FAKE DATING MR ARROGANT

ELARA'S POV “Sneaking in again?” A voice asked and I froze. Tariq. My work bestie. I turned slowly with a smile. It wasn’t my first time coming late, and I hoped I don't get queried one day. “You scared me,” I replied, walking towards him. But his smile faltered as I got closer. He leaned against the counter, arms crossed, eyes examining my face. I dropped my bag on the desk and released a tired sigh. “Good morning, Tariq.” “Your eyes are sunken.” He said, disregarding my greetings. “Again.” “Wow. Not even a ‘good morning to you too, El’.” “What's going on?” He pushed. Tariq and my best friend, Vanessa were the only ones who knew about my parents. “The nightmares came again.” I admitted. “Maya said I almost screamed down the house last night,” I mumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose in mental exhaustion. “f**k,” he murmured. “I’m really sorry, El.” “It's fine,” I shook my head, as though waking up every night with my heart racing was just… normal. “Have they reached out?” He asked after a few seconds of silence. My heart beat dropped. That was honestly the last thing I wanted. “No,” I replied. And I wanted to keep it that way. I didn’t know what I would do if my parents ever found out about where we were. “Elara,” Someone called for me. I turned to see Nina, one of the floor assistants rushing toward me. “You've got a client,” she breathed out. “Front section.” “Oh? Okay.” I nodded and quickly made to leave. “Another high profile individual. Be careful.” Nina advised, as I walked away. She was always wary of them. By the time I got to the front section, I spotted him immediately. It was hard not to. Expensive—That was the first word that came to mind. Not just his clothes, but him. He stood near the display rack like he owned the air around him. Tall, composed, and ridiculously handsome. I straightened my shoulder and walked over to him. “Good afternoon, sir,” I greeted, a professional smile in place. “You're welcome to…” “You're late,” he interjected, voice cold. I blinked. “I…” “I've been standing here for over five minutes,” he said while glancing at his watch like it was an enemy. “It's unacceptable, especially not from people like you.” “I was told to attend to you just a few seconds ago,” I explained, trying so hard to mask my fast growing irritation. And what the hell did he mean by ‘people like you’? He threw me a pointed glare. “I have no interest in hearing your silly excuses.” He dismissed. Oh, God, help me. I plastered a practiced smile on my face, reminding myself that good customer service was most important. “I’m sorry for the delay, sir. It won’t happen again.” I apologized, even though I wasn’t the least bit sorry. He stared at me for a few seconds, before looking away. “You're here now. Make yourself useful.” Such a disrespectful as*hole. “What exactly are you looking for?” I asked. “Something that fits,” he answered nonchalantly. I looked at his perfectly tailored suit. “Right,” I nodded, “Because clearly, that has been a struggle for you.” His jaw tightened, barely noticeable but I saw it. I felt satisfied. “You don't know me, do you?” He suddenly asked. “I don't need to know you to tell how much of an asshole you are.” I was so tired of playing it cool. I saw it clearly then. The irritation and sharp edge beneath his control. “Get someone else to attend to me,” He suddenly demanded. Surprisingly calm. Great. I nodded and walked off. After finding another colleague to attend to the disrespectful jackass, I returned to join Tariq and got busy with work. The rest of the day passed in a blur. By the time my shift ended, I had almost forgotten about Mr A-hole. Almost. I was packing up to leave, when one of the interns told me that the manager wanted to see me. “Now?” I asked. She nodded positively. I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed toward the manager’s office. Mr. Danton barely looked up when I entered. “I see you're retiring for the day,” he said, still focused on his phone. “Yes sir.” Eventually, his eyes left his phone and landed on me. “That's good,” he muttered, more to himself. “Just make sure you don't come back.” I stopped breathing for a second. I thought I heard wrong. “Sorry… what?” “You’re being let go, Elara.” He said plainly. My brain struggled with catching up. “W..w..why?” I stuttered. He sighed, like I was an inconvenience. “Mr Sebastian Rowe is one of our highest clients. He's a major shareholder too.” I raised my brows in confusion, but then it hit me. The disrespectful as*hole from that morning? “Yes,” he replied like he was reading my mind. “And you thought it was wise to disrespect him.” “He… he was the one who disrespected me. I was only doing my job,” I defended. “You were being insolent,” he shot back. “We don't tolerate that here.” God, help me. I was losing my mind at that moment. “You can leave now,” Mr Danton dismissed. This was really happening. Oh God. My lips quivered as I tried to hold back those stupid tears. I didn’t deserve this! “Ho.. how about my pay, sir?” I asked, still according him some level of respect. “What pay?” He glared at me. Everything could happen today, but not this. For the sake of God. “I have worked twenty one days this month, Mr. Danton. I am supposed to be paid for those days.” “You really have some guts, don’t you?” His glare hardened. “Get out of my office this instant!” He barked. ********************* I opened the door quietly, praying that my little sister, Maya was at the neighbours because I needed to be alone. Tears brimmed up my eyes as I wondered how many more days Maya and I could manage with the little savings I had left. I still couldn’t believe Mr Danton had refused to pay me a dime. “Oh my God! El, is everything okay?” It was only then that I realized I had a visitor in the house. Vanessa, my best friend since childhood. The only person who really knew what I've been through. She stood from the chair and ran to me, pulling me into her arms. Unable to help myself, I broke down. The tears just came pouring. She had no idea what had happened, but was patient enough to pacify me. When my cries finally died down, I pulled away and looked around the tiny space I called a home. “Where's Maya?” I asked. “At the neighbours.” I sighed and sat down quietly. “I was fired,” I broke the silence. “What, what happened?” She gasped and sat beside me. I shrugged. “Apparently, talking back at rich men is prohibited.” She remained silent. I turned to her. She looked so worried, and I knew there was even more trouble waiting in store for me. “What's wrong?” I asked, but she handed me a piece of mail I only just noticed she had been holding. Clearly, it was for me. I opened it slowly and my heart froze at the first words. LEGAL NOTICE CUSTODY CLAIM My knees went weak immediately. They had found us. “How…?” My voice broke. Vanessa hugged me immediately, and the tears came pouring again. My life was crumbling before me, and I didn’t have any form of control.