MARIANELLA
After the news three days had passed, my despair level was gradually rising as my options went wrong, not that I had many to begin with.
We tried two of Karen's cousins, which only served to make me realize
that I can't have a decent conversation with a gym personal trainer in the first place, I am extremely sedentary and they are crazy about the gym.
The bouncer seemed too rough, his stories about getting annoying drunks out of nightclubs would certainly not be a very encouraging subject for my family.
Then I felt bad about the whole thing. I'm putting my family's expectations on the shoulders of people who definitely have nothing to do with my problems.
They had no obligation whatsoever to meet a standard.
Finally we are trying a guy from accounting, first hand he seems very decent, he was very cute accepting an invitation that was not even made by me.
My hands were sweating as I pushed open the doors of the cafeteria, I looked around recognizing Ethan at a middle table, his hands folded on the table, he is a handsome and presentable man, but I don't know, I felt something was still missing.
I offered him a wide smile before pulling out the chair in front of him and sitting down.
“I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, the traffic was horrible," I explained, receiving a sweet smile in return.
“ I didn't arrive that long ago, don't worry.”
“ Have you ordered anything yet? “ I ask as I take a quick look at the menu.
The truth is that I have no idea what to do, nor how to start a conversation.
“ I thought it best to wait for you, so what will it be? “ his torso hung forward as he used his elbows for support, he looked too charming from this angle.
“ Coffee with cream and muffins? “ I try not to sound like an idiot, which I think is inevitable.
“ Coffee with cream and muffins then.”
As he placed the order for the waitress, I thought about how to explain my situation to him, there wouldn't be time to bond with him in the little time I had left, so my only alternative was to be honest.
“ So Ethan, I'll be honest. “ I sighed, "I'm in a bit of a complicated situation right now.”
“ Are you married or getting a divorce? “ he raised his eyebrows.
“ No, never! I wouldn't date anyone if I were in that position.
“ I can't think of a more complicated situation than this," his brow continued to furrow.
“ I need a date for a family party, to be more precise, someone to pretend to be my boyfriend for months.”
“ Do you need someone to pretend? “ he questioned, confused and perhaps a little disappointed.
“ I believe that with the little time I have, I won't be able to get into a relationship with anyone," I said calmly.
“ How long are we talking about?”
“ A week and a half.”
His mouth dropped open, he wasn't expecting this and I can't blame him, I mean, a woman calls you for a date and says she needs a fake boyfriend?
I would certainly leave.
“ Look Marianella, this is a lot of information to process…”
“ I understand, but honestly, Ethan, I'm desperate! It's too long a story to tell…
“ I'd like to hear it anyway.”
I shamelessly tell him everything, and he listens attentively and agrees in some parts - or pretends to agree - I don't know how much he has understood, but I hope it was enough to at least consider helping me.
Our orders arrive and we drink our coffee in silence, my nerves raw from the fact that he has not said anything, it even seems that he is avoiding looking me in the eye.
“ I would love to help Nella, honestly you seem like a nice woman.”
“ But? “ I completed, already feeling my throat sinking.
His eyes move out of my reach and focus elsewhere in the cafeteria.
“ The boss!”
“ What does he have to do with this conversation? “ My brow furrows this time, confusion settling on my face.
- Nothing, I meant that he is here.
I look over my shoulder, then see him, he and Dante enter the room talking, for a few seconds I hoped I would go unnoticed by them, but Dante sees me, just in time for a wicked smile to cross his lips and he nods in my direction.
Oh great, that was all I needed at this moment.
To make matters worse, Ethan looked petrified, I didn't understand why, we weren't in the company, what was the reason for the fear paralyzing him, he looked like he was caught committing a crime.
This irritates me a little, Roman is intimidating, but frankly, what does this meeting have to do with it?
Men and their need for male validation.
I close my eyes and count to five, before a palm brushes against my shoulder, from the cheekiness I know very well that it is Dante, only he would be obnoxious to that extent.
I shook my shoulder to deflect his touch, I think he was saying something I didn't pay attention to, my brain made sure to block it out.
At some point in the conversation, two more chairs were pulled up to our table, I mentally cursed Ethan for saying it was okay for them to join us.
Maybe he didn't realize that Dante Osborn is a big jerk and that our boss isn't much better, or maybe he just doesn't care.
Either way, I can't look at Roman's face without thinking about the things my sister suggested, because it seemed like the dream solution, if he wasn't a living nightmare.
“ Did we get in the way of something? “ Dante pokes me “ You don't look very comfortable.”
“ Not at all," I force a smile.
“ We were just making small talk," Ethan replies, and for the first time I feel grateful for his attitude.
“ I didn't know you two knew each other, I've never seen you together before," Dante declares, his tone more interrogative than anything else.
“ We bump into each other from time to time," I cursed myself mentally for explaining something to him, "I shouldn't say anything to this man.
“ You should show up more at employee celebrations, if that's the way it is," I tried not to roll my eyes.
My boss didn't say anything, which made everything more unbearable.
“ I have to go," I get up from the table, slipping my bag over my shoulders, "I'll see you later.
“ I'll come with you," my boss says for the first time, and I almost fall backwards.
I leave my share of the money on the table and walk out without answering. I don't know if it was rude of me, but my mood was particularly sour right now.
I could feel his presence all the time beside me, which made my throat feel dry.
“ You really took the idea seriously," he said, stopping in front of the crosswalk.
I did the best I could do at that moment, I invoked the role of the clueless one.
“ What are you talking about? “ I put on my best confused expression.
“ This whole boyfriend thing.”
“ We are outside the company and definitely don't have to talk about it.”
“ Maybe it becomes a professional issue when everyone in the company is talking about my secretary.
I felt my blood boil, this was too much.
“ Maybe you should look for more professional employees than you currently have," I retorted.
Those gray eyes caught me in their orbit, as they always do.
“ Maybe I really should replace some employees.”
I felt my body freeze, that's it, he is going to fire me.
“ I need to talk to you, but I have things to deal with first," he simply lets out.
And with that the sign opens and he quickly walks through, leaving me there, planted on the spot.
I arrived at the company some time later, stamping my feet. I was acting like a child with problems, but in my defense the anger was beginning to consume me, what's wrong with the men in this place?
I locked myself in my office, which was actually the space in front of Roman's office, made as little noise as possible and avoided entering his office at all costs.
Around lunchtime, I had to go downstairs to get some folders, when I came back jammed with them, I sat down at my desk and started organizing each of the documents I needed for the meetings the following week.
Those words wouldn't leave my head, they rattled around in my brain until they gave me a headache, I don't know how to deal very well with waiting, anxiety gets on my nerves.
At some point between one folder and another I started cursing in Spanish, all the offenses I could think of.
“ What kind of bug has bitten you? “ Karen appears out of nowhere, and I jump out of my chair in surprise.
“ A millionaire bug," I replied bitterly, she laughed.
“ And tasty too? “ I looked at her reproachfully.
“ Remember that walls have ears," I crooned.
“ No joking now, what did Mr. Tasty do? - he asked, plopping down in the chair in front of me.”
“ He decided to have an opinion about my situation with the boyfriend search, and also may have thrown in my face that the whole company is talking about me.”
She throws back her long brown hair and brings her face close enough to me to say softly.
“ That's good buddy, you're famous, take advantage of it.”
“ I don't consider that kind of fame a good thing.”
She looked at me as if I had just run over a litter of helpless kittens.
“ What I'm trying to say is that maybe Esmeralda isn't so wrong," she explained, gesturing with her hand as she always does.
“ Oh no Karen here you come... - I whimpered, almost crumpling a sheet of paper in my hand.
“ I would find it highly suspicious if my boss was suddenly so interested in my love life, it's honestly not normal," she suggested, her eyebrows raised suggestively.
“ Maybe he just doesn't like gossip," I offer, but she doesn't seem satisfied with this explanation.
That is indeed true, I well remember watching his fits of rage when there would be some newspaper article involving the name of some lover of his, he hates to be involved in this kind of thing, not that he is involved with my life, of course.
I have also received many yellow and red cards for being caught on the cell phone with Esmeralda during breaks, whenever he could prevent some gossip he did.
On the other hand, I can understand, it must be horrible to always be in the media spotlight, he has no peace and everywhere he goes he attracts conversations with his name, this is kind of impossible to avoid when it comes to the world of millionaires.
I just couldn't see where my love life could be something that bothered him, I mean, he was always skeptical and rude to me, there is no plausible reason for all this interest.
“ Sometimes I don't know if you're just naïve, or if you're just plain dumb," she rolls her eyes.
I'm neither, I just refuse to believe in some things”
“ Come on, Nella, there's a lot of things in this situation that you're not seeing, maybe we can get these doubts out of your head.”
“ And what do you suggest? That I show up in his office without a bra and ask him if he wants to travel to Spain with me while pretending to be my fake boyfriend? For God's sake! “ I explode, waving my hands in the air.
Her expression is blank and I don't know why.
“ That was strangely specific “ says the voice, that voice that has been troubling my mind all day.
I want to die.
That's right, today is for sure my last day of life, I wonder, how is it possible for a single human being to be so unlucky as this?
I breathe in and out loudly before I pluck up the courage to turn to him.
There is a smile, almost imperceptible, something I never thought he was capable of, a small smile that distorts everything in my brain and makes my tongue freeze, all I can do is watch.
I have to agree with Karen sometimes, he is too hot.
“ Sir... “ I start to speak, but he interrupts me with his hand.
“ What have I said about calling me sir? “ he replies between his teeth, I managed to change his mood in just a second.
May God protect me.
“ I am sorry! “ I say exasperated “ I don't know how much you heard…
“ Believe me, I heard a lot.”
I look to the side for support from my friend, but only then do I realize what she has done, thrown me into the den of lions and left me to deal with them alone, a traitorous cretin.
She could have at least given some indication that he was there, but when it comes to her, I know it was probably on purpose, she always seems to want me to live an adventure that has a 200% chance of ending in tragedy.
I started to mentally pray, who knows if I begged hard he might forget all this, I will tell him that I am not to blame for anything and maybe I will put it on Karen's back.
She deserves it and I'm totally telling Dante about the erotic dreams Karen has been having about him, that's it, if I'm going to be fired, I'm going to drag her along.
“ I think it's time we had that talk “ he points with his hand into his office for me to enter.
This is one of those perfect moments for one of those tragedies to happen, if the ceiling fell on my head I would be really grateful.
Maybe I am exaggerating and being dramatic, but my brain is crashing, I can't cope with everything that has happened today.
I get up from my chair feeling my legs shaking, I walk into his office doing my best to fake fullness, I sit on the chair and hold my nose, because if he is going to fire me, I will do my best to get out of the situation.
Or not.
I heard the door close in a deafening thud, he entered my field of vision as he leaned against the side of the desk, his mesmerizing metallic eyes analyzed me from top to bottom.
“ What did all that talk outside mean? And I'm telling you up front, if you don't tell me the truth, I have other methods of getting it," he spoke with that creepy calmness, putting his hands in his pockets.
“ I have an extremely traditional and conservative family, my younger cousin is getting married, and they would make my life hell if I showed up there without anyone.
“ Go on “ she asked.
“ My soon-to-be ex-sister told my mother that we were engaged, and she hates our cousin, and frankly she's the type to take advantage, so in order not to be down on her luck my sister made it seem like our boyfriends, who don't even exist, were a big deal.
My cheeks were burning with embarrassment, Roman was paying attention to every word I said, and he shook his head encouraging me to continue.
“ My sister thought I could ask you, which is crazy I know, I told Karen this just to get it off my chest, now she's created a whole love story in her head that she believes is real," I huffed, putting my hands on my forehead.
“ Why me? “ he asked, looking very curious about this.
“ The truth?
“ The naked truth," he pointed out.
“ You're the kind of man who would not only shut my family up, but make my cousin fall hard to the ground," I shrugged.
Roman was silent for what seemed like hours, not looking away for anything, and I could only calculate the degree to which I was screwed.
“ Please don't fire me," I pleaded, "I promise that you will not hear any more of this kind of talk, it was a crazy thing that got out of hand, I will find a way to control things…
“ Marianella," he interrupted, "I won't fire you.
I let out the air that was trapped in my lungs, the relief that gripped my body was almost palpable.
”Thank you so much," I thanked him with a gigantic smile.
“ Actually, I can think of a way to help both of us. I have a proposal for you.”
MARIANELLAI blink what could be once, twice, or a hundred times, I am not sure, but I am probably crazy, after all I just heard my boss say that there is a solution in mind for our situation.This can only be in my head, what is this situation that would involve the two of us?He remains serious and apathetic, he is looking at me intently as if waiting for something, the gray orbs chasing every trace of my expression, I always feel watched and analyzed in his presence.I begin the failed attempts to say something coherent, I don't understand anything that happened, or rather I don't understand anything I heard.“ I am waiting for an answer, so make yourself at home," he says, without any irony or rudeness.“ I'm not sure I heard correctly," I try to argue.“ You heard perfectly what I said, every word," he shuts me up, that dominant voice invading my brain.“ What kind of situation would involve the two of us? “ I kick it out, getting a cross of the eyebrows I get when I'm being inso
ROMANI would sell my soul to the devil before I would marry Mikhelly, the daughter of my mother's best friend.She is the kind of snobbish and unscrupulous woman that I have been keeping away from for a long time, I wouldn't mind if she was a gold-digger, deep down everybody is, but the personality of this particular woman irritates me a lot.She feigns a delicacy and fragility worthy of an Oscar award that makes my mother fall in love with her, she is the perfect candidate in her eyes, she visualizes a romance with this ideal partner bullshit.Over my fucking dead body.I cursed every day, my father's past generations, that led him to be so closed minded and small, now I have to pay the price for that.Since my father passed away, I have taken control of 75% of his companies, which limits my business and prevents me from going further in my agreements, all because he believed that no man was a real man without a wife.After his departure, it was my mother's mission not to transfer t
MARIANELLAI did not get a good night's sleep, if at any time that night I could actually sleep at all.I tossed and turned, waiting for sleep to come, but it did not come, and when I got up it was still dark, a little after five in the morning.I wish I were in the habit of doing some morning exercise to discharge energy, but my sedentary spirit wouldn't allow it, so I brewed coffee and drank it.I am on my third cup.No one should drink this much coffee, but I didn't truly feel like a human being without a dose of caffeine that is considered a food crime, it's a mania I pulled from my father.I thought about my childhood and how different things were here from there, when I moved I had to abandon some old habits, besides the accent that only appeared in a few moments, I adapted as I needed to and this meant leaving a big part of myself behind.I grew up in a small house, but very comfortable and cozy, so we chose to have an apartment here, it reminds us a lot of our home in Spain, w
MARIANELLAWe came in his car, he usually uses his drivers and security guards, but today he didn't, I sat in the passenger seat and kept quiet.Not that I could speak, the sight of Roman driving seemed so eye-catching, it's no big deal, but on him it looks so masculine, I just discovered a new hobby by accident.He was so focused that maybe my presence went unnoticed, this innate confidence that my boss uses to handle everything is almost suffocating considering that I literally feel like a prey heading towards its predator.We stop in front of a restaurant, which I wouldn't normally go to alone, my salary doesn't support this kind of fun, not even if Esmeralda and I were to get together to pay for it.He unbuckles his seat belt and gets out of the car, just like that, without saying anything or waiting for me, I quickly unbuckle myself and force my legs to stick out, I won't give him the luxury of witnessing more nervousness than is stamped on my face.I watch as he throws the key t
MARIANELLAOn Saturday, the day after dinner, I woke up in a strangely good mood, with enough energy to tidy up the house, prepare the food, and have some time to sit on the veranda to study about business plans.I close my eyes as the refreshing breeze hits my face, the day was in very pleasant weather, I took the opportunity to prepare a cup of passion fruit tea, my favorite.The more I read about how to run my own business, the more enthusiasm builds up in my veins, I have waited so long for this moment.When I left my parents' home, I went to Seattle University to study fashion design, while Esmeralda went to study literature, only unlike her the doors didn't open so easily for me, my first job didn't work out and my life turned upside down.I still have traumas related to my boss from that time, I had weeks of hard work on the designs I prepared for that season, she took them and put them as if they were hers, my name was not included in anything, I never felt I had so little val
MARIANELLAMy sister is finding this whole idea wonderful, she said that I won the lottery, that I went for copper and found a diamond instead.I knew she wouldn't be against the idea, when I asked her if it would put me in the role of a profiteer she freaked out and said."Who cares? He's a millionaire it won't be missed by him, don't be an idiot to lose it."I try not to put my morals on the field because if I do, I'll end up coming home and marathoning some depressing romance series while feeling like a terrible person.Instead, I'm positioned right in the lobby of my building, endlessly researching inspirations for high society clothing, most of which I don't really like, I'm also not much for prints, I rarely wear them, which limits my path a lot.I have always been a woman of neutral tones, those that go with everything or that are basic enough to be worn alone, like black, beige and red.My current wardrobe is even a bit dull, but before all this I didn't see a need to invest i
MARIANELLAI am in a five hundred dollar cobalt blue velvet dress as Esmeralda makes a point of reminding me from minute to minute, sitting in some strange place that appears to be a nightclub, staring at the glowing ring on my finger as I swing my drink.I was convinced that I deserved to go out for a while and unload, yesterday I had a full day loaded with emotions that I wouldn't know how to put out, not that today was any different.Roman's advisor was determined to teach me a few things and explain what I should expect from now on, since the first news of our relationship had come out in a gossip magazine, it became as real as ever.I was also working on making my file with important information that my fiancé should know about me, besides trying to control my own family going crazy with the news, I received calls and messages all afternoon and from every type you can imagine."GIRL, YOU DEFINITELY IMPRESSED ME.”"For someone who had no plans to get married, you have caught the b
ROMANDuring the next week everything seems chaotic, I have been worrying about keeping everything under control since Marianella seems on the verge of a rage, even if she doesn't show it, I can feel her stress coming out in the form of smoke from her ears.If anything, she has been putting up with the heavy lifting, she no longer goes out unaccompanied because she now has reporters on her tail, it's sudden and shocking news, so until the rumors cool down, all I can do is keep her under supervision.We are a few days away from traveling to spend the weekend with her family, and literally racing against time, she has been working triple time, I never see her standing still, no matter how much she tries to hide it, she is trying to lighten it for my side.Now I also have another tightness in my ass, the kind that I can't get rid of easily. My mother.She naturally heard about it from the news that has been spreading like an epidemic, and now I get at least twenty calls a day from her, w