Mr. CEO, You're Not Supposed to Fall for Me!

Veronica Nolan has been secretly married to Lawrence Ashford, founder of Aegis Law and Mr. Ashford's second son, for a year. Her best friend Maggie Brooks asks about the marriage. The answer: most communication happens in bed.

Lawrence is reserved and barely speaks; some days his only words are a request for sex. Their routine never changes, and he is never beside her when she wakes. Veronica believes they don't love each other and the no-strings arrangement suits them.

Three days ago she lost her wedding ring—a custom ten-carat diamond worth thirty million. Lawrence isn't angry. He offers a replacement, a card with fifty million, five villas, cars, and three million a month. His only condition is no cheating. A three-hundred-million ring is possible if she stays faithful.

At the office, when Sophie and the others head off to see Lawrence, Veronica privately notes she just got out of his bed. Lawrence keeps the marriage quiet for his own reasons. His father chose Veronica from a family of scholars. She doesn't wait for him or interrupt his time, and he is glad she doesn't love him. He insists he will never love any woman and will never forgive that woman. He also admits he sometimes wants his wife too much and hates losing control—then calls it physical attraction, not love. He keeps the marriage secret because she is a designer with no backing.

Mr. Cole, a client, offers Veronica three million a year to be his woman. She refuses on the grounds that she is married and claims her husband goes seven times a night. Lawrence overhears and repeats the claim back to her: "me seven times a night." She calls it a misunderstanding. He teases her about wanting seven times a night, then asks whether she wants to make the marriage public.