“I know you will prove me right. You’ll see what I see very soon. I can feel it.” His eyes locked with mine.
I felt invincible. If the CEO thing didn’t work out for him, he could absolutely make a killing as a motivational speaker. I felt like I could conquer the world. Hell, I felt like a Greek goddess in that moment.
Chapter 11
Adrian
I could hear the commotion in the hall outside my door, signaling it was quitting time, and everyone was chatting as they headed out for their usual Tuesday evening gathering. I was used to the energy that ran through the office on Tuesdays. They looked forward to their night out together every week. I liked that they did it. I saw it as team building. It allowed them to blow off some steam and connect on a level outside of work.
I envied them a little, but I had never really wanted to be a part of the group. It would blur the line between boss and coworker. I had to stay separated in order to maintain the respect I had worked hard to gain from each of them.
“Hey,” Rand said, walking into my office.
“What’s up?” I asked him, keeping it casual now that we were off the clock.
“They’re all going out for a drink,” he said, gesturing out the door with his head.
I nodded. “They do every Tuesday.”
“You don’t want to go?” he asked casually. “One of them asked me specifically if we were going tonight in honor of the interns’ first night out with the group.”
I shook my head, closing down the program I was working in, and met his eyes. “It isn’t a good idea. This is their time. I don’t want to intrude.”
“They invited you and me,” he reasoned.
I smiled. “Because they are good people, and that’s what they do. This is no different than any other week they go out.”
“Ah, but it is different. Didn’t you hear me say the interns were going?” One dark brow raised.
I shrugged. “I did, and that means what?”
He grinned. “Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Are you going?” I asked him with surprise.
He wrinkled his nose. “No. Not by myself. They might attack.”
I chuckled. “I think you’ll be fine.”
“You’re missing out, which means I’m missing out,” he said on a disappointed sigh. “Ah well, I suppose I’ll have to go home and go to bed early.”
“That’s probably a good thing,” I said. “You could use the rest.”
He scowled. “I’m not so old.”
“You’re not so young,” I shot back.
He shook his head and walked to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I watched a few employees make their way down the hall. They were chatting excitedly, likely talking about their plans for the evening. I smiled, not wanting to leave right away. I wanted to give them a chance to leave first. My phone vibrated on the desk. I glanced over to look at the screen and saw my mother’s face.
“Hi, Mom,” I answered.
“We want you to come to dinner tonight,” she said in a way that said I had no room to argue.
I groaned, checking the time on my watch. It was technically early, but the drive would be at least an hour. “Tonight?” I questioned, hoping to get her to change her mind.
“Yes. Tonight.”
“Mom, it’s kind of late for a dinner invite,” I tried to reason.
“Adrian, you haven’t been to visit for too long. It’s time.”
I closed my eyes, knowing I wasn’t going to win. “Fine, I’ll be there in an hour and a half,” I said, hoping the traffic wasn’t terrible.
“Good,” she said and hung up.
I grabbed my things, wanting to get out of the office without delay. I was glad I drove to work. It would save me some time. I nodded my head, smiling and telling the remaining people in the office to have a good time as I left the building.
When I arrived at the home I’d bought for my parents last year, I smiled at the new potted flowers my mother had arranged around the front entrance. I knew they loved our hometown, but I wanted them closer. They deserved a nice home, and when I had come across the private property, I had immediately bought it for them. They’d put up a little bit of a fight, telling me it was too much, but when I explained to them just how much my company was making, they accepted my gift.
I walked into the house and could smell my mother’s spaghetti sauce. I did miss her cooking. While I had the means to eat at the finest restaurants in the city, nothing beat my mom’s cooking.
“Mom!” I hollered, my voice echoing around the open foyer area with the living room on the right and the kitchen on the left.
“Back here,” she called out.
I walked into the huge kitchen, stopped to lift the lid of the pot on the stove, and inhaled the aroma of the simmering spaghetti sauce. My mother walked into the kitchen from the back patio, carrying a glass and looking happy and healthy.
“Hi,” I said, giving her a kiss on the cheek before she wrapped her arms around me.
My mom was a petite woman, but she was a strong Greek woman who took no shit from anyone, especially her sons that towered over her. She patted me on the back before stepping back. “Your father and I are enjoying a drink before dinner,” she said, her English improving by the day with the classes she was taking.
She had decided to learn English last year with the intention of visiting New York City. It was a dream she and my dad had, and I had gifted them with an all-expenses paid, two weeks in the United States for Christmas. They were waiting until they both spoke better English. That was an excuse. I wasn’t sure what the holdup was, but I wasn’t going to pressure them.
“Dinner smells great,” I told her.
“It’s the only way I can get you to come and visit,” she said. “You should pay more attention to your parents, especially your mother. We won’t always be here.”
I watched as she picked up the wooden spoon, removed the lid to the pot, and gave it a good stir. I knew my invitation had been a command, and I knew the demand for my presence was so she could lecture me face to face. I’d come anyway because I knew better than to ignore my mother.
“I promise I will come more often,” I said.
She turned around, the spoon still in her hand. “You say that all the time. If you are not with your family, you should be making your own family.” The spoon bounced up and down as she waved it at me.
“I know, Mom. I know.”
“No, you don’t know,” she said. “The table is set. Call your father and we’ll eat.”
I walked out of the kitchen to do her bidding. To argue was futile. She was a stern woman. I assumed she had to be to raise all boys. We were a handful, but I liked to think my older brothers were far worse than I was. They felt the exact opposite.
With my dad and I waiting at the table, my mother carried in her spaghetti and meatballs, along with what I was guessing was her homemade bread and some kind of salad. She took her seat, and we all dished up. I was waiting for it. I knew what was coming.
“Adrian, your father and I want to talk to you about your future,” my mother started.
And there it was. I looked at my dad, who dropped his eyes to his plate. I knew he could care less about my relationship status. This was all my mom. My dad was a big man, masculine and very assertive, but my mother wore the pants in the family.
“Mom, my future looks fine,” I told her.
“You don’t have a wife! You are not a young man. You need a wife!”
I sighed. “I’m not interested in finding a wife right now. I’m focusing on my career and getting my company in a good place.”
“How much money do you need?” she asked.
“It’s not about the money,” I said. “It’s about building something I can be proud of. It’s about employing people and helping out other companies. I like the success.”
“You need a good woman,” she stated.
It wasn’t a suggestion or an obse
rvation. It was a statement of fact, and she expected it to happen. “Mom, I’m not ready.”
“Get ready! You will be old and alone if you don’t get a move on it!”
I sighed, stuffing a heaping forkful of spaghetti into my mouth. “I’m working on it,” I said, hoping to appease her.
She scowled at me. “You’ve been saying that for years. I’ve never met any of your girlfriends.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Sorry.”
“I’m having a little get together next weekend,” she said with a sly smile. “I have someone I would like you to meet.”
“No! Dammit, Mom. I knew that’s why you wanted me over here.”
She gave me a dangerous stare. “Watch your mouth, young man,” she snapped.
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn’t dare. She’d just gone on about how old I was, but the moment I cursed, I was relegated to a ten-year-old boy at her table. “Mom, I don’t want you to set me up. I’ve not had good luck with the women you’ve set me up with in the past.”
She waved a hand, dismissing my claim. “This is different. This is a good woman. She will give you lots of fine sons and make you happy. She knows how to cook and will make you good meals.”
I looked to my dad for help. He just gave me a grimace before going back to eating his meal. None of us dared go up against my mother.
“I don’t care to meet anyone right now,” I said.
“Why? Come meet her. If you don’t like her, then you don’t have to date her.”
“I can’t because I have a girlfriend.” I blurted out the lie before I had a chance to think twice about it.
Her mouth was open, her forkful of spaghetti halfway to her mouth. “What?” she asked, blinking rapidly.
Time stopped. I had a chance to tell the truth. I knew lying to my mother was one of the seven deadly sins in her book. “I said, I have a girlfriend, and I don’t think she would appreciate me dating someone else,” I said.
I was going to hell, and my mom’s foot was going to be in my ass all the way down. I assured myself it was no big deal. I’d wait a few weeks and tell her we broke up. No harm, no foul.
My mother smiled, her eyes lighting up. “Bring her! We want to meet her, don’t we?” She looked to my dad.
My dad nodded his head. “Yes, dear, we want to meet her,” he said, smiling at his wife.
There was a ringing in my ears as I realized I had just taken myself down a road of no return. I was so screwed. “I’ll see if she’s free,” I said, hoping she couldn’t see the lie on my face.
My mom always knew when one of us was lying.
“I’m sure you can tell her it’s important,” she said with a firm nod of her head. “Insist she clear her schedule.”
Growing up, that nod was akin to something being carved in stone. It was so. Whatever it was, when that nod was given, it was done. There was no arguing.
“I’ll ask her,” I said, gulping down the lump of horror in my throat.
I was fucked. I either had to come up with a girlfriend in the next few days or tell my mother I lied. The latter wasn’t an option. There was no way in hell I was going to lie to mother and live to tell about it. It looked like I was in the market for a girlfriend—and fast.
Chapter 12
Bella
I looked at Cassia, and then at the dress she had brought for me to wear, and then back at Cassia. The woman had lost her damn mind. The dress would look absolutely great on her, but on me, I already knew the skirt was going to be way too high.
I didn’t want to offend her. At this point, she was the only friend I had kind of made, beyond my boss, and I didn’t think that technically counted. We weren’t going to be hanging out on the weekends. Cassia was it, which meant I was stuffing my body into the tiny dress.
“Thank you. I hope I don’t rip out a seam.” I took the dress and went into the bathroom stall.
“You won’t,” she said excitedly. “It’s going to look great on you!”
I wasn’t quite as sure, but I figured the worst that could happen was I would look a little risqué. I would wear the dress, finish out my time with the internship, and go home and never see any of these people again. No one back home would ever know about the dress.
I shimmied, tugged, and pulled until the little black bandage-style dress was on my body. It was a snug fit, but the spandex material made it easy to breathe. I tried to tug down the hem of the skirt, but that only resulted in my boobs falling out. I was stuck with short.
I opened the stall door and stepped out, my feet in the heels I had brought along to go with the dress, that only seemed to make it even shorter on my body. “I’m not sure about this,” I murmured.
“Damn!” she exclaimed. “You look gorgeous! I’m so jealous! Your legs are forever long!”
I could feel myself blushing as I tried to gently tug the hem down a little lower. “I don’t know,” I said. “Isn’t this a little much for a night out with coworkers?”
She grinned, shaking her head. “Oh no. This is perfect. You look stunning. Everyone is going to want to dance with you.”
I grimaced. “I’m not much of a dancer,” I said and realized right away I was being a total downer. I was supposed to be having fun, and that meant shucking some of those strait-laced ways I had fallen into.
“I promise, we are going to have fun,” she assured me, turning back to the mirror to apply lipstick. “This is a great way for you to meet everyone and make some new friends.”
I sighed, reaching into the small makeup bag I had brought along with me, and touched up my makeup. I wasn’t going quite as heavy as she was, but I did put on a little more eyeshadow and liner, along with red lipstick. If I was going to wear the dress, I needed a face to match it.
“You’re going to have fun,” she said again as we walked out of the bathroom.
I hoped she was right. We stashed our work clothes in her small office to pick up tomorrow and headed out of the office. Everyone else was already gone. We walked past Adrian’s office, the door closed and the lights off. He was already gone for the day. I wondered if he would make an appearance tonight. Part of me hoped he did, but another part of me hoped he didn’t. I wasn’t sure I wanted him to see me in the dress. That might make things weird between us.
We took a cab to the bar. Cassia held my hand, leading me inside, waving at people as we walked. She seemed to know everyone.
“Guys, this is Bella. She’s new at the office.” Cassia introduced me to a group of about twenty men and women gathered in one corner of the bar with tables pushed together. Everyone smiled and said hello before falling back into their conversations.
We ordered drinks and chatted with a few of the people from the office before a man who wasn’t part of the group approached me. He put his arm around my waist and began to drag me out on the dance floor. I looked at Cassia for help.
“Back off!” Cassia snapped, slapping at his arm.
“Oh, come on, one dance,” the guy said, slurring his words a little.
I grimaced. “No thank you.”
“That’s not how you ask a woman to dance,” Cassia said, pulling my arm and tugging me out of the man’s arm.
“Thank you,” I muttered, straightening the dress once again. “I think Greek men are a little more aggressive than the American guys.”
She laughed. “I’m sure they are. Americans are easy to bat away because they are much smaller.”
I giggled, not wanting to argue with her but knowing full well American men came in all shapes and sizes. “Some of them.”
“Let’s dance. We need you to loosen up.” She took the drink from my hand and put it on the table before dragging me out to the dance floor.
Cassia was a great dancer. Her body just seemed to move in a fluid motion that looked sexy and pretty. I felt a bit like a pig in a blanket trying to move like her. I had my hands in the air, shaking my ass and trying to let loose when I felt a large paw grabbing my ass.
“H
ey!” I shrieked, spinning around and facing a man that was a good six-feet tall and three-feet wide. He was a massive beast, and his paws were everywhere.
“Back off, buddy!” Cassia said, coming to my rescue by putting one of her tiny little hands in the man’s chest and pushing him away.
The man grinned and licked his lips as his eyes roamed over my body before turning and walking away. I shuddered with revulsion. I turned to look at Cassia. She was already back to dancing like nothing had happened. I watched as a man sidled up to her, towering over her as he swayed against her. She reached a hand up to his face, still dancing before pushing him away with a laugh and turning back to face me.
“You handle all of this so well,” I told her.
She winked. “Practice and never let them get to you. Let go and have fun. They don’t mean any harm, but you have to have a firm hand.”
I grimaced, over the dancing, and I walked away, heading back to the safety of the table. Cassia was right behind me.
“I’m sorry, but this is really not my thing,” I told her, hating I was bringing her down.
“It’s okay,” she said. “It can be a little obnoxious. Why don’t we go grab some pie at the café down the street?”
I looked around at the others from the office, all of them drinking and having a good time. I feared I would never quite fit in with them. My father’s hope for me to make friends was quickly evaporating.
“You don’t have to leave because of me,” I said. “Stay. Have a good time.”
She shook her head. “We do this every week. I’m in the mood for pie.”
“All right, pie it is,” I said, relieved to be getting out of the bar.
We said our goodbyes and headed for the door. We stepped into the warm, humid air outside, our heels clacking against the sidewalk as we walked away from the lively bar behind us.
“So, tell me all about you,” Cassia said.
I laughed. “I’m afraid there isn’t much to tell.”
Fake It For Me Page 7
