Chapter 1: The Man Who Listened Deliberately
I thought asking a billionaire stranger to pretend to be my boyfriend for twenty-four hours was crazy, until he arrived at my family's wedding surrounded by three black SUVs.
I needed a boyfriend by tomorrow, so the billionaire at my café table volunteered—but one quiet nod from him later sent three black SUVs to surround my family's wedding.
**I Needed a Boyfriend by Tomorrow—Then the Mafia Billionaire at My Table Said, "Tell Your Family You're Bringing Me"**
"I need a boyfriend by tomorrow."
Maya Bennett whispered it into her phone behind the counter of the Seattle café where she worked, hoping nobody had heard.
One man had.
Mason Reed sat alone at the corner table beside the window, an untouched espresso near his hand.
He came in several times a week.
Always the same charcoal suits.
Same double espresso.
Same quiet stare that made people lower their voices without knowing why.
Maya knew him only as Mr.
Reed, a wealthy investor.
She had no idea the billionaire controlled shipping companies, security firms, nightclubs—and a criminal organization powerful enough that Seattle's underworld treated his name carefully.
Right now, Maya had a smaller problem.
"My cousin gets married tomorrow," she hissed into the phone.
"Aunt Judith thinks I've been dating Daniel for three months."
The fake Daniel she'd arranged to bring had canceled that morning.
Maya groaned.
"I need someone tall, reasonably attractive, socially functional, and capable of pretending he likes me for twenty-four hours."
At the corner table, Mason slowly set down his tablet.
A few minutes later, Maya ended the call, put on her customer-service smile, and turned toward the counter.
Mason was already standing there.
"Another espresso?" she asked.
"No."
Something about his expression made her stop.
"I have a proposal."
Maya blinked.
"I'm sorry?"
"I overheard your conversation."
Her face burned.
"That was private."
"Yes."
"And you listened?"
"Accidentally at first."
"And after that?"
His gaze held hers.
"Deliberately."
Maya folded her arms.
"What exactly are you proposing, Mr.
Reed?"
He leaned slightly closer.
"Tell your family you're bringing me."
Behind the espresso machine, Maya's coworker dropped a spoon.
Maya stared at Mason.
"You're offering to pretend to be my boyfriend?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
For the first time, the strange man from the corner table almost smiled.
"Curiosity."
Maya didn't smile back.
Because suddenly she realized she knew absolutely nothing about the man volunteering to walk into her family's wedding tomorrow.
"What do you actually do?" she asked.
"Investments."
"That vague?"
"Private capital.
Acquisitions.
Logistics."
Maya narrowed her eyes.
"Criminal record?"
Mason paused.
Just slightly.
But long enough.
"That pause was way too long."
His expression barely changed.
"I've never been convicted of anything."
---
May you like
What is Mason Reed actually hiding — and what happens when he walks into that wedding?
Comment **"NEXT"** if you want Part 2.
