Her Fake Lover

Chapter 11

"No, no. That's impossible," said Emmeline swiftly without thinking. The answer that made everyone gasp, and Darren, furrowed his brows more seriously than anything he'd done since the start of dinner. Luckily Emmy realized that. "Em—I mean, we—we're both busy right now, too."

“Oohh,” Mr. Guillaume chuckled. He seemed to sigh in relief. "Ah, we understand that. And besides, it doesn't really matter whether you're getting married today or tomorrow, because the most important thing in a true marriage is readiness." He chuckled again.

Darren seems to have found his momentum. "What are you doing, um—Corbin?" he asked, putting on a smiling face—but a stiff smile. "May I know, what do you do? And ... where do you work?"

Everyone was silent for a moment hearing Darren's question that sounded so vocal. He asked excitedly ahead of the owner of the house. Lea looked up at him with a faint smile but showed a hint of surprise.

"Um—I just wanted to know," Darren said defensively from the critical stares Lea gave him.

"Oh," Lea said, "you're right, honey. Em—Darren just wanted ... to get to know you better, Corbin," Lea said later.

"Corbin is, ah—he's working on a piece to add to the collection of Karfis & Vin watches. Em—we're on a big project. We need to concentrate on a few things," said Emmeline. With a bit of a stammer, because she had to make up a story right then and there.

That answer apparently got the reward of a glare from Finn. Emmeline knew he must be surprised, because the story was not something they had all been prepared for in the first place. Moreover, Emmeline still remembered, based on the information Annaliese told her, Corbin did not like the jewelry and watch business. Emmeline realized, she looked more like someone who was looking for trouble.

"Well, that's interesting news," commented Mr. Guillaume.

"So do you work for Emmeline's company? You work for Emmeline?" hit Darren then.

Emmeline frowned. Whatever she said, Darren had been responding to her in a way she didn't like.

Corbin took a deep breath. He seemed tired, having to endure Emmeline's unexpected play. But he gave up because he couldn't do anything. "There are some things you don't understand," he said calmly, answering Darren's question. "Mr. Karfis," Corbin turned to Emmeline's father, "what actually happened was that I just quit my old job as a manager at an auto manufacturing company in Italy."

"Oh, that's a big decision," said Mr. Guillaume. "What are you going to do after this?"

"Hopefully Emmeline doesn't have to worry about you," Darren added. Emmelime closed her eyes, fighting back the urge to punch the man in the face.

Mr. Guillaume straightened his back, while tightly pressing his lips together. Darren's critical remark, Mr Guillaume knew it could cause trouble, and he didn't want to.

"Don't worry. I've held a number of shares in several companies in Italy for a long time. And I'm currently planning with a friend to start a new business in real estate."

"Ouw, a great career plan," Mr. Guillaume appreciated. He seemed to like Corbin's calm demeanor. Meanwhile, Emmeline, was silent for a moment hearing Corbin's answer.

Annaliese must not know about this, Emmeline thought. Anna had misunderstood her brother's financial condition. But it made Emmeline also start to think, then why did Corbin ask for three months to pay the compensation money she asked for, when it was possible for him actually—according to Emmeline—to be able to pay it directly. Then what was even more astonishing was that Corbin had let Emmeline suspect he didn't have enough money to pay, by accepting the offer to be her fake boyfriend.

Emmeline sighed uncomfortably. She began to feel, now it was Corbin who was actually in control of their game. There were things about Corbin that she didn't know.

Emmeline reached for the empty glass by her side without looking at it. Of course she didn't notice. She was daydreaming. Then Corbin, holding Emmeline's hand before she lifted her glass. Emmeline's gaze suddenly turned to him. Corbin poured the drink into Emmeline's glass quietly, and let her pick it up again. "What are you thinking about?" said Corbin.

Mrs. Jeanne smiled at them. So did Mr. Guillaume and so did Lea. Ignore Darren on this.

"Maybe Emmy is tired because she's been working all day at the office, Mom," said Lea.

"Ah—yes, that's true," Emmeline added briskly.

"But all your work went well, right, dear?" asked Mrs. Jeanne. "Nothing's wrong at the office, right?"

Emmeline was momentarily reminded of Chloe's complaint that day about a minor disruption in their business, but it wasn't a serious matter according to Emmeline, so she chose to say after a moment's thought, "Em ... yes, Mom. Everything is fine."

"Why do you look thoughtful, Emmy? Are you hiding something about the office?" interrupted Mr. Guillaume, looking suspicious.

Emmeline gasped. She looked at her dad spontaneously. "Um ... actually ... there's a bit of a problem, Dad," Emmeline confessed. "We ... heard some unpleasant things on the ground. We heard that someone was making efforts to persuade miners not to sell their diamonds to us. But we haven't investigated further."

"Oh, that's bad, Emmy," Lea said earnestly.

"How could something like that happen?" said Mr. Guillaume. "This problem, em—if not addressed, it can develop into a serious problem."

"Don't worry, Dad. Everything is still uncertain. We still need to investigate further. So far the supply of diamonds for our jewelry is still stable. We haven't had any major problems in purchasing raw materials."

"Whatever is going on, you have to stop the problem as early as possible. If in fact those unknown people fail to influence the miners, they could be trying to cause other problems at the production level," Corbin commented. Emmeline didn't expect him to comment, and although his comment was completely on point, Emmeline didn't want to think about the possibility of such a problem.

"No. They need an 'insider' to do that. That would be difficult," Emmeline argued.

Corbin quietly poured the drink again into Emmeline's glass, saying, "If I were you, I'd start being wary of everyone, Emmy."

Everyone fell silent watching Emmeline and Corbin's interaction. No one is willing to interrupt. Lea even put on an expression of obvious admiration at their interaction, while Emmeline focused on staring intently at what Corbin had just said. "I told you, don't doubt the integrity of Karfis & Vin employees," said Emmy. An expression of disapproval colored her face, while Corbin was unfazed. Emmy seemed to remember Corbin had done it once before, when they talked about the missing emerald ring.

Corbin retorted quietly. "I'm just warning you. You have to be able to see and identify the root of the problem, before it breaks out."

"Excellent," Mr. Guillaume interrupted. A small applause accompanied it. Meanwhile Mrs. Jeanne smiled. "I like the way you remind Emmy, son. Emmeline really needs someone like you, by her side."

Emmy was surprised, while Lea also smiled.

"I guessed that too from the start. The guy who was able to melt my sister must be the one who's quite capable of managing a bit of—ah, her stubbornness, and her overly independent tendencies," Lea said.

"What are you saying?" Emmeline doesn't accept it.

Mrs. Jeanne smiled. "All right, all right. I agree with your dad, honey," she said to Emmeline. "Looks like you've found the right person now."

"Mom, but I—"

"Ah, Corbin, you do seem to understand Emmeline's business quite well. I'm curious about what Emmy said earlier, that you will be making a new watch for Karfis & Vin. We seem to see another talent in you. Can you tell me about that?" asked Mr. Guillaume.

Corbin, took a deep breath, before turning to Emmeline with an implied annoyed expression.

***