THE BILLIONAIRE'S FAKE GIRLFRIEND (13 days to the ball)

(DAVE’S POV) I stare down angrily at the paper spread in front of me. They f*****g had my name spread all over it. I heard someone walk in and I lift my head up to see Jeanie, my assistant. "Why am I reading this Jeanie?" I say furiously flinging the paper across to her. She dodged and the paper flew sideways, out of the door. She looks at me obviously terrified and she shrieks. I roll my eyes angrily. "Why do they say our company is bankrupt? Is someone lying to the press about me?!" What a way to start a wonderful Monday morning! What a way! I know, I am twenty five minutes late to work but that is all because I had a hangover from last night. And so naturally I woke up late. It was a hustle to get to work and when I did arrive to my office, what did I see? A newspaper waiting for me with W.D plc bankrupt. That's a f*****g lie. I'm a f*****g billionaire and in a few years a lot more. But I tell you it is no way to start a morning. Someone must have planned to do this to me. To stain my image, misinform the public, stab my reputation. Who would do this to me? "Um, sir." Jeanie’s tiny voice came and I remembered she was in the room too. I sigh and then proceed to light a cigarette to calm down. "What is it Jeanie?" I ask taking a deep puff. "We are bankrupt." Her tiny voice squeaked and I almost choked. "What do you mean by that?" I roar at her. She stammers and then clears her throats. Quickly she dropped a pile of papers on the table and then moved backwards. I snatch the papers and read through it. Was this some sort of joke or a prank? My accountant had messed up my account and cleaned up solid evidences of information against him. My accountant that I have trusted all my life. Chris Woods. I grit my teeth angrily. f**k! Jeanie clears her throat and I shout at her. "What Jeanie!" She shifted backwards with terrified eyes. "There’s something else I think you might like to see." She puts a magazine on the table right in front of me, my hands follow her movements to the magazine. My eyes fly wide open. There my girlfriend stood on the cover of the magazine with her hands wrapped around Chris Woods. They had been engaged. Rich Accountant and the heiress of Royale suites, Irene Arison. I chuckle in disbelief. "This has got to be a joke." I say in a low tone. "Um not really sir. It's all over twitter, **, you tube they are saying you have been played and dumped by miss Arison…." She pauses and avoids my gaze as she continues. "They are saying the play boy has been played by his friend and his girl." I slam my fists angrily down on the table and Jeanie gasps as she jumps back. I clench my fists. "So they know Chris cleared out my accounts?" "No Sir." Jeanie replies sadly. "They think all he did was steal your girl.’ I grit my teeth. This was too much for one day! How the f**k did this happen? How could Irene do this! We just had dinner at a luxurious sea restaurant two nights ago and I f*****g gave her an expensive diamond bracelet. A f*****g expensive diamond bracelet. And to think all along she was f*****g Chris! And Chris was f*****g her? How original! Jeanie clears her throat again and I take in a silent deep breath. "Any more bad news Jeanie?" I ask and with a very nervous and apologetically sounding chuckle she says, "Well, Sir. You do have to address the workers. They want to know, if they have a future here. You see." She cleared her throat again and I understood she was very nervous. Of course the workers would want to know if I could handle paying their fees anymore. If I was truly bankrupt after all I would not be capable of handing the finances of one of the best luxurious shoe brands in the country. Well thank God that I am Dave Wayne who is not only a billionaire but a smart one. I built all this from the scratch and it took a lot of initiative to do that. And that means that I always have a back up plan. "Tell the workers their job is safe but whoever is having issues trusting us can leave but all is well.’ I said resting back in my chair with my eyes close. I did not expect them to believe me, at least not all of them. Not with what they will be seeing in the news and on papers and magazines and social media. s**t! My twitter and ** must be blowing up. Another cough comes from Jeanie. My eyes flew open and I stare back at her angrily. "Any more bad news, Jeanie?" I find myself saying again in a clenched voice and to my uttermost dismay, Jeanie nodded at me. What else? A ticking bomb in my company? My house on fire? "Well go on." I urge her on impatiently. "Well, The annual ball sir. The fundraiser. The one for your most important secret project’ She added the last part in a whisper. I feel my heart slow to a stop. My most important event of the year was coming up soon. I had not forgotten, i was just not thinking about it at the moment. Now all this humiliation might affect my event. "In two weeks sir, Exactly 14 days." She added and I could see panic in her eyes too. ‘Should we cancel-‘ "No." I say almost immediately. "Well, sir then I have to say you might seem a little pathetic without a plus one." She says. I roll my eyes. "Get me someone else, some model or some thing, someone hotter and more beautiful than Irene. I assume she and Chris might be attending." I felt anger surge through me. "Exactly, sir." She says and then pauses before continuing. ‘But sir, er it would be hard finding you someone." I laugh. That was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. ‘"Women want me Jeanie, You know this." They should be hurrying after me now that Irene had gone off, this was what they always wanted anyway. "The hot and beautiful ones would not want to be with someone who has been dumped by Irene Arison." She said and it slowly sunk in. It made sense. "And I assume you would want someone top Class." Jeanie said "of course I do." I said. ‘Well we could hire you a girlfriend." She said in a sarcastic tone. But it clicked to me. Women loved money, shoes, clothes, jewelry, bags, it would not be hard finding someone who would pretend to be my girlfriend. Of course we would sign a contract on discretion and policies and all that. But it would work. "Well hire me someone. Someone smart, beautiful, we could pretend to be a couple and then attend the ball together. Then I could break up with her and my status is back. My RESPECT IS BACK. You are a genius Jeannie." I say to her laughing. She is starring back at me like I am crazy. "But sir, where would we find someone like that?" "That’s the thing. It’s gonna be tough because she’s gonna be hard to come by. But I trust you to find her. You are very efficient in your job. Find me someone , i am willing to pay as much as i can." I raise an eyebrow at her. Jeanie looks horror struck and numb probably with the difficult task i had asssigned to her. "Any more bad news?" I ask She shakes her head. "Well then I guess we are done here." I said and she left the office. Angry and in need of a moment to myself I decided to head over to my private gym. It’s just a couple of blocks away from my office building so I could just steal out through the top floor elevator and out of the garage. I shut my office door and changed into a pair of sweatpants and hoodie I keep stuffed away. After wearing my baseball cap and hoodie over, I decided I looked like a random person and stole out of the office without drawing attention to myself. I wanted to cross over to call a cab but I saw a small crowd of reporters who would not mind feasting on me so I decided to take a corner off the next street and call a cab from there. I was cursing at myself for the state I was in when I slammed into someone hard. I heard a short squeal and then I saw a head of brown hair heading to the ground . On impulse, I grabbed her arm and swooped her up and towards my body. I gave her a little shake in case she was in shock. "Stop doing that." She said and then tired to set herself free but she was still wobbly and so fell right back on me for support. "You walked into me." She scolded and I could tell that she was nervous. She gasped as she landed on my chest and our heads were close to each other. It was like all the breath in my body had seized in one moment and had been sucked into a pair of large brown beautiful eyes. Then I quickly fumbled for the words I was planning on responding to her till I got swooped by her eyes. "Well I would not have if you had been on the right side walk." I told her. It was a lie of course. I was all in my head and not sure but I do feel like she walked into me. That counts doesn’t it? We began arguing and then from no where someone screamed loudly. Immediately I turned to the direction of the squeal I knew I had f****d up the moment I stopped to have an argument with a stranger in glasses and ugly clothes. "Oh MY God! I swear it’s Dave Wayne." The girl screamed. "Thanks for nothing." I whispered angrily to the stranger with beautiful eyes before letting her go and disappearing into the crowd.