Fake Boyfriend (6 page)

"We have
to get going anyway." I remind him and look at the
clock.

He looks
me up and down and takes out his phone hitting the screen rapidly.
"Okay, where are we meeting your dad?"

"Henry's."

"That's
just around the corner. Want to walk?"

"Yes,
please." I reply, opening the door.

I see his
secretary is still waiting for the elevator. Not noticing last
night that there are two sets of elevators to this floor. I wonder
why it's taking so long to get here? Ruxin nods to her and hits the
button on the second elevator it opens immediately and he takes my
hand as we step on. I wait for her to join us and as the doors are
about to close I stop them. "Are you coming?" I ask, wondering why
she didn't get on with us.

She
shakes her head, no and I remove my hand letting the doors close.
"I don't think she likes me." I mutter.

"Of
course she doesn't. I'm going to have to talk to her about her
manners, very shortly." He states, ominously.

"Why
wouldn't she like me?"

"She has
been wanting to sleep with me for a while and is becoming more
obvious about it. I let it go for too long. Now, I'm going to have
to replace her. Shame, she is really good at her job."

"You've
never slept with her and she is willing? What's wrong with you? I'm
straight and still would have slept with her."

"I don't
like tall dark haired women. I much prefer short
blondes."

"You
should give her a warning. If she's good at her job that means she
enjoys it and wouldn't want to lose it." I suggest. Not liking the
thought of anyone losing their job, especially in this
economy.

"You're
unbelievable, you do know you're defending someone who was
blatantly rude to you."

"So? Just
because she was a bitch doesn't mean I am." I state. Within seconds
I'm pinned against the elevator wall with his tongue down my
throat. His hands cup my butt and he grinds against me. My shock
turns to need like the flip of a switch and I respond to his kiss.
My fingers thread through his thick hair, pulling him closer. We
don't hear the doors open, but pull apart when someone loudly
clears their throat. I pull back quickly and Ruxin walks behind me
as we exit the elevator. I see the older man, looking just as
embarrassed as I do and give him a sheepish smile as we pass
him.

When
we're outside walking to the restaurant I turn to Ruxin, "Did you
know that man?"

"Yeah, he
manages the place for me."

"Your
condo?" I ask, confused.

"The
whole building."

"You own
the whole thing?"

"I do."
He answers. I get annoyed, he really does own half the city. I
realize he is holding my hand and I glance at him.

"I like
your outfit, is that business causal or stuffy businessman?" I
tease.

"What's
wrong with my outfit?" He asks, looking down at himself.

I take in
his fitted dark gray slacks and white fitted dress shirt. "You look
like you're going to a business lunch. Do you even own
jeans?"

"I may
have a pair somewhere." He answers. I scoff what kind of man
doesn't have jeans? Not that he doesn't look great, he definitely
looks flawlessly put together.

We walk
up to Henry's and Ruxin opens the door for me, I thank him and look
around for my father. I see him seated with Susan and Cindy, this
should be fun. I feel Ruxin's hand at the small of my back and I
take comfort from it. I smile at William as I try to gage his
reaction at seeing Ruxin with me. He looks surprised and completely
taken off guard, I don't bother looking at the other
two.

"Hi." I
say to the table as Ruxin sides out my chair for me.

"Hi, Eva.
Ruxin, I didn't expect you." William says, still managing to sound
inviting.

Ruxin
doesn't respond right away, but pulls up another chair right next
to me. "I insisted on coming. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at
all."

"Have you
been waiting long?" I ask.

"No, we
just got here." William answers.

"Great."
I reply, smiling. This is feeling very awkward. Ruxin's arm is
resting on the back of my chair and he absently plays with my hair
as the waitress comes to our table. We place our drink order and
look over the menu. I know I want, the personal pizza with
mushrooms and green peppers, so I don't bother picking up the
menu.

"You know
what you want already, Angel?"

"Yeah, I
always get the same thing from here. Pizza with mushrooms and green
peppers."

"That's
sounds good." He replies and seconds later his phone rings. He
looks at the screen and stands up, "Excuse me, its my mother." He
says to me. I nod and he walks away.

"So,
what's going on between you and Mr. Novak?" Susan asks, sweetly.
While still glaring at me.

I
suppress a shiver. She can't hurt me now. "We're getting to know
one another." I respond, evasively.

"He never
goes out with anyone. Why would be go out with you?" Cindy asks.
For the first time she's not asking to be a bitch, but genuinely
curious.

I shrug
one shoulder. I don't know how to answer that, so I decide not to.
"Do you not like him?" I ask William nervously.

"I do. I
just don't like him with you. I think he'll end up hurting you, its
what he does." He answers, sympathetically.

I knew
that he'd say that about Ruxin. I don't know how to tell him he
doesn't have to worry without sounding suspicious, so I smile at
him and say, "I understand your concern."

"He's
using you, it has to be. Nothing else makes sense." Cindy states,
like she just solved a puzzle.

"I'm not
using her. So, guess again." Ruxin replies, sitting
down.

Knowing
that she is absolutely correct in her guess I look away. I don't
want her to read, how close she hit the nail on the head. Of course
she would figure it out. Her best friend gave my things to him and
now he's using them against me, its kind of obvious.

"My
mother wants to have a family dinner tonight. I told her I was
bringing you."

I feel my
eyes almost pop out of my head and I look at him like he's crazy. I
didn't sign up to play his fake girlfriend. I have to meet his
parents! How weird will that be when they start asking questions.
"That's a very nice offer. However, I think I should spend time
tonight looking for a job at an establishment you don't
own."

He
smiles. "You're going."

"No, I'm
not." I argue. Then whisper in his ear, "Are you crazy? Why would
you introduce me to your family?"

"Why
wouldn't I?" He asks, not bothering to whisper.

"Its a
little soon to be meeting your family. Don't you think, honey?" I
question, not bothering to whisper either.

"There's
no time like the present, Angel." He smirks.

"Is that
saying on your family crest? You sure use it a lot." I glare and he
laughs.

"If not,
it should be. Dinner is at seven. I'll have Julia go get you
something to wear."

"No, I
have things. I just need to stop by William and
Susan's."

He
doesn't listen to me as he continues to use his phone. "Ruxin." I
say, in warning. He doesn't even look up. Irritated I punch his leg
to get his attention.

He smiles
and his eyes light up with mirth when he looks at me. "Yes,
Angel?"

"I said,
no," I repeat slowly.

"And I
said, yes." He states, stubbornly. "Think of it like Christmas,
again."

"I hated
Christmas." I mutter under my breath.

"Why
would you hate Christmas?" He questions, still busy with his phone.
Not wanting to go into it in front of William, I ignore his
question.

He looks
up when I don't respond. "Answer me." He demands. I should've kept
my mouth shut. I feel him looking at me. Not wanting it to sound
like a big deal I answer him.

"My mom
didn't make a lot of money. It was fine after I grew up and
understood why I didn't get any presents. As a kid it was hard, I
thought I was bad, I didn't know we were poor." I
explain.

"Are you
ready to order?" The waitress asks, as I think of ways to bodily
harm Ruxin.

"I
believe so." William answers, clearing his throat.

We all
order and William looks at me. "I tried all the time. I sent her
checks, she just never cashed them."

"She
didn't want your money, William." I state, somewhat
offended.

"I know."
He replies, sadly. "She could have only used it for you. To take
care of you."

"She took
care of me just fine. She just couldn't give me Christmas presents
and I don't care. She spoiled me with such love and attention that
you couldn't even possibly understand. We were each others worlds
and I miss that part of my heart everyday. So, please don't feel
sorry for me, I don't need it."

"She was
a remarkable women, you're a lot like her. I know I wasn't the dad
I was supposed to be back then, but she asked me to stay away." He
explains, totally dejected.

"I know.
She told me. Mom was never the forgiving type, she was too
proud."

"I don't
blame her, but I can take care of you now." William says, smiling
sadly.

"Take
care of her? Why don't you start with your wif-" I turn to Ruxin so
fast I think I may have startled him.

"I need
to speak to you privately." I state, standing up. He stands up
reluctantly and I grab his arm pulling him to the exit. "Don't you
dare say anything about them blackmailing me." I demand.

"Why not?
You should have told him."

"I just
got here and you think I want to ruin his family? I went my whole
life without my father so that my mom could say she didn't ruin a
family. I'm not going to come in here and destroy that man, he's
not a bad guy. He's happy that's all I care about, I don't need you
protecting me from them."

He thinks
about it for a minute then responds, "I won't say anything, if you
have Christmas with me."

"Christmas with you? Fine. That falls in the six months
anyway." I reason. He cups my face and kisses me softly, he pulls
back looking into my eyes.

"There's
something you should know about Christmas at Ruxin
Novak's."

"What?"

"It comes
everyday." He replies, kissing me deeply. When he pulls back I'm
breathless. He smirks and takes my hand walking us back to the
table. They seem to be silently discussing something. As we near
them they stop and smile at us.

We sit
down without saying anything and I can tell William is watching us
strangely. I'm relieved when our food comes and I don't have to
search for another topic to discuss.

"Eva,
mentioned that you're taking her with you when you do your annual
European tour." William says to Ruxin.

"Yes. I
asked her to accompany me." He looks at me, "I promise I wont be
working the entire time. I'll take you to see all the
sites."

"Really?"
I ask, kind of getting excited about the prospect of seeing more of
the world. "Besides Michigan and New York, I haven't been anywhere
else."

"You'll
love it." He promises.

"I
probably will, but I really need to find work. You said you'll be
coming and going, do you think you could get me a copy of your
schedule? So I know when I'll be here and when I'll be gone. Maybe
I can find a place that will work around it." I say,
hopeful.

"Why is
working so important to you?" He asks, clearly annoyed with my
persistence on finding work.

"I want
to be able to take care of myself. I don't like relying on William
and Susan and their generosity, or yours for that
matter."

"I don't
think you have to worry about that. Ruxin, doesn't have a generous
bone in his body." Cindy scoffs.

"I think
you and I both know that's not true. Considering what he did last
night." I scold.

"Is that
it? He got you back your things and you sleep with him as payment?
Very classy." She mocks.

"What
things?" William asks, clearly out of the loop.

"Do you
still want me to keep quiet?" Ruxin asks, angrily.

"Yes." I
answer him.

"You know
what Cindy, you're as shallow and vapid as you are beautiful. One
day your going to realize that not everyone is your enemy. I would
have loved to have called you sister."

I stand
up. "Please, excuse me."

"I can
put your mind at ease. Your sister was a virgin until last night.
Unlike you, who has been used and thrown away by every swinging
dick with money."

"Ruxin-"
William starts, getting upset.