Pretend Affair With The CEO

002: BROTHER'S BEST FRIEND

~~Hazel~~

For a long moment, I just stare at the screen, unmoving. All the emotions I keep bottled down in the cafe are fast rising to the top, threatening to spill. The room is suddenly too small for me to breathe. How does the day keep getting worse?

Against common sense, I click on a search engine and type the words ‘Voileta Ashford’ into it, my fingers flying over the keyboard. It doesn’t take a second before all the information I can find on her comes up, and it doesn’t make me feel any better either. She’s from one of the richest families in the country. A beautiful woman who looks like an angel that dropped straight from heaven. She’s prettier, more established, famous. Everything I'm not. And now I have to spend a week with her and Noel, covering their wedding. His friends will all be there, the same people that never hid their distaste or the lowlife Noel was seeing.

Part of me considers turning down the job as a point person for his wedding, but I know it’s stupid to do that. This could be the big break in my career that I actually need. I’m left with no choice but to go to a place where I'm not welcomed and watch him and his fiancee act all lovey dovey all week.

Unable to hold my tears back anymore, I close the file and spring out of my seat, dashing out of the office blindly. I can’t afford to break down in front of my coworkers. Going into the break room, I shut my eyes tight and sink to the floor, my frame racking with my sobs.

“This is work,” I mumble to myself. “Just work.” I don’t have to worry about seeing Noel frolic around with his fiancée, or the mockery I’ll get from his rich friends when they see me there. I don’t have to worry about the tears I’ll shed when I compose the perfect article to make his wedding look like a fairytale. Everything will be fine as long as I keep my feelings in check.

“Rough day?” A male voice breaks into my thoughts, causing my eyes to shoot open. The voice comes out of nowhere, making me flinch. Hastily, I wipe my eyes with the back of my palms, head lowered. Why on earth did I not check to see if I had company before letting my sadness overwhelm me?

Sniffling, I say quickly, “Sorry. I didn’t realize anyone was here.”

A shadow falls over me. A second later, a handkerchief is dangling right before my face. Crisp and white with embroidered edges and expensive cologne emanating from it. Without thinking twice, I grab it and start to clean tears off my face. “Thanks.”

For a second, there’s only silence. But just as I start to raise my head, the man speaks out. “Claire Blackwood?”

The name causes me to freeze. My heart stops, then starts an erratic rhythm against my ribcage, and I forget how to breathe for a second. No one has called me that name in years. No one should. Slowly, I lift my head.

A man is leaning against the coffee counter, one leg casually slung over the other, a camera hanging from his neck. His face is clouded with amusement as he stares down at me. Shock washes over me as I rise to my full height instantly.

Jace Callahan. My brother’s best friend. A boy– Scratch that. The person standing before me is no boy. He is a man, one I haven't seen in eight years.

“It’s really you,” he says casually. “I thought I was losing my mind for a second.” His gaze sweeps over me, assessing me as if he’s trying to wonder how the girl he knew has turned into the woman standing before him. For a moment, I'm tempted to deny that I'm not the person he thinks I am, but if Jace is anything like I remember, then that’s not the right thing to do. So, I force a smile.

“Long time no see, Mr…”

He chuckles, visibly amused by my formality. “Jace, Claire. Don’t tell me you don’t remember me.”

“I don’t go by that name anymore.”

I watch his reaction, wait for that judgemental look I've seen on the faces of people who knew what happened. Jace was close enough to be family back then. He might have fallen off the face of the earth without giving anyone a heads up, but it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t know everything that went down. It was everywhere in the news.

The reaction I'm expecting doesn’t come. Instead, his brows furrow in confusion. “You changed your name? Why?”

It’s either Jace is clueless, or he’s pretending to be. I go for the latter, because there’s no way he’s asking why I changed my name as if he lives under a rock.

My eyes dropped to the camera hanging from his neck. “Why are you here?”

“What’s your new name?” he counters. I hesitate, reluctant to give him a reply. If we won’t be seeing each other after today, maybe it’s best I don't answer that question.

“I have to go.” Brushing past him, I reach for the knob.

But just before I can twist it, Jace's hand falls on mine. “Wait.”

I trail my gaze to his hand on mine, then to his face. He takes a step back, brows furrowed. “I'm just glad to see a familiar face as soon as I return to the country. Can you spare a few minutes to talk?”

Talking is the last thing I want to do at the moment. He probably just wants to pry into my life, pretend to care about me and ask questions about the case. The more I think about it, paranoia sets in. I glance at the camera again. What if he’s a reporter who’s desperate for sensitive stories like mine? What if he wants to take advantage of his former relationship with my brother to draw people's attention to me again?

“I’m busy, Mr Callahan,” I say sharply. “I am swamped with work, so unfortunately, I won’t be able to talk to you.”

A puzzled look flashes across his face at my hostile tone. Just as he parts his lips to reply, the door creaks open. Zoey walks in, an empty coffee mug in hand. A frown pops up on her face as she trails her eyes over me. Her gaze darts to Jace, then her annoyance is replaced with recognition.

“Oh, good. I see you two have met,” she lets out, gesturing with her mug. “Hazel, this is Mr Callahan, the photographer for the Sterling-Ashford project. Since you’ll be spending time together all week, you should get acquainted.”

With that, she makes her way to the coffee machine to fill her cup, leaving me reeling from the information she just dropped.

Great! I haven’t even recovered from breaking up with my boyfriend and finding out I'm covering his wedding, now there’s more trouble. I have to be stuck with my brother’s best friend on this trip too.

And judging by the mischievous glint in his eyes, I already know this is a disaster I can never be prepared for.