The CEO's Pretend Lover

Two: "It's a secret"

It'd been months since Elizabeth last visited home and she was excited to see her parents again. Being an only child, she was very close with her parents and they knew everything about her.

Well almost.

When she graduated with a bachelor's degree in commerce, she left her parents' wing, moved to another town and looked for a job despite her parents' claims that she would have worked with them.

She didn't want that, she wanted to feel the thrill of being a young adult in a big city, working in a job she got with her skills and professionalism, and till now, they didn't know who she was working for.

Getting off the plane at O'Hare airport, she flagged down a taxi and gave the driver the location she was going to. The air was different here and he wound down the windows so it could hit her face.

"Thank you." She alighted from the cab in front of her house. It still looked the same way she left it 6 months ago when she came for Christmas.

"Welcome back Beth." Mr Desmond, her parents' assistant, was at the gate waiting for her arrival as he greeted her with a bow. Desmond has been around for years and his adoption of addressing her as 'Beth' instead of Ms. Elizabeth was because she was uncomfortable with an elderly man addressing her with so much formality.

'It's good to be back, Desmond. How's mother and father?"

"They're waiting for you inside. Let me help you with that." He took hold of the small bag she brought which held a change of clothes for the next three days. She had a lot of comfortable clothes here at home but she brought some formal wear in case she was required to go out.

When stepping into the warmth of the house, her nose picked up the aroma of something cooking and her mouth watered. She hadn't eaten on the plane and her stomach growled.

Desmond heard the noise and smiled. "Dinner will be served soon, your favorite was specially requested. I'd put this in your room as you go see your parents." When he left her side. Elizabeth walked towards the living room and saw her parents having a hushed discussion.

"Mom, Dad…" She called out to them and their necks snapped towards her direction. On seeing their daughter, their faces lit up and they stood up with arms outstretched.

"Cupcake, how are you? How was the flight? Are you feeling well?" Questions kept pouring as she hugged her parents and inhaled their scents.

"I'm fine, you don't have to worry though I'm a little hungry." Elizabeth laughed and pulled away from their embrace. She could see stress written all over their faces and she was worried.

"Are you both okay? It seems you haven't rested, is the hotel work stressing you out?"

"Let's talk over dinner. It's important." Elizabeth's father, George Miller, rubbed her shoulder and she couldn't ignore that bad feeling that settled in her stomach.

When dinner was served, Elizabeth kept looking at her parents, expecting one of them to talk first and assure her that nothing bad was happening.

"Mom-"

"We've decided that you should marry one of our partners' son, to strengthen the relationship between both families." She informed in a monotone voice. If one wasn't mistaken, this must have been what they were discussing earlier at a lower volume.

Elizabeth looked at her father but he avoided eye contact, "I don't understand what you mean by 'strengthening family relationships', mother. Since when do we or Miller's Rest need assistance from our partners?"

Her eyes widened in realization, this was what usually happened in books she read or movies she watched. "Are we in debt? What happened?"

Her father sighed and dropped his utensils, "It's a long story, Beth, but our partners withdrew and we're facing financial crises. The only offer we've received is from Harrison's. The chairman has a son and he wants both of you to meet before we finalize on the next steps."

Elizabeth couldn't believe her ears. Miller's Rest has been standing strong for years and now it's crumbling. She understood her parents wanting to save their hard work but she was suffering the brunt of it. This was why she left the radar of this business, but it seems she's still tied to it either way.

"But mother, you didn't discuss it with me first." She whined. It was unfair, it didn't matter if she liked the man or not. Nevertheless, she'd be forced to marry him and live with him for the rest of her life.

Elizabeth believed in true love, even though she'd never liked or loved someone in her 23 years of existence. Reading too many romance novels has made her want to have a taste of what it felt like. Her parents were high school sweethearts and they always talked about their love. Why can't she have what they have?

"There's nothing to discuss. You're our daughter and you have to realize the responsibility of saving Miller's Rest would amount to anything."

She looked at her father with pleading eyes, hoping he'd help her talk to his wife.

"Except you already have a lover, is that why you object?"

Elizabeth didn't think twice before nodding her head. She'd say anything to just get out of this. Her parents looked at each other before looking at their daughter. If Elizabeth had a boyfriend, she'd have informed them about this relationship but they noticed that their daughter hadn't told them a lot of things.

"Is that so? Who's this lucky man?" Her mother asked her just to paint a picture in her head.

"It's a secret. I'll bring them over for Dad's birthday dinner next month." She looked at her food as her leg jiggled underneath the table. Not only has she lied about a lover, but she has to find one willing to play the role before next month comes.

"Okay, if this lover exists, we'd try to convince the chairman with other proposals." Her mother still wasn't convinced, but she was going to play along for now. To her, Elizabeth was lying because she knew her daughter like the back of her hand.

When dinner was finished, Elizabeth kissed her parents goodnight and went to her room with more burdens on her chest than ever before. She only had fantasy experiences with love, but not real life experiences. She was only focused on studying in school and totally missed out on the experience.

Picking her phone, she sent a distressing text to her friends asking for help, telling them all that happened at dinner.

"You could just ask your boss to play along with you, don't both of you have a nice relationship?" Derek's text brought a frown to her face.

"My boss is a female, Derek. Would my parents believe me if I brought Jéan and introduced her as my lover?"

"The more reason why it's going to work out. Bring home a lady and it's settled that it won't work with the son no matter how much they try."

"I think I see what Derek's talking about. Either way, even if you bring home a man, you'd be convinced to break up with him just to marry that chairman's son". Elena sided with Derek and since she kept it that way, Elizabeth could understand. Her mother had said anything would amount to saving Miller's Rest and she could take such drastic decisions.

"But would Jéan agree to help me? It's going to be weird."

Elizabeth knew her boss wasn't into guys, something she found out a year ago when she followed Jéan on a trip to New Orleans. An associate had offered to go on a date with her, but was turned down when Jéan made it clear that she would never have romantic feelings for the male species.

"She would. You just have to let her know how dire it is and from the stories you usually tell us about Jéan, she definitely has a soft spot for you."

Jéan might have a soft spot for her, but nobody would want to do anything outside of their comfort zone. Elizabeth knew she wouldn't. She only had to hope for the best that Jéan would help her.