A Compromise Before Christmas

Chapter 4

Nikolaos stared at his friend for a long moment, waiting for the punchline to his joke, but he never received one, so that meant Cicero was really being serious, but Nikolaos still had to confirm it.

"Is this a joke, or are you really being serious, Cicero?"

"I am being serious."

"But that's absurd, me getting married? How can you even think of something like that?"

"Can you relax? I already know how you feel about marriage, obviously, I'm not suggesting that you do it for real."

Nikolaos stared at Cicero in great confusion, "Then what exactly are you suggesting?"

"Listen, Nik, your biggest problem right now is your reckless playboy lifestyle, that's the reason why your grandmother is going to leave you out of her will. If you can convince her that you've changed, you are guaranteed to make it back into her good graces."

Spending his afternoon scouting for a fake fiancée was as ridiculous as it sounded. It also showed how desperate Nikolaos was, and it did not sit right with him. His pride would not allow him to even entertain the thought.

Nikolaos considered his friend's words for a moment, to humor him. Though he made some sense, what he was asking was still impossible to do.

"You want me to fake a marriage?"

"An engagement, I'm telling you to fake an engagement."

"Until how long?"

"Till she's convinced that you've changed."

"Grandmother Corinna is very perceptive; she can smell lies from a mile away. Do you know how long I would have to fake it?"

"Do you have any other ideas?"

Nikolaos was silent for a moment. The reason he called Cicero was because he didn't have any more ideas.

"No...", he admitted in defeat

"Nik, listen to me, you're looking at this the wrong way. Yes, grandmother Corinna is hard to fool, but this is you we're talking about. You successfully managed to make her fund one stupid expense after the other, and all you had to do was ask; you can do it."

The way Cicero phrased his sentence made Nikolaos feel like a degenerate. It was true that his grandmother had given him everything he asked for in the past, but that was then; he did not know how much her heart hardened since then.

"Okay, so to say I do take this route, how do I find a woman who is willing to play this game with me, AND will be able to convince my grandmother, because she has never liked any of my girlfriends?"

"You've had actual girlfriends? That's news to me."

"Cicero, focus!"

"Sorry. I can't help you much on that one, you have to find that woman yourself, but one things for sure, she has to be better than Penelope."

Nikolaos rolled his eyes, "Cicero, any woman out there is better than Penelope; the bar is extremely low."

"True, but as much as she is a vile woman, she has still managed to stay with your older brother and in your family's close circle, which means she's doing something right."

"Yes and no, grandmother only keeps her around because she is Michalis' choice, not because she genuinely likes her."

"That means this woman needs to be loved by Granny Corinna."

"The only woman my grandmother loves is my godmother; she has no space in her heart to contain another."

"Wow, you really have your work cut out for you, huh?"

Nikolaos let out a strained breath. He had called his friend for some help, but all he got from their talk was more problems to solve and an impossible plan to achieve.

"Don't be so sad, my friend," Cicero attempted to cheer his friend up, "this city is vast and filled with beautiful women, there is bound to be one that will assist you; and if not..."

"If not?"

"Then you go back to Cinda."

Every muscle in Nikolaos' body tensed at the mention of her name; it irked him so much that he glared at Cicero from the corner of his eye.

"Christ! Calm down, I was only joking", Cicero raised his hands in surrender.

"Jokes are supposed to be funny, and if you value our friendship, don't ever bring that name up again."

"Okay, okay, geez."

Nikolaos did not mean to be so rigid with his friend; he knew he was joking, but the topic of Cinda was too personal to him to be messed around with; it was a scar that never healed and never would.

***

After Cicero left, Nikolaos spent the whole day by the poolside thinking, it was the most he had ever thought in a long time.

Cicero's plan sounded ridiculous; there was no other way to put it. Faking an engagement was something that only worked in movies; no one could actually pull it off in real life. And yet, Nikolaos still found himself considering the idea because he did not have any other options.

Deceiving his family with a fake relationship was an all-time low, but if he somehow managed to succeed, then there was nothing he couldn't do. If he failed, however, then he could kiss all his wealth goodbye, for that would be the final nail in his coffin.

The plan was risky to attempt because there was much at stake, but left with no other options, Nikolaos had to at least try.

Leaning back in his seat, he scanned the entire pool area while drinking a cocktail; his attention was only on the female guests. One beautiful woman after another passed him by, and though they were all tempting, none looked like they could play a convincing fiancée.

The woman he was searching for had to be perfect in order to convince his grandmother, but that was nearly impossible because not a single living soul could impress Corinna Cassavetes, not even her own family. Since the plan was heavily reliant on his choice of woman, Nikolas had to choose wisely.

With the troublesome dating history he had, he had to present a real angel sent straight from heaven itself to impress his grandmother. Since Corinna never liked any of his previous girlfriends, he had the difficult task of finding one perfect enough to make her forget his past relationships.

The sun slowly began to set in the background, and Nikolaos still hadn't seen a woman good enough for his plan. It had also dawned on him that he had spent his entire afternoon looking at women. Gazing at beautiful young ladies wasn't a new activity for him, but the way in which he was doing it made him feel like a creep.

Coming to this realization, Nikolaos concluded that he had spent enough time outside, and it was now time to go back to his room. Finally getting up from his seat, he passed by the cocktail bar, where he paused for a moment. One last drink for the night wouldn't hurt, he thought to himself.

Having placed his order, he leaned against the bar and lazily waited for his drink to be made. The bar was busy with several customers going in and out. The waitresses moved around the room like robots, quickly and efficiently. Each spent less than a minute on a table before moving to the next immediately after. From watching them, Nikolaos wondered what it was like working for a living.

As he was lost in thought, a waitress approached the bar with a tray in hand. She slid it over the counter at the same time Nikolaos' drink was being served. In that moment, as he reached out for his drink, he made a quick glance at the young woman, which left him stunned.

The young woman was beautiful, her honey gold hair complemented her bronze skin, and the light from her green eyes illuminated the features on her face. Though she was gorgeous, it wasn't her appearance that left Nikolaos stunned; it was the sense of familiarity.

That face, he had seen that face before; it was a face he could never forget, for it belonged to the woman who rejected him several years ago.