Fake Marrying The Billionaire

Chapter 12: TGIF

“Thank God it’s Friday!” The cliché quote echoed wherever I passed by on our floor.

When I was younger, adults around me said it often, but I never understood it. At least, not until I started working and then the weekend somewhat became as valuable as gold.

“I can’t wait to sleep in all night,” Elliot commented as he bobbed his head to his music.

“Is that before or after you go on a date with my best friend?” I tilted my head to make sure Elliot could see me taunting him ever so slightly with my facial expression.

He clearly saw because his face blushed in an instant. “N- none of your business!” He quickly retorted and I couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle.

He was such a cute dork. No wonder Charlie ended up liking him.

“Lily,” someone suddenly said next to me and when I turned it was Violet.

I hadn’t seen her as much. I was guessing it’s because she was always with Mr. Ares and well, he hadn’t been around the office as much as he used to be either.

Could it be because of the… blind dates?

Until now, there have only been rumors about Mr. Ares’ whereabouts still. No one has actually confirmed that he was seeing a girl and then another rumor surfaced that he was seeing more than just one girl.

Absurd, if you ask me. There was no way, so I just brushed it off and continued with my work.

Office gossip was truly something else.

“Violet, uh, how may I help you?” I asked, a little taken aback as I was not expecting her.

She also looked different today, in terms of not being fully made up. Usually, she wore eyeliner that was either violet or purple, but this time she seemed to have gone for a more natural look like she was in a rush.

How did I know exactly that she was rushing? Easy. Her socks were not matching. Or maybe that’s some kind of fashion nowadays? Clearly, I don’t keep up with those things.

“How is it going with the contract for Homes and Gardens? Have you submitted it?” Violet asked and I quickly nodded.

“I did, yes. About two days ago, but I haven’t heard anything back from Mr. Ares. I was meaning to follow up by the end of the day because the contract and finance department are also waiting.” I explained to Violet and she just stood there taking in my words.

“Do it now,” was all she said.

My eyes blinked. “Uh… as in go to Mr. Ares’ office and ask for his approval? Like right now?”

Was she making some kind of joke?

Apparently not because she nodded rather confidently.

I chuckled awkwardly. “I can’t possibly go inside, he’s- he’s busy, isn’t he? He hasn’t been in the office lately so I figured he must be doing a lot of things and–”

“Lily,” Violet cut me off. “Do it now so the other departments can finalize the other things needed, please. Thank you.”

Before I could say anything else, Violet walked away, leaving me to my misery.

Fantastic. Wonderful. Just what I needed.

The only bright side in here was when Violet asked for me to do things, she didn’t make it seem like I was just her slave unlike *cough* the moss monster *cough*.

“Going to the boss? Can you ask for a follow up on finalizing the cereal prospects? Pretty pleaaaaase,” Elliot’s eyes squinted while he was smiling widely at me.

“Why don’t you do it? I’m already throwing myself to the Lion! Do you want me to get eaten alive?” I grumbled as I fixed my things before going to his office.

Elliot chuckled. “That’s the thing, you’re already going so I should stay here and keep guard. Take one for the team, you know? Much appreciated, Lily!”

“El–” s**t. He put his earphones back in before I could utter a single word.

Damn it. Darnflibbingflabbits.

That’s all I could say as I unwillingly made my way back to the Lion’s den.

Funny thing is, this was the first day that Mr. Ares had actually appeared in the office, and although he was late, he still arrived. Unlike the past four days, this was definitely a new sight.

I don’t know if it was better that he had stayed gone so I wouldn’t have to talk to him or deep down inside, I was happy that he is here.

Oh, stop it, Lily! You are not happy that he is here. Of course not, you’re just doing your job. You don’t care.

Once I was in front of his relatively big glass door with vines decorated around it, I took a few deep breaths, allowing me to find peace before a war comes when I enter the room.

“I’m supposed to fly to where? To f*****g Washington right now? Are you shitting me?!”

Mr. Ares’ loud and angry voice filled the room the second I stepped in.

I immediately concluded that this was definitely not the best time to enter so I decided to turn around and come back another time. Too bad, I was too late.

“Stop,” Mr. Ares said in a quite demanding tone.

Fuck, was all I could think of and the fact that I had no choice but to do as he said.

“What do you want?” Sheesh, he was in a mood.

Ugh, it was now or never though, Lily. Just keep calm and stick to the script.

“Y-yes, um, I’m sorry to, you know, bother you or anything, Mr. Ares, but the, uh, the–”

“Can you be any slower? Just say it, Sinclair.” Mr. Ares exclaimed angrily as he didn’t even bother to look up at me, his head staring at the pile of paper in front of him.

What an asshole.

“Sorry, the Homes and Gardens contract, Mr. Ares. I was just checking if you had time to check for approval as the contract and finance department need it asap.” I let out an internal sigh of relief.

Thank God I managed to finish what I was saying. Why the hell am I so nervous, anyway?

“The Homes and wha– Wait, s**t, god damn it.” Mr. Ares looked baffled for a quick second before a wave of realization hit him and then he was standing up and looking around his mess of a desk.

“There’s so many goddamn papers I must have missed it somewhere here. Fuck.” He continued to grumble.

All of a sudden, he turned to me. His gray eyes gave me a cold and unpleasant stare. “What the hell are you just standing there for? Help me find the paper.”

Oh, f**k. He wanted me to help him? Geez, he could have said so. How would I have known he wanted that? I don’t read minds, Ares Callisto!

I wanted to say that to him, but I couldn’t so instead I apologized and quickly ran over to his table.

For the first time ever, I saw Mr. Ares somewhat not be his usual organized self. It wasn’t just his office that was a mess, but it was him, too.

His dress shirt had wrinkles at the sleeves, probably from pulling it down and up a lot. His tie was pulled loose. His hair quite obviously not gelled this time, pieces of hair sticking out on some sides. And if you looked closer, you could see he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in what could only be for a while.

I felt… bad for him.

I also couldn’t deny that even if he did seem like a mess, he was the definition of a hot mess.

I had to stop myself from imagining running my fingers through his hair because as unruly as it was, it still looked soft as f**k to touch.

“Here, Mr. Ares.” I passed the contract to him the minute I spotted it almost at the edge of his table.

Good thing I did or else it would have ended up in the trash in a few minutes.

Relief somewhat washed over Mr. Ares’ face and it seemed like he was beginning to calm down as he scanned the paper.

All of that was disrupted though as his phone loudly rang. Mr. Ares sighed heavily before answering the call on speaker. I think he forgot I was still there, standing in a good space away from him.

“What is it, Violet?” Oh, it was her.

“Mr. Ares, your grandfather’s jet has landed. He said he expects you to be boarding in about an hour if you don’t want to be late for your date.” Violet said and at her last word, my mouth hung open.

Did she just say what I think she said?

First of all, he was taking a private jet to go on a date? What kind of rich people bizarreness was this?

Second, Mr. Ares really was going on a date?

Oh my god, the rumors were true then. They were true all along!

I didn’t realize I was slowly stepping backwards until I had stepped on something slippery and because I was stupid and clumsy, gravity decided to make fun of me at the worst timing possible.

“Fine, I’ll be there in–”

I heard Mr. Ares stopped talking and before I knew it, it was like things had just moved too fast for me to be able to process it because right when I was expecting a painful impact, all I felt were strong and warm arms holding me.

I gulped nervously.

Holy s**t, he was so close to me.

Mr. Ares managed to get a hold of me as he pulled me in from behind and steadied me in his arms, my body and his body merely an inch apart.

And his face, oh god his insanely handsome face, was so close I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin.

For a few seconds, I felt like I had been transported to a romantic movie where the two couples stare at each other lovingly, even more lovingly than Elliot when he stared at his croissant a few days ago.

I obviously got way too ahead of myself and my fantasies and this bit me back in the ass when Mr. Ares quickly pulled away, dusting his suit off rather unhappily.

I was about to apologize when he spoke up. His voice was deep and slightly pissed. “Don’t trip in my office again. You’ll break something important.”

Wow. Wow. I was so undoubtedly dumbfounded at how heartless he sounded and at that moment, I realized that I had just been making a fool out of myself this whole time.

This in turn made me go into a conclusion.

That man I met in the club that night? It wasn’t that it was a better and nicer side of Mr. Ares. The truth is, no such thing ever existed. I had just made that man up in my mind and from here on forward, I was to stop thinking anything about my boss other than the fact that he paid me.

I wouldn’t call what I did with him that night a drunken mistake because at that time, I needed it, and boy did the s*x feel amazing.

But that was it. Just s*x.

It was nothing. He was nothing to me, just as I was obviously nothing but a girl he slept with and had forgotten about the next day.

“Apologies, Mr. Ares. Are you done with the contract? I should get to it.” I managed to keep myself composed, staying as professional as possible.

“f**k, I don’t have the time to check everything, but I will approve this. If it so happens that something is wrong here, it’s your responsibility and your job on the line. Keep that in mind.” Mr. Ares said rather threateningly and if I could, I would have stopped him from signing it, but I knew I had no choice.

I just had to suck it up, just as I did with a lot of things in my life because who was I to complain? I was a nobody and I was going to stay that way.

Once Mr. Ares finished signing, he passed the paper to me with no care and turned around, walking out of his office like I had not just been there seconds ago.

Truly, he did not give two f***s about me.

It was high time I felt the same way towards him.

-

Ares Callisto was on his ninth blind date and this specific one scored a perfect ten in his ‘most terrible blind dates I was forced to go to’ list and scoreboard.

Why? Because this woman was not only desperate for a marriage, but for a family of five.

It had only been five minutes since she sat down in front of him, but she was already talking about the names of the kids they were supposedly going to have together.

Ares was not having it. Especially when he had to travel all the way to Washington for this ‘date’.

Another thing was that he couldn’t stop thinking about Lily, and the way he treated her so harshly this morning.

Try as he might, he felt rather guilty. And that was a rare thing when it came to Ares.

Lily had been making him feel things he never usually felt, and he didn’t know if he hated it or somewhat liked it.

In a split second, Ares brushed the thoughts away, concluding that he hated it, before trying to look interested in whatever the woman in front of him was saying.

“Do you think the name Igor is too much? Igor Callisto? How about that? Perfect, isn’t it?” The woman blushed and giggled all while taking the smallest bite of her very green salad.

How much smaller can someone bite on an already small piece of lettuce? Why did these women hate eating real food and preferred to starve themselves?

These were some of the thoughts that Ares couldn’t stop thinking about as he tried to keep himself composed all throughout this agonizing meeting with another handpicked and wealthy woman his grandfather forced him to converse with.

How many more women was he supposed to meet until this unbearable time in his life was supposed to end?

“The babies all have to be born in Paris, no exceptions! Preferably all at eleven in the evening or morning, too.”

Ares was disrupted in his line of thinking, surprised that she was even still talking. About nonsense, that is.

Did she really think someone could give birth at specific times? Clearly, she bribed her way out of a prestigious school once again.

Thankfully, after a torturous few hours, Ares was set free.

On the way back to New York, exhausted, on his grandfather’s jet, his phone began to ring.

He was less than pleased when it was his grandfather.

“How was the date?” Pappous asked, curiosity and impatience obvious in his tone.

“Terrible. The woman kept talking about babies.” Ares answered honestly, but he soon realized he should not have said that.

“Terrible?! That’s exactly what I want! A woman that is willing to bear a Callisto as soon as possible!”

Fuck. He really should have said something else.

Usually, he was better at lying, but he was so tired, physically and mentally, that he did not think before speaking. This in turn placed him in a not so ideal situation with his grandfather.

“That’s it, Ares. I am done waiting. I have given you nine women to date and yet each time, you decline and reject them. It’s like you’re purposely not even trying!”

Shit, he found me out, Ares thought.

“I really didn’t want to do this, but you have given me no other option. Apollo will be taking over your position as soon as he graduates, just as we discussed before. I will let the board know by next year.”

The words came to Ares like getting pierced by a wooden stake if he was a Vampire, or even silver if he was a Werewolf.

In other simpler words, he was undeniably f****d.

And not at all the kind that he liked.

He needed to think of a way out of this mess and the first thing that came to his mind was something he would have never thought of in a million years, but there it was.

“Wait, Pappous. I have a confession,” he blurted out.

“Hm?” His grandfather replied, his curiosity at its peak.

Ares knew all too well that his grandfather was dying to know what he was going to say just as his own secretary was too, hearing Violet who was earlier typing something on her laptop but has now stopped.

Although he didn’t want to continue because it would put him in an even more complicated situation, he also knew he had no choice and so he just said it.

“The reason why I have not been pleased with the women you have been wanting me to go on dates with is because…” Ares momentarily closed his eyes, bracing himself to say it.

“I am already dating someone else.”

Silence.

Ares could tell his grandfather was shocked and even when he turned to see how Violet reacted, he saw that she was confused, but mostly not convinced. He had to make it sound more believable.

“Then why didn’t you just tell me in the first place?” Pappous asked.

He had a point.

“Well, um, I thought going on a few dates would be fine as I wanted to get to know the women you preferred, but it soon made me realize that I would rather marry the one I am with now than them. I hope you understand.”

What the hell was he saying? Ares didn’t know either, but he just had to go with it.

“Do I know this woman?” He continued to ask questions, and Ares needed to keep coming up with answers.

Or more like lies.

“No, but I assure you she comes from a respected family as well and I can set a date for her to meet you soon.” Ares made sure to mention one important detail, and although he did not specifically use the words ‘she comes from a rich family’, he figured it gave off the same meaning, and he knew his grandfather cared about that the most.

“Very well. I will be waiting, but not for long.” Pappous replied, his tone just one note higher than earlier, before ending the call.

Ares let out the deepest and longest sigh of relief.

Now he had really dug himself a deeper hole. How the hell was he going to get out of it?

Violet cleared her throat seemingly trying to get her boss’ attention, and so she did as Ares turned to her with a raised brow.

“Just say it,” Ares said, having no more energy to make things more complicated.

Violet wanted to bite her tongue on the topic, but she also needed to say something about it. She had been working for Mr. Ares for years now and because of it, they have developed the closest relationship in the office, professionally and somewhat platonically, which is why she knows most, if not all of Mr. Ares’ predicaments per se.

“If you don’t mind me asking… Where are you going to find a woman to propose to so soon?” Violet asked, curious and entertained at the situation.

Ares exhaled deeply before his work phone beeped and when he checked, it was an email from a certain employee.

Lily had just sent an email containing all the needed requirements for Homes and Gardens.

A thought came into his mind. A dangerous one, at that.

“Did you forget, Violet? I always find a way,” he grinned, pleased with the solution he has come up with.

“And besides, there already is a woman. Not that she knows yet, but I do. This will be easy.” Ares said so confidently before adjusting his seat so he could lay down.

The thing is, while he thought it was going to be ‘easy’, he didn’t know that back in New York, the woman he was pleasantly thinking of, was at the same time strongly cursing his entire existence.

“Who is she?” Violet asked.

A small smile formed on his lips before he turned to the window, watching the clouds from 32,000 feet in the air.

“Let’s just say she’s been around me this whole time…”