Fake Fiancé

“Ms. Skylar, welcome to Freedom Tech. Please, grab a refreshment and have a seat. Mr. Freedom’s helper should be here at any moment.” I nodded at the receptionist, noting her tag read “Elena.” Blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, around my age, but maybe a little bit younger.

I turned to the refreshment center, which featured a fancy coffee and tea maker, as well as three different types of fruit-infused water. I opted for the simplest one, water with strawberries and raspberries floating in the middle. I only took half a cup, as I usually drank enough coffee in the morning to fulfill my needs.

“Ms. Allison Skylar, a pleasure.” I turned to the voice, which belonged to a older-looking suit-clad man. He had neatly combed brown hair, a few specks of grey teasing the sides of it. His handshake was firm, and I immediately noted the pale line that a wedding ring had left behind.

“Newly divorced?” I blurted out without thinking. My eyes grew wide as he hesitated, wondering where I had gotten the idea.

“No, no,” the man replied.

“I was just recently widowed.” He added awkwardly. I was already off to a horrible start.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Mr-” I didn’t actually know the guy’s name, so I waited for his response.

“Jeffery Anders.” He smiled.

“-Mr. Anders. I’m so sorry, I apologize for my insensitive outburst.” Mr. Anders nodded, his lips pressed together.

“So, Mr. Anders, you know that I’m the new hire. Which must make you the COO.” Mr. Anders nodded, affirming my suspicions.

“I’m sorry that most of the interview process had to be carried out via phone call, I was working from home for some time, considering.” I nodded, understanding what he meant. We stood there for a few moments before he led me towards the elevator.

“So Ms. Skylar, Mr. Freedom was quite interested in a few work experiences the both of you shared in high school.” I nodded.

“Garrett Freedom. Yes, he was in my graduating class. He used to talk about becoming the head of Freedom Tech, and no one doubted it would happen. Garrett and I weren’t friends though. I didn’t think he would recognize me, to be honest.”

“And I’m not saying he did, just that he was reminded of his own experiences when he read over your resume. Mr. Freedom is very particular. Don’t think of this position as a simple assistant’s job. You will become Mr. Freedom’s closest asset if you last here.” I gulped.

“It seems like a lot to take on.”

“Oh trust me- it is. Now, as soon as we notify Mr. Freedom of your arrival, I’ll be able to give you a tour of the building and the main jobs he will require of you.”

“Mr. Freedom, I’d like you to meet Ms. Allison Skylar, your new assistant. She’s the one that made it past the interview stage.” Mr. Anders reminded the back of a rolling chair as we stood in Mr. Freedom’s office. The chair slowly turned, and I came face to face with Garrett Freedom, the most successful bachelor of the year, according to Forbes magazine.

The tabloids weren’t lying the way they described him. Dirty blonde hair, the color that you could only get from being a guy who spent all their time in the ocean. And striking green eyes, ones you couldn’t mix up with hazel if you wanted to. He had had a glow up in high school, and I wondered how it was possible for a guy to have two of them.

He smiled, his perfectly straight pearly whites on display. His smile didn’t reach up to his eyes though, so I knew that it wasn’t a genuine one. He had a complete set of dimples, I could tell, but they were not visible right now. “Skylar. Class of 2013. Future Business Leaders of America. I was in that club too.” I nodded.

“Yeah, I remember you and Catie won together every year,” I commented, eyebrows raised.

“Catie... Catie... I don’t exactly remember her.” I let out a short laugh.

“She was only your girlfriend for like two years.”

“Oh, so you’re counting down.” He flirted with a wink. Mr. Anders cleared his throat.

“Mr. Freedom, if you don’t have any work for her right now, I’m willing to take her on the tour.”

“Nonsense, Anders. She’s my assistant, I’ll be happy to give her the tour myself.”

“With all due respect Garrett, you have quite a few meetings that require your attendance this morning before we meet to plan our client event.” Mr. Freedom waved him off.

“Jeff, we’ll make it to those meetings.” Garrett’s eyes did not leave mine throughout the entire conversation.

“Alright, Garrett. Play nice.” Mr. Anders turned to leave, but not before whispering a warning in my ear.

“Garrett does this thing where he charms all our female employees, don’t be fooled, it’s all because he hasn’t quite healed from Catie.”

The last part confused me. I figured that Garrett and Catie wouldn’t last past high school, but I always assumed he would be the one to end things with her. I wondered what had happened and then was reminded that I was the only one left in the room with Garrett. “Skylar, have a seat.”

“Of course, Gar-Mr. Freedom.” He waved me off as he leaned back in his chair.

“If I get to call you whatever I want, you get to call me Garrett, deal?” I nodded with no verbal response. Whatever he wanted?He leaned forward, resting his face in his palms as he stared into my eyes. It was patronizing and uncharacteristic of him and his stature, but that didn’t mean it didn’t make me melt.

“So, Skylar. Tell me more about you. In turn, I’ll tell you something.”

“Well, we did go to the same high school. For my Bachelor’s in Communications, I went to the University of Southern California. I worked for a year and a half at a friend’s startup, but that went under. Three months later, and here I am.” Garrett did not look satisfied by my verbal biopic.

“Skylar, this information was all in your resume. I want to know more. Why did the startup go under? Was it your fault?” I gulped.

“Most certainly not sir, the company leader was-”

“Jackson Fender. I remember him. He was on the baseball team with me. How did you end up working for him?”

“Well, Jackson and I were sort of- I don’t know, a thing?”

“Oh, a work affair?” Garrett was amused by my uncomfortableness, pressing his fingertips together as his eyes bore into mine tauntingly.

“Actually, no. Jackson and I were together for two and a half years. We were engaged and then I found out that... he was cheating. Multiple times.” I said quietly, feeling the familiar pain rise in my chest.

I expected Garrett to understand the cue and stop asking me about such a sensitive topic, but he continued on.

“Jackson Fender. Were you guys interested in each other in high school?”

“Well, only in passing. We were obviously attracted to each other, but nothing ever happened. He was more popular than I was. The most interaction we had was a game of 7 minutes in heaven in senior year of high school. We went to different colleges, but for some reason, he transferred to USC in senior year. We just hit it off from there. Things moved really quickly. He proposed-”

“Skylar, that’s enough. Words just don’t stop coming out of that pretty little mouth of yours. I find it hard to believe that Jackson and you were star-crossed lovers since high school. He dated plenty of girls. We dated the same girls even, and your name never came up. The words ‘Allison Skylar’ never left his lips.” I didn’t know what to tell him.

“Obviously we arenotstar-crossed lovers, considering we aren’t together anymore.” Garrett sat back, deep in thought. Suddenly he sat up straight.

“Every girl he dated, I dated. He probably didn’t want me to get my hands all over you.” He scoffed. I shrugged. I knew that wasn’t the only reason Jackson hadn’t dated me in high school, the main one was my unpopularity- it was the same reason no one had dated me in high school.

“Well, Jackson Fender is old news. And now, it’s us two.” He grinned, sitting back with a devious plan forming in his mind.