?

Andrew hated women like her deeply. They irritated him, and the thought of being around them disgusted him.

With a stern face, he ordered the driver, "Take us to the villa."

The car zoomed off a while later.

If she wanted to suffer just to earn big money, then he would gladly entertain her.

As the car drove on, he watched her face through the rearview mirror for a while. She looked pale, exhausted, and laid her head back to rest on the seat without another protest. Long, dark lashes shadowed her cheeks. When he'd seen her for the first time, as she was brought by the butler on the first day, he'd actually found her beautiful.

Her face was the type one would describe as pure and sweet, mesmerizing in a strange way. Andrew was certain she'd enchanted so many men with that face before. The thought of it had annoyed him, and he'd realized his third contracted surrogate might be more interesting to keep than the others.

When the car slid into the driveway at the manor, Andrew stepped out of the car and strode inside, feeling the shadow of the woman hesitantly following behind.

They reached the vast master bedroom, which looked chic and elegant in a masculine way, with dark, thick drapes on the windows.

With a precise movement, he tugged off his tie, shrugged off his coat, and placed it behind a chair in the room. He then began unbuttoning his shirt, his long, slender fingers moving swiftly, and Anne watched him do it with curious eyes. She caught a glimpse of the taut, well-built abs of his stomach and the hard plane of his chest, and her throat suddenly felt dry. A wave of nervousness washed over her as the realization of what was about to happen hit her as hard as the warmth that spread inside her.

"On the bed, now," he commanded strictly.

Anne trudged to the bed, trying to hide the weakness in her steps. Having to climb the stairs in the manor to the master bedroom had exhausted her due to the wound on the side of her stomach. She sat at the edge of the bed and waited for further instructions.

"Good, now take off your clothes."

She bit her lips hesitantly. What if he sees her wound after she removes her clothes?

"Miss Thompson, if you don't want to do this..." He interrupted her thoughts once more.

"No, I want to." She hurriedly began to fiddle with her clothes, taking off her shirt and standing half bare before him. Her face burned with embarrassment, and she felt the urge to cover herself, but then she reminded herself why she had to do this and not back out.

Andrew narrowed his eyes at the bandage wrapped around her stomach, but he didn't say anything about it.

"If we're going to do this, you might as well find a way to arouse me." He suddenly drawled.

"How should I do that, master?" She asked softly.

"Touch yourself."

"What?" Anne was stupefied.

"Touch yourself." He repeated, "Like you do when no one's around."

He sat on the sofa facing the bed, his ankle crossed over his knee, and his elbow popped on the arm of the sofa. He began to watch her like an interesting show about to unfold.