Chapter 4: A Pretend Girlfriend
1373 Words
Carmella’s POV
“Oops.” Michael gave us a sheepish look. “You two aren’t exes or something—?”
“NO!” we shouted in unison, and I glared at the man in front of me. He glared right back.
I hadn’t even noticed there were other people in this office, and they all rushed out immediately with Michael, which just pissed me off. Get back here, you idiots!
“Well, it’s been so long, Carmella Sinclair. Still acting all high and mighty like before?” He smirked, and I could see a vein about to pop on his forehead since he saw me.
“Well well, Jayden Griffith. You’re the CEO of this company now? I thought you were still a loser.” I said, taunting him.
I heard a “Witwew!” from outside, so I’m sure that was Michael, the weird i***t. And were they listening right now? What a pain in the ass.
“Don’t tell me you’re still mad because I was a valedictorian in grade 10?”
“Ha! I was sick, that’s why my grades dropped. What about you — did you work hard because you couldn’t beat me in Grade 12? Who gave the congratulatory speech again?”
There were literal imaginary sparks between us, so neither of us broke eye contact.
Right, now that I’m seeing him again after so long, I can admit he’s become a ridiculously handsome man. Well-dressed in a suit, clean haircut, perfect jawline, and Cupid’s-bow lips. Tall enough that he could— kidding! Is he Apollo? Where’s the shrimp I knew before?
He noticed me staring, so he smirked and crossed his arms. “Done staring?”
“Beats me.”
“You and your crude mouth. I didn’t miss it.”
“Neither did I miss yours.”
There we go again, glaring daggers at each other. He broke it first and sighed. “So what are you doing here? Why are you with Michael?”
“Really? You’re really asking that? He’s the reason there’s chaos downstairs because he wanted to hire a secretary for you, and of all people, he picked me—”
He slammed his hand on his desk and I looked at him, startled. “What?! Secretary? I don’t need one. Wait… Argh…” He angrily ran a hand through his hair.
Wait… that’s hot. Pssh, stop it, you perverted Carmella. Remember, he’s your enemy.
“Sorry for the inconvenience.” He said it lazily. “And for Michael’s actions earlier. I’ll just have him take you outside. Apologies.” There was zero sincerity in his voice, which just annoyed me.
“Hold on.”
“What?”
“My one thousand?”
He gave me a weird look but just pulled out his fat wallet. Wow, credit cards, and he took out five thousand?! Well, uhm… okay then.
“Here. Don’t come back, okay?”
Rude! After what they did to me? I grabbed the money with a scowl and he didn’t even let go, so we ended up fighting over it.
“Hey, that’s my money, damn it, it’ll rip!”
“Say thank you first!”
Because I didn’t want the money to tear — he’s a billionaire, 5k means nothing to him! — I let him snatch it away. I almost cried while he waited for my thank you.
He can drop dead!
“Where’s—”
“Never mind! I’m not money hungry. Bye!”
I left the office. I was right — the people from earlier were listening, including that weird Michael! I glared at them and walked away.
But then I remembered I didn’t know my way around here, so I went back to Michael, who was grinning at me.
“Yes, babes—”
“Either you escort me out, or I kick your?” My eyes went to his crotch area as I threatened him.
Michael immediately covered his crotch, along with the two handsome guys beside him. The beautiful woman behind him just smirked at what I said.
“Right this way, ma’am.”
“Carmella Sinclair, get back here!”
I immediately dragged Michael and apologized to the people behind him when my enemy inside started yelling at me inside the office. If they’re important, I should be polite in case they try to take me down for being rude. Kidding!
“Ouch, madam!” I let go of poor Michael’s collar. No backbone. Being soft on women will be the death of him.
I rolled my eyes and told him off. “You’re the one who brought me to this palace! I didn’t even get my 5k.” I pouted. But I couldn’t deny the relief I felt inside.
Was it because I saw Jayden again? Even if we’re enemies, I was happy to see that his life is doing well now, unlike before. Good thing he’s a CEO of a huge company.
Michael seemed to notice and asked, “Can I ask if you know Jayden?”
I smiled casually. “Long story.”
—
“What was that, Jayden? Who was that gorgeous sss?” Lina immediately asked once they entered the billionaire CEO’s office.
They couldn’t believe they’d just seen the coldest man they knew bickering with a beautiful woman.
Jayden shook his head at his female friend’s comment and just sat in his office chair. So they were gossiping? Typical friends. “Long story. We were rivals in high school.”
“You mean you know each other?” Marco raised an eyebrow, clearly assessing the situation.
“Yeah. Know each other very well,” the man said sarcastically.
He sighed, unable to believe he’d see the woman he’d call his academic, sports, and extracurricular rival again. Fate really has a sense of humor.
But he also felt relief. Was it because he saw her again and her personality hadn’t changed? Earlier, he’d also noticed how beautiful the emerald-eyed woman was. He’s the type who doesn’t look at women easily, but Carmella Sinclair was genuinely one of the most beautiful women he’d ever met.
Jayden shook his head at the thought. Whatever.
“How well do you know each other?” His attorney, Aamon, asked next.
Jayden thought about it. How well did he know his female enemy?
“Well, we know what the other hates.” He recalled how they pranked each other because they were both good at stalking what was happening in each other’s lives.
“And we’ve talked normally once.” Jayden didn’t deny it because it really happened. It only happened because of a burst of emotion he’d kept bottled up for too long.
“Out of everyone I’ve met, she’s probably the nosiest when it comes to my life.”
He only noticed the identical smirks on his friends’ faces afterward. His expression soured. Those grins meant his friends were plotting something bad.
“If that’s the case, why not just make her your pretend girlfriend?” Lina clapped at her own idea and even stood up from the sofa. “You said it yourself — you know each other. Exciting, right? Enemies to lovers? She might be the girl who makes your heart beat! Ahihihihi!”
She and Marco high-fived like this was a romance angst type of a novel. Jayden almost threw up at what he heard.
Make Carmella his girlfriend? What would he even expect from that sss of a woman who acts more like a guy around him? Just thinking about it made him dizzy.
“Exactly. Better than Vivien Cho, that plastic. I don’t like her. I think your rival is funny. I like that she’s real,” Lina pushed.
Jayden paused and thought. It would be good if Carmella was his pretend girlfriend because she’s one of the people who knows him best. But he admitted to himself he wouldn’t fall for her. There’s nothing to fall for with that woman. And make his heart beat? Impossible. He just needed someone to use as an excuse so his parents would stop bugging him and setting him up with random women.
The question was, how could he tame her again now that she’d left?
- Writer
