My Fake Billionaire Boyfriend (on hold)

TJ'S POV   Pushing in the door of my favourite coffee shop I groaned as my phone rang in my bag, adjusting my laptop and files I pulled my bag around and searched for it, letting out a frustrated sigh as it stopped just as I found it. “Rough day?” I looked up to see Blake the guy that owns this place holding out a coffee for me. “You can say that again, thanks Blake you’ve no idea how much I need this coffee right now,” I replied and took it from him. “Are you sticking around?” He asked, “yes, I’ll be in my usual corner for a while,” I chuckled. He chuckled too and turned back to the coffee machine, “that one is on me, sit down I’ll join you on my break and you can tell me about that viewing this morning.”  “Thanks Blake, I’ll get the next one,” I smiled and walked to my usual table down the back away from everyone. This was my routine, every day I’d come here after work and sit here for an hour or two getting myself ready for the next day. Blake was almost always here, I think maybe twice I’d come in and he wasn’t here. We'd become close and would talk for hours, he was a really nice guy that always listened to me rant or complain....god bless his patience.  A little while later I looked away from my laptop as my phone rang to see my moms name come up. “Hey mom,” I greeted. “Hey sweetie, I just tried to call you a while ago,” she replied. “I know, I’m sorry, I’m swamped I’m not even home yet I was gonna call you when I got in.” “You’re working too hard Tara,” she sighed, “you need to give yourself a break and have some you time.” I rolled my eyes, this was a daily conversation, “I just started my own business mom, I’m gonna be busy until it’s up and running properly and I get more staff in....did you call for something?” I asked, I didn’t mean to sound rude but I’d an army of stuff to get ready for the morning.  “Your sister has arranged a dinner party here Saturday, your brothers are coming too. She wants both families to spend a bit of time together before the wedding.” “This Saturday?” I sighed, “mom, I’ve back to back viewings until four.” “It’s your sisters wedding Tara, cancel them or something,” my mom replied in an annoyed tone. “Mom, I’ve worked my ass off to get where I am now, I’m sorry I can’t just cancel them. Do I really have to come? It’s not like I’m missing the wedding or anything.” “Tara do it for your sister,” she replied. “Fine,” I huffed, “I’ll drive down after my last appointment.” “Great,” she said happily, “I’ve arranged for Greg Knight to be your date, he’ll be here at six.”  “What? Why would you do that? Call him and cancel it!” I shrieked and looked up as Blake sat down across from me. .... I held my finger up to signal one minute, “mom cancel it, I told you before about doing this to me. I don’t need your help...I’m already dating someone,” I lied before I could stop myself. “You are? Why didn’t you tell me? What’s his name? Are you going to bring him?” she rambled.  I groaned and bit on my lip, why do I do this to myself? “uh,” I started and stared at Blake as an idea popped into my head. “His name is Blake, I’m not sure if he can come he's busy too.” I cringed as Blake smirked back at me and shook his head in amusement, ‘sorry' I mouthed and shrugged. “What does he look like? Where does he work? Where did you meet him?” she asked. I studied Blake for a minute...may as well keep up the charade, “he’s tall, dark hair, handsome, blue eyes, treats me well. He's sweet and makes a lot of time for me, he owns his own coffee shop it’s actually where we met....I gotta go mom, someone is here to see me,” I lied. “Call me later and tell me more about him,” she said excitedly. “I will, and you call Greg and cancel,” I said and hung up.  “I’m so sorry Blake, I couldn’t get her off the phone. My mom is crazy, she arranged for a guy that I hate so much to be my date for this stupid dinner party my sister has organised. I had to say I was dating someone to get her to drop it....I couldn’t think of anyone else to describe,” I said as I blushed a little. “What’ll happen when you turn up alone?” he chuckled. “Never thought that far, Ah I’ll say he's busy or something.” Blake chuckled again, “what happens if I ever meet your parents in here?” “They won’t be here, they never visit me....how was Nadine's birthday party?” I asked changing the subject.  “Great,” he said sarcastically, “caught her banging one of her exes in the bathrooms.” My eyes went wide “what? Her ex? Why was he even there? I’m so sorry Blake,” I said and patted his hand. He shrugged and smiled quickly, “she said they were just friends that he had a new girlfriend and I’d nothing to worry about. I didn’t buy it, I knew something was there but I threw myself into this place hoping the feelings would go away....it was only four months, I kinda knew deep down it wasn’t gonna last so I’m not too upset.” I nodded sympathetically and patted his hand again, “my last boyfriend cheated on me with a waitress from my birthday party, my dad opened the bathroom door and the whole room saw him f**k her against the wall. I know how you feel, I was humiliated and felt like such an i***t. d**k said he thought it was me coz she had a black dress on.”  Blake chuckled and looked up at me, “so we both suck at relationships?” “Nah,” I smiled, “the losers that lost us do.” He shook his head and sat back in his seat, “tell me about today’s viewings?”  ....  Two days had gone by and I was even more than swamped, it was so bad that I had to cram twenty viewings in today, it was eight pm and I’d just come from my last one. I pushed the door in to the coffee shop to see Blake zooming around looking stressed out of his head. “What’s going on? Why is it so busy?” I asked looking towards the queue of impatient people. “Sorry TJ, I can’t talk right now, both my evening shift called in sick, I’m by myself,” he said quickly as he hurried back behind the counter with an armful of cups and plates.  Sighing I walked behind the counter and dumped my stuff under it. Grabbing an apron I slipped it over my head and tied it around my waist, “where do you want me?” he looked at me and his eyes went wide as he looked me up and down, “you’re serious?” He finally asked. “Yes, I worked in a coffee shop part time while I was in school so you don’t even have to show me anything,” I replied. He smiled widely and hugged me tight, “thank you so much TJ you’re the best,” he said pulled back. “Can you help me clear the queue?” “sure,” I nodded and walked to the counter, “sorry about the wait, what can I get you?” “Two Frappuccino’s one with no cream,” the girl replied. I nodded and grabbed two cups, “that’ll be eight dollars please.”  About half an hour later the customers had all been taken care of and myself and Blake were clearing tables bringing everything into the back. Dumping a pile of plates on the sink I wiped my hands on my apron and walked back out to the front. I jumped as a cup appeared under my nose, “hot chocolate just the way you like it, thank you so much TJ,” he said and kissed me on the cheek. “Thanks,” I said and took it from him, “why don’t you sit down and take a break, I can clear the rest of the tables.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and guided me out from behind the counter, “you’ve been working all day you sit,” he replied. I turned in his arms and looked up at him, “you’ve been here since six Blake, you need a break.” He chuckled and kissed me on the cheek again, “you saved the day I’m fine now.”  “Aww, don’t they look so cute together,” a voice cooed. I turned around to tell them we weren’t actually a couple but the words caught in my throat and all the air left my body, “mom? Dad?” I said wide eyed. Damn it!!!!! “W-what are you doing here?” I stuttered out and looked up at Blake who stood staring at them wide eyed still with his arms around me, he was so gonna kill me.   .....  “Your mom couldn’t stop talking about your new bloke, she insisted we drove up to meet him,” my dad said and pulled me into a hug. “Julie Carter,” my mom said holding out her hand, “you must be Blake, this is my husband Kevin.” “Blake Johnson,” he replied and shook my moms hand as I cringed while I watched on. “It’s nice to meet you, TJ has told me a lot about you.”  “You too Blake, this is a lovely place you have here,” my mom smiled as she looked around. “Thank you Julie, why don’t you three grab a table and I’ll get coffees sorted,” he smiled before he walked back behind the counter. “I’ll go help him,” I said and followed him, “Blake I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, they never come to see me, I’m sorry, I’ll fix it,” I rambled. “Relax,” he chuckled and put cups on the tray, “one hour being a fake boyfriend won’t kill me, I owe you so I don’t mind.”  “You don’t owe me, I’ll tell them, you don’t have to do this Blake,” I replied panicked. “TJ,” he said and put his hands on my shoulders, “it’ll be fine okay, just calm down. I know enough about you by now to get through this.” “Fine,” I blew out, “I owe you a few drinks then,” I said and grabbed the tray. “My mom likes chocolate chip muffins, my dad likes those custard tartlets...you know what I like,” I added and walked back to the table.  He joined me a minute later with the cakes and placed them down, walking around the table he sat down beside me, “here you go beautiful,” he smiled and placed a plate down. I looked down and laughed, “Blake I can’t eat all that,” I giggled and pointed to the large slab of chocolate cake in front of me. He chuckled and picked up a fork, “that’s coz we're gonna share babe, it was the last one.” I raised an eyebrow and went to reply but stopped when I saw my mom watching us with a smile. Working up the courage I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, “thank you baby,” I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder, “see mom, always taking care of me.”  She smiled wider and looked over at him, “you’ll join us this weekend for Samantha’s dinner party won’t you?” “I’m afraid I can’t make it this weekend Julie, TJ already asked I’m sorry I’m just too busy at the moment,” he replied. My mom’s smile dropped from her face, “can’t you take a weekend off and escort your girlfriend to a family dinner? I mean it’s only a coffee shop, can’t someone cover you?” she asked. “Mom, don’t push, he said he's busy I told you he might be,” I said and sent an apologetic look to Blake . He dropped his hand under the table and squeezed my knee, “actually Julie, it’s nine of these and a chain of hotels, I’m super busy at the moment.”  .....  I managed to stop the surprised gasp that wanted to leave my mouth, he's my boyfriend I’m supposed to know this stuff. My mom’s eyes went wide as she looked from Blake to me then back to Blake, “you own nine coffee shops and hotels?” He nodded and looked at me with a smile, “this is my favourite coffee shop, I met TJ here. I’m always here because she comes in every day and I know I’ll get to see her, even if it’s just for a few minutes or an hour I still get to see her every day.”  Wow, that was smooth, he really has a way with words. My mom smiled again and picked up her coffee, “you’re onto a good one there Tara. I’m glad I forgot to cancel with Greg though, he can be your date this weekend instead.” “Mom,” I groaned, “forgive me Julie,” Blake cut in, “TJ is a grown woman who can make her own decisions, she has a boyfriend and doesn’t need a date, she can go by herself.”  “She’ll be the only one without a date,” my mom huffed. “Mom, like Blake said, I have a boyfriend and I find it highly disrespectful that you’d even suggest I go with another man while he sits beside me,” I said angrily. “Yeah, drop all this date business Julie,” my dad said. “She doesn’t need you to sort her love life out. I’ve warned you to stay out of it, so the bloke is busy, he got three days notice he won’t be the only one not there.”  My mom sat back and crossed her arms, “she’s the brides sister, he should be there.” “Oh put a sock in it mom!” I yelled and slammed my hands down on the table, “ it’s a bloody dinner! keep this up and I won’t be there either!” My dad chuckled and stood up, “you tell her sweetie, on that note, we'll leave it there,” he said pulling my mom to her feet, “see you on Saturday TJ! Nice to meet you Blake!” he called as he ushered my mom out the door before she could say anything else.....I pitied my dad sometimes.  “Nice to meet you too!” he called after them. “Bye dad!” I called as the door closed. “Blake I’m so sorry,” I groaned and scrubbed my hands over my face, “my mom is hard work.” “I can see that,” he chuckled, “don’t worry about it, we got through it,” he said and stood up, “I better start closing this place up.” “I’ll help you, you do out here I’ll load the dishwashers and clean up back there....then I’m going for a beer,” I muttered and walked into the back. “Forget about her TJ!” he called after me.  My phone beeped as I walked by it, it was a message from my mom.....oh lord Jesus help me!  I changed my mind, I think Blake is very rude and not good for you at all. It's not like I asked you to sleep with greg! He's jealous and possessive, next thing you know he won't even let you talk to us. Get rid of him Tara!!  I was lost for words, I couldn't even reply! Throwing the phone down I scoffed and went back to what I was doing. .....  After locking up Blake decided to join me in the bar across the street, we now sat with burgers fries and beers. “I’m paying for this after putting you through that torture “ I grumbled. “No you won’t, you dug me out of a hole, I’m paying,” he replied. “Whatever, we'll sort it later,” I said waving my hand. “You never told me you owned more than one coffee shop.” “You never told me your name was Tara,” he shot back.  “My name is Tara-Jayne Carter, I hate it so I go by TJ, have since I was a kid,” I replied. He nodded and took a swig of his beer, “Tara-Jayne doesn’t suit you at all, it’s cute, but doesn’t suit you....I like TJ better. What do you introduce yourself to clients as?”  “Miss Carter or just Tara, depends who it is,” I replied. “Miss Carter,” he sniggered and took a bite of his burger. “I know it makes me sound old but some of my clients are old and call me miss or mam so it works. The middle age group call me Tara, the younger couples just call me TJ,” I chuckled. He nodded and continued to eat, after a few minutes he pushed his plate away and picked up his beer. “No one knows I own what I do unless you’re really close to me. It’s my way of protecting myself from anyone that’s trying to worm their way in just to get something from me,” he said.  “Not even Nadine?” I asked curiously, it did make sense, I knew where he was coming from. My parents had money growing up, we had the best of everything. Every kid on the street wanted to be our friends. Every boy in high school wanted to date me....not one of them are still around now. Well, except for my actual real friends which is like five people.  "Not even Nadine, I always have this worry that they somehow know I have money and were only sticking around hoping I’d give them something. With Nadine I knew from the start that this was only a fling, she wasn’t interested in listening to me talk about the coffee shop or anything else. She never asked how my day was, she never called me first or text or arranged dates it was always me,” he sighed. “Whenever we did go out she never put her hand in her pocket, not once. She actually gave me a list of presents she wanted for her birthday and just said I should get her one but I could tell she was hoping I’d get it all for her.”  “I hope you didn’t...Didn’t she ever see your house?” I asked curiously, “I mean if you have money I’m sure you live in a nice house.” He laughed and turned in his seat, “you’re gonna think I’m crazy here but, I bought an apartment nearby and would only take her there if she wanted to have a night in or stay over.....sometimes I stay there when I’m in early or finished up too late.”  ....  I stared at him for a minute before leaning closer to him, “if you don’t trust easy why are you telling me?” he smiled and leaned in closer, “Coz Tara,” he chuckled, “I’ve known you almost a year now and I can tell you’re a genuine nice person, I trust you.”  “Wow, I feel so privileged,” I giggled and picked up my beer, “and don’t call me Tara,” I added. He chuckled and sat back in his chair, “so your mom doesn’t like me now and thinks I’m trying to control you.” I laughed and nodded, “you shouldn’t have told her you owned all that, she'll tell all the neighbours and her friends. My mom is the main reason I moved so far away, she was constantly trying to set one of us up with someone. She tried to set me up with the guy that was packing our groceries one day."  “She didn’t like my sister in law so she called my brother’s ex to a family party and tried to humiliate her and get my brother to break up with her in front of the whole family.” “No way! What did your brother do?” he asked. “He let my mom have it and called her a horrible person, took his wife and left, they moved out of state two weeks later,” I giggled. “I know what she’s like Blake,” I sighed. “She’s gonna have this smug look on her face when I walk in the door and Greg is gonna be there no matter what I or anyone else says to her.”  “Good thing you’ll have me on your arm, and don’t worry, my name is not Johnson, she’ll never find me if she looks me up,” he chuckled. “What?” I asked snapping my head to him. He chuckled and moved a little closer to me, “ my real name is Blake Cassidy and I’ll go with you to the dinner party.” “No, you don’t have to Blake, my mom will try humiliate you in front of my whole family. She’ll tell them all you’re possessive and jealous making it look like she's worried about me.”  “I can handle myself, plus I need a break from this place. I can’t even remember the last time I did something like this,” he said gesturing between us. “It’ll be fun to wind your mom up too,” he chuckled. I giggled too and hugged him tight, “thank you Blake, I promise I won’t let her make you feel uncomfortable or anything.” “TJ don’t worry about me, I really can handle myself, come on,” he said and stood up. “Let me drop you home, we both have busy days tomorrow.”  I groaned and grabbed my stuff, “I’m so not prepared for tomorrow,” I said as I flung a few bills down for our food, “food is paid for, let’s go,” I said and shrugged on my coat. “I get the next one then, we'll need to swap numbers and sort out this weekend,” he said as we walked down to his car.  I did have my own car but chose to leave it at my office that was two blocks from the coffee shop with the intentions of walking back for it after a coffee, but then Blake was stuck, my parents showed up, we had to clean up then I got hungry and it was now eleven pm. “Do we not already have each other’s number?” I asked as he pulled away.  “No,” he chuckled, “we’ve never needed it before.” “And here I was thinking we were good friends,” I giggled. He chuckled and turned a corner, “we are now coz I trust you...where am I bringing you?” “Oh yeah... Hazelwood please,” I replied.  ....  Pulling up at my house something dawned on me, “damn it,” I groaned and banged my head off the headrest. “What is it?” he asked. “I’m gonna have to get a taxi in the morning, my car is back at my office, I should have just driven myself, I was just being lazy,” I huffed. “I come by here every morning, I can pick you up,” he offered.  “Thanks, but I’ll be leaving at five thirty, I’ve a few interviews starting at seven before I go off for viewings.” “I’m in at six, it’s not a problem TJ,” he said and reached into his pocket, “here this is my number, save it and text me so I have your number. That way I can text you when I’m here,” he said handing me a card. “Thank you Blake, I really owe you for this, night,” I smiled and climbed out. “Night! I’m just gonna wait here until you’re inside!” he called after me. “Thanks friend!” I giggled as I walked to my gate, “I’ll text you in a while!” I added and waved as I walked up my front steps.  Closing the door behind me I kicked off my shoes and walked along to my kitchen. Dumping my stuff I yawned and clicked the kettle on, I still had work to do. I jumped a mile when my phone rang on the table. Seeing my eldest brother’s name flash on the screen I sighed heavily and picked it up. “Danny?” I greeted.  “Hey lil sis, mom is on a mad one calling us all, care to fill me in?” he replied with amusement in his voice. “God damn woman,” I growled “she told me she’d arranged a date for me for Sam's party so I had to tell her to cancel that I was dating someone.” “You’re dating a guy?” he cut in. “Not now Danny,” I groaned, “anyway, I told her about him then her and dad turned up at his coffee shop. Mom insisted they met, thank god I was there. They hit off well and everything was fine, until mom mentioned the party. He said he couldn’t come and she had one of her little tantrums.”  “I can only imagine" Danny chuckled, “what happened then?” “Danny she had the nerve to tell me in front of him that she never cancelled the date she lined up for me and he would still be my date. Blake couldn’t have been nicer to her explaining that I was his girlfriend and he didn’t feel comfortable with me being on a date with another man,” I ranted.  I blew out a deep breath and started again, “Dad took over after I flipped, they left and she texts me saying she didn’t like him that he was jealous and possessive and he was trying to control me! I didn’t even text her back.” Danny chuckled again, “she was on the phone crying that she was worried about you, he’s controlling you already and she’s afraid soon you won’t be allowed talk to us. I didn’t buy it, the others won’t either we all know what she's like.”   “Such a drama queen,” I huffed. “So this guy is called Blake huh? What’s his second name?” he asked. “You’re not doing a background check on him Danny, I swear to you he’s a nice guy and treats me well.” “I’m sure he does, but I still want to know who my little sister is dating.” “You’ll find out Saturday, he saw how worked up I was getting so he's coming now....night Danny, I love you,” I yawned. “Love you too kid, get to bed, can’t wait to see you,” he said and hung up.  Just as soon as a put my phone down it started ringing again, I looked down to see my second eldest brother’s name on the screen. She must be working her way through them, sighing I cancelled the call and turned my phone off. I have five brothers and two sisters who no doubt will all be calling....my mom really was off her rocker.