THE BILLIONAIRE CEO AND THE CON WOMAN

Author's POV

As Charlotte hurriedly packed her clothes into a box, her mind raced with a lot of emotions: fear mixed with rage and regret. As she packed her bags, memories of her past started to flood in, especially her complicated past relationship with Carter Richardson. She couldn't help but think back to when they first met, how she had orchestrated their encounter at the airport. She had seen his picture on the television and had marked him as her next target to defraud. Charlotte was a con woman and her job was scamming rich men. Initially, she thought he would be a heartless, devilish billionaire as the newspapers portrayed him to be. However, upon getting to know him personally, she realized he was different from what the newspaper and tabloids have portrayed him to be. After going on a few dates, she started getting drawn and attracted to him. Before she knew it, she was already in love with him. Their romantic relationship had blossomed unexpectedly. Carter had fallen deeply in love with Charlotte, and she found herself also in love with Carter.

As she contemplated what to do with her feelings, she got a call from her younger brother, Hudson.

“Hey sis,” he said, panicking on the phone.

“What's wrong?” She asked, feeling concerned.

“I am in trouble sis, I have really messed up this time,” he finally responded.

Hudson then told her that he had been involved with a drug lord, Julian, and that he has lost his drugs, and now owed Julian about 20 million dollars and if he doesn’t pay the money soon Julian would come to kill him.

“Don’t worry, I will do something about this,” she reassured Hudson before ending the call.

After the call ended, Charlotte resolved herself on what to do. She would have to choose her brother over the love she had for Carter.

When Carter finally proposed to Charlotte, Charlotte accepted, but deep down, she knew she couldn't go through with it. She had to protect her brother, which meant she had to go back to her original plan of defrauding Carter. So, on what was supposed to be their wedding day, Charlotte vanished, along with $19 million of Carter's money. She left the country, leaving behind the love of her life in order to protect her brother.

Now two years have passed, and her younger brother has again gotten caught in trouble that requires a lot of money that she could not afford. The only person she knows who has that kind of money is Carter.

Now, she prepares herself to meet Carter once again and seek his help, while she still cared for him and despite her betrayal, her priority was her brother’s safety. She would not allow sentimentality to cloud her judgment nor will she show any sign that she still has feelings for him, not when her brother’s life was at stake.

With her passport and visa for Miami in hand, Charlotte resolved herself. She knew confronting Carter was risky, but she had to try. She had to convince him to help her brother escape the dangerous situation he had gotten himself into.

She landed in Miami early in the afternoon and immediately went to Carter’s office.

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Carter Richardson while in his office was feeling off. He was sensing that something was about to happen,

he felt a sense of impending trouble in his bones, and he struggled to shake off the feeling and focus on work. He sighed, trying to wake himself up.

"Focus, Carter, what's wrong with you?" he muttered to himself.

Opening his emails, he scanned through tasks and messages but couldn't bring himself to respond to any of them. "What's going on with me today?" he wondered.

Finally, he called his assistant, Austin, to his office. Austin, a chubby man, hurried in looking nervous.

"Yes, sir?" Austin asked anxiously.

Carter observed him. "You seem like you're hiding something or have seen something you don't want me to know. What is it?" he asked, already sensing something was up with his assistant.

"It's nothing, sir. I didn't see anything bad, just someone..." Austin hesitated.

Carter waited patiently for Austin to continue.

"...Someone who might not be bad to me, but to you, she's not good. And she's probably on her way up here to see you," Austin finally explained.

"Who?" Carter asked, feeling uneasy.

"I didn't notice her until she got into the elevator," Austin admitted.

"Who are you talking about?" Carter pressed.

Before Austin could respond, the door opened, revealing someone Carter never expected to see again. His heart raced, and he felt a lump in his throat.

It was Charlotte fucking Patterson. Now he understood why he hadn't been feeling right that morning. The trouble he sensed had arrived, and it was standing right in front of him.