Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Lance looked satisfied as he saw the ink brushing on the contract.

Madeline finished signing everything. She put the pen and the document on the coffee table and said, "Okay, I'm done with everything. I am now your contractual girlfriend, Lance."

Lance raised his brow, "Very bold of you to address me with my first name. I like it."

"We're lovers now. Of course, you can call me Maddy, too," Madeline said.

"Should I call you babe instead?" Lance suggested.

He thought Madeline would go along with his suggestion, but her cheeks actually began to redden, and she shook her head and said, "T—That's too much for now. I'm not used to it."

"Not used to it? I thought you addressed your ex-boyfriend with that."

"W—We address each other by names," Madeline lied.

'Cute,' Lance thought. 'She's cuter than I thought.'

"I expect you to call me babe in front of my family, got it?"

"O—Okay," Madeline said. She imagined calling someone babe, and her body felt hot.

Even with her first love, Jonathan Hale, she never called him that. She simply called him Jon.

"Well, the car parked outside is still yours. If you can't park it in your current home, I'll let the female driver pick you up every day and drive you anywhere."

"Female driver?" Madeline frowned.

"Yeah, I don't want a male driver to accompany you every day," Lance said. "Don't worry, she's military trained. She will function as a bodyguard as well. She should've told you about this before."

"What female driver?" Madeline's frown grew deeper. "My driver was a man in his fifties."

Lance was also as confused as she was. "A man in his fifties? Wait, did he have a military build, too?"

"Yes."

Lance clicked his tongue.

Madeline wondered if she said something wrong, but it seemed his annoyance wasn't directed at her.

"Okay, you can go now. I'll assign someone else to be your driver," Lance said as he quickly texted someone on the phone, completely ignoring Madeline. "I'll tell you in one or two days about the new reality show I have planned for you. Clear all of the talk show schedule you have and let me know if they demand compensation for the cancellation, I will pay for everything. We can't let you accidentally leak our relationship in public, at least not yet."

"I understand. I appreciate your help, Mr. Grant—or should I say, Lance," Madeline got up and grabbed her bag. "I hope we can work together for a long time."

"Don't worry, we will, Maddy," Lance responded, but his eyes were still busy on the phone screen.

As Madeline walked to the door, Lance glanced and called her, "Maddy."

Maddy turned around and saw him observing her outfit. "Go use that card to buy anything you want. Don't mind the price, just buy it. You are an expensive woman. Don't wear something cheap to ruin your image."

"Okay, I'll buy them now," Madeline said, and she nodded before leaving the CEO's office.

Lance waited momentarily before finally calling his little brother, George.

—

"What's up, Lance?" George asked on the phone.

"It's Uncle Michael. He spied on Madeline. I don't know if he's working for Dad or Theodore right now," Lance informed without pause, mentioning their eldest brother and their father's trusted aide.

"Oh, damn," George muttered. "I don't think that pesky old man is siding with Theodore right now. He's probably observing because of Dad's order."

"Let's hope so," Lance said. "I don't want my plan to get discovered by Theo. Everything will be in vain, especially after I've successfully signed Madeline to be my girlfriend."

"You've signed her? Damn, that's fast," George commented. "Did you tell her about our family's condition and our fight with Theodore?"

"No, why would I?" Lance scoffed. "She doesn't need to know. All she needs to do is act like my lover and continue making headlines with her persona."

"You know that sounds cruel, right, bro?"

"All is fair in this game, George," Lance said. "Besides, I give her all the money and sponsor her to be a megastar in Hollywood. What I want is minuscule to what she will get."

"Just make sure you don't fall in love with her, Lance. You know it will be difficult to marry someone like her into our family," George said. "Especially since Theodore is taking control over everything."

"You worry too much. You know my type. I don't like a gullible and dumb woman. Madeline Rose is here for my plan to work," Lance said. "So, keep your mouth shut and let me work."

George didn't know how to tell his second brother. He was so reckless that George was afraid he'd get dragged to hell with him.

"I'm going to call the Producer of the new reality show. I need to make her infamous," Lance informed. "Focus on your studies to become a neurosurgeon. You don't want to end up like me."

"Yeah, thanks, bro. Call me if you need any help," George said before he hung up the call.

Beep.

—

Lance didn't call the Producer immediately. He stared at the contract on the table, and his gaze deepened when he saw Madeline's signature.

He remembered how sweet Madeline looked just now and would lie if he said he had zero interest in her.

Madeline was surprisingly cute, and her bare face was even cuter in person. She had that fresh and innocent look that was definitely Lance's type.

If only they had met under a different circumstance, Lance might've genuinely made his move on her.

But that kind of feeling was not important. He had his interest, and he would eventually find another woman with a better background whom he could marry.

"I'm sorry, Maddy. But you are the necessary sacrifice," Lance muttered. "You're going to get your heart broken. But it should be okay, right? You have all the money and infamy for compensation."

Lance finally called the producer, as he had planned to put Madeline in a reality show.

She had a bad start after her scandalous affair four years ago, and to start gaining some notoriety and fans, she had to go through a scandalous reality show as well.

"I will make you even more infamous, Madeline," Lance muttered.

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