Fake Dating My Billionaire Boss

3: Be My Fake Girlfriend

THEA

I stared at him. He stared back.

I waited for his chuckle, his laughter, something to diffuse the situation but my boss, Aiden Volkov only stared at me.

“Wait,” I adjusted myself on my seat, suddenly feeling a bit too conscious about myself in my black pants and tucked in blue shirt, “you're not joking?”

“Do we share a relationship where we joke around?”

“What?” I chuckled nervously as I massaged my neck, “isn't this weird to you? You summoned one of your employees, a random one at that and you ask them to be your fake girlfriend for three weeks? From where I'm sitting, that looks like a cliche stuff.”

“First off, Miss Castle,” he leaned forward on his seat, “you're not a random employee. I singled you out because you're the best fit for the job. I'm sorry to bring a private moment up but I saw how you handled the situation with your ex-boyfriend and I realized you're the best person to handle my family.”

“You knew who I was at the restuarant?”

“I've always known who you are, Miss Castle.” He replied as though it was normal for him to know a random employee out of over a thousand. I couldn't recall any time we've been in the same room, except during company dinners but that was in halls filled with people.

There was no way he'd have noticed me.

“My family goes off to this fancy resort after Christmas for three weeks. It's a family tradition and we have lots of other wealthy family coming over too to celebrate the new year, anniversaries and even marriages. I don't want to be stuck there with my family trying to set up with eligible ladies or have other families trying to poach their daughters off to me.”

That sounded reasonable, just a tiny bit. Aiden Volkov came from wealth but he had made himself even wealthier by founding this tech start up so I understand that a lots of families must be desperate to have him as their son-in-law.

“I understand the discomfort but why don't you just play along with them. Who knows? You might meet a prospective bride there.”

“I'm not interested in a prospective bride or marriage. That's why I need you to act as a fake girlfriend to get everybody off my back.”

“Me? Really?” I was still working on my self love and acceptance. I'd probably always work on it but I wouldn't delude myself into thinking that I was the kind of lady high class people like Aiden rolled with.

They rolled with models, brunettes, pretty hot girls who turned heads everywhere they went. I wasn't one of them.

“And you think your family would be convinced that we're together? I love myself but I know the kind of girls people in your circle roll with and I'm not…”

“You're perfect, Thea.” He interrupted me, a muscle twitching in his jaw while his eyes remained on my face. It settled on my body like warmth.

“So I take it that it's a yes?” he asked as he made to stand up. That jolted me out of my reverie and I sat up.

“Of course not. I mean, I'm not a good actress and I have an aversion towards fooling people. It's not my thing.”

“Your pay is 200k, Miss Castle. Just see it as a vacation during the company's end of the year break. You get to spend your days in one of the grandest resorts in the world while eating rare delicacies and drinking fine wines. I'm sure you must still be reeling from your breakup and this getaway will take your mind off it and make your healing faster. Your grandmother's hospital bills keep piling up. I'm sure a fraction of the 200k will clear that and she won't have to be taken off the life support like hospital management are already planning because of the debts.”

“You've done your homework,” I muttered tightly.

“It's business. I had to cross all Is and dot all Ts.”

I thought about everything. 200k to play pretend was too good to be true but it was also an amount of money that'd change my life forever. It'd clear my grandmother's hospital bills and fetch me a great savings. He was also right about getting over my breakup. I didn't have any plans for the holidays since my only family member was in the hospital so I had planned to lock myself up in the house.

I knew that'd be bad for my mind and he was right about treating this job as a vacation. It'd clear my mind off a lot of things.

But convincing his family and every other person that we were dating? That seemed far fetched. I hardly even know him.

“What does becoming your fake girlfriend entails anyways? Why do I have to do?”

A relieved smile touched his lips but it was only for a brief second that I must have as well imagined it.

“It's nothing extreme. We just have to pretend to be deeply in love with each other. They know of my aversions to relationships so they might be wary of you. That means we have to convince them that we're genuine. We'd go over the story of how we met and fell for each so our versions align. I'll always be with you so you don't have to worry that much.”

“If we're pretending to be that in love with each other, there must be some public display of affections.”

“Yeah,” he replied, a muscle twitching in his jaw again, “there would be public display of a bit of skinships. Hands holding, pecks, and probably even some chaste kisses. Is that okay with you?”

Of course it wasn't okay. Could my fragile heart handle that kind of closeness, no matter how fake it was, with my former crush? But I was already thinking about how the money could save my grandma so I nodded.

“Good! We're on board then. We'd go over the terms and conditions in the coming before we depart.” He said formally as if this was just a random business deal.

“But there is just one important thing to note. This ends the minute we leave the resort. We'd go back to becoming strangers after that three weeks and if you should… If your feelings should change or develop during those three weeks, I won't be responsible for them.”