From Lies To Love

Chapter 2

The moment I shut the door behind me, I leaned against it, exhaling sharply. My pulse was still unsteady from the way Ryan had held me his hands firm at my waist, his breath warm against my skin.

Get it together. It’s just an act.

Shaking my head, I tossed my coat onto the couch and made my way to the kitchen, needing something anything to snap myself out of whatever ridiculous spell that moment had cast over me. I reached for a glass of water, but as I stood there, taking slow sips, my mind drifted back to the past.

Back to when Ryan Blackwood wasn’t my fake boyfriend when he was just my demanding, impossible-to-please boss.

Three Years Ago

I had been working at Blackwood Enterprises for eleven months and seventeen days when I finally snapped.

"Mr Blackwood, you cannot be serious," I said, standing in front of his sleek glass desk, barely managing to keep my voice even.

Ryan didn’t even look up from his computer. "I’m always serious, Emily."

I gritted my teeth. "It’s almost midnight."

"And?" He finally glanced up, his piercing gaze annoyingly unaffected by the late hour.

I gestured wildly toward the stack of papers he had just dropped on my desk twenty minutes ago. "And you want these reports on your desk by six a.m.? Do you realize that’s physically impossible?"

He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. "I don’t see the problem. You’re capable."

"That’s not the" I stopped myself, inhaling sharply. I had spent nearly a year putting up with his impossible deadlines, his never-ending list of demands, and his complete disregard for normal human hours.

But this? This was the last straw.

I slammed the stack of papers onto his desk. "I quit."

A beat of silence. Then, slowly, he tilted his head. "No, you don’t."

I narrowed my eyes. "Excuse me?"

"You don’t quit." He said it like a fact, like the idea itself was absurd. "You’re too stubborn for that. And you’re too good at this job to walk away from it."

I let out a sharp laugh. "Wow. That’s your response? You’re just assuming I’ll stay because I’m good at my job?"

"Yes." His confidence was infuriating.

I should have stormed out right then. I should have packed up my things and never looked back.

But instead, I just… stood there, glaring at him, waiting for something anything that would make me feel like I wasn’t just some replaceable cog in his perfectly structured machine.

His gaze softened for just a second so quickly I almost missed it. "Emily."

My breath caught. He had never said my name like that before like it actually meant something.

But then, just as quickly, the moment passed. His mask was back up, his expression unreadable. "Take the night off. I’ll see you tomorrow."

I should have walked away.

But I didn’t.

Present Day

I blinked, snapping back to reality.

Why was I thinking about that night now?

I had left a week after that argument. I had handed in my resignation (for real this time), packed up my things, and left Blackwood Enterprises behind. Left him behind.

And yet, here we were three years later, tangled in a ridiculous fake relationship that was starting to feel a little too real.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

This was a disaster waiting to happen.

And yet… I couldn’t seem to stop myself from falling right into it.

The Next Morning

I woke up with my phone buzzing obnoxiously beside me. Groaning, I reached for it, squinting at the screen.

Ryan Blackwood

I hesitated before answering. "What?"

"Good morning to you too, sweetheart," he drawled. I could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

I rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling. "What do you want, Blackwood?"

"First of all, you’re my girlfriend now fake or not, you might want to use my first name."

I huffed. "Fine. Ryan, what do you want?"

"That’s better," he said, sounding pleased. "Second, my grandmother invited us to brunch this weekend. You’re coming."

I sat up so fast I nearly dropped my phone. "Brunch? Already? We just had dinner with her!"

"She likes you," he said simply. "And she’s going to keep inviting you to things, so get used to it."

I groaned. "This wasn’t part of the deal."

"It is now," he said smoothly. "I’ll pick you up at ten."

"Ryan"

"See you then, sweetheart."

The call ended before I could argue.

I flopped back onto my pillows and let out a frustrated sigh.

What had I gotten myself into?