Fake It: A Fake Fiancé Romance

by Allie Hayden

  There are more things going on than I can count. A pot on the stove is simmering with what looks to be like tomato sauce. There’s a pan with asparagus in it. The chopping board is filled with leafy green vegetables. There are also bowls of freshly chopped onions, bell peppers, and cucumbers. Whatever he’s making smells really good and looks really good too.

  But, I’m here on a mission, I must not forget. My lips purse together. I straighten my back. My spine elongates and the blood rushes all over my body preparing itself. Of all the things I want to say to him, and of all the ways I’ve played it out in my head, over and over…I’m not quite sure where to start.

  “Xander,” I say.

  There’s a clatter of metal clanking together and a shallow cup drops to the ground.

  “Molly—” Xander swivels around. “You scared me.”

  He bends down to pick up the cup and goes back to his cooking. He takes a spatula and moves the food around in the pan. My feet want to run away, but I know it’s time to face this thing head on. It’s time to rip off the Band-Aid.

  “We need to talk.” I straighten up even more.

  He gives me a look of concern. I can see the micromovements in his lashes. He turns the stove burner off all the way and wipes his hands on the dishcloth on the table. We’re surrounded by the fruits of his labor. There’s a naked fish in the sink, descaled and its guts beside its lifeless body. The sizzling of the pan dies down. The last bit of heat transfers into the air.

  I look to the fish, but then look back up. “About this whole Carlyle thing. To be honest, I don’t know if I can go through with it anymore. I want out of it. I want out of the contract, and I need you to help me retract it.”

  My hands are slippery and I rub the excess moisture onto my jeans. The clock is ticking, every moment a slow, agonizing passage of time. Xander doesn’t show any sign of anger. He sucks in his cheeks, creating small dimples in the side of his mouth. For the most part, he looks calm and collected. It’s scarier than if he were to just blow up at me.

  He clears his throat. “That’s going to be impossible.”

  “Impossible? Why?”

  “Because we’re in too deep. We can’t get out now because there’s too much at stake.”

  I stomp my foot. “No—I’m done. I’m not going to finish out the contract. I’m pulling myself out. I’m ripping it up.”

  Xander stiffens his posture. “Look, if you back out of this arrangement between you and Carlyle, it’s going to hurt him way more than it’s gonna hurt us. You can’t back out now. We can’t back out now. This fake arrangement is only going to work if you’re in agreement with it. Plus, you can’t just rip up a contract.

  “Once you’re married, you can do what you were planning on doing in the first place—leave him and tell Dad how marriage just doesn’t work for you. You’re going to tell Dad and Carlyle that all along you were lying and only doing it out of self-interest? Are you crazy?”

  I gasp. “Xander. Did I not make myself clear? I’ll say it in a more literal sense so you can understand me. I have feelings for Carlyle. I love him, and I won’t do this to him anymore.”

  Xander holds up a finger. “Feelings, eh. It’s always you and your feelings. But you know what, I was kind of hoping you would say that.”

  He pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and scrolls through something. He sets it on the table in front of me. I give Xander a weird look but pick up his phone to read what it says.

  “Stanleys Once Again California’s Richest Family After Turbulent Quarter”

  I look up and shrug. “So? Weren’t we always one of the wealthiest families in California?”

  “Oh Molly, Molly.” He folds his arms and shakes his head. “You live in a world of fantasy. Keep scrolling.”

  I do as I’m told and scroll through the pictures within the article. Just pictures of houses and commercial buildings.

  “What about it?” I ask, confused. “Are these buildings supposed to mean something to me?”

  “They might look familiar. Actually, they should look familiar. Remember those pictures you sent me a while back? Those photos you took while you were at Carlyle’s house? Those buildings are now in our name. He was going to buy them and resell them to some partners of his.

  “But now, instead of his partners buying them up, it’s our partners. Let me explain, dear sister. You were the one who stole all that property information from him. So that means you’re the one who cost him years of research and planning.”

  Xander taps me on the nose, having to bend at the hips. “That’s why, Molly. You can’t tell him. Knowing his little love was betraying him the entire time would kill him. It might utterly ruin him.”

  Conned. I was fooled. By my very own family.

  Xander straightens up and ties his apron back on more tightly. There’s a look of dominion on his face. He fixes his hair, brushing it back. Desperately, I search for a rebuttal, but I’m left tongue-tied. He turns the knob back on the stove and pops a cherry tomato in his mouth.

  My hands clench and my nails dig into my skin, almost breaking the flesh. There could be smoke coming out of my ears. I turn on my heel and walk toward the exit.

  “And Molly—” Xander says sternly, stopping me in my path. “If you do end up telling him the truth, I’ll just warn you now, he won’t appreciate it as much as you might think.”

  There comes a moment in every girl’s life where she comes face-to-face with the heat of a dilemma. There’s a fork in the road and each path has a sign pointing in different directions.

  One of the signs tells me to go toward freedom, to experience the wind in my sails and the sand in my toes. The limitless abundance of unlimited time and money. To go where my heart takes me, to follow the sounds and callings of the Universe.

  Then there’s the second sign. It tells me to tell the truth. To man up to my mistakes, which could lead to failure, humiliation, and complete alienation. To tell the truth would leave me shamed to my whole community, my entire family, and the one person I want to protect the most.

  If neither road allows me to be with the man I love, so be it.

  In my heart I know what the right thing to do is. I slam my hand down on the kitchen counter. If there was a time to strengthen my resolve, that time is now. It’s time to take confrontation head on. Whatever it takes.

  “Xander,” I start. “You—you’ve ruined everything for me. This was my plan. This was supposed to be a way for me to gain my confidence back with Dad. But you took advantage of it. And you took advantage of me. I won’t let you do this anymore. I trusted you, Xander. And now everything has gone down the hole. If Carlyle hates me because of this, then fine. But I’m going to tell him the truth about everything.”

  Xander takes a step toward me and tries to put his hand on my shoulder, to which I step back reactively. He won’t talk me out of this one.

  “Molly, chill. Things are going according to plan. Things are working out. Everything you want, you’re going to get. The freedom of choice and the right to your own life. Look at this. Everything is working as expected. You’re the one who wanted to ditch Carlyle, weren’t you?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t want that plan anymore. It’s gone too far. I’m done. I’m out. I’m calling him, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  “Molly, it’s done. I always take contingency steps. The plan to expose this entire thing is now being broadcast around the world. There’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

  I look at Xander in disbelief and shake my head.

  No.

  I’m going to call him now. I’m going to call Carlyle and tell him everything. I don’t have a moment to lose.

  22

  Carlyle

  My flight for New York is about to take off. I’m meeting with Lisa Evans, who is a stakeholder of the company. Since my life is now in California, I need someone to take care of things for me on the East Coast.

  I look out the plane window. It’s glo
omy outside. No rain yet, but it looks cloudy. I have to get through this meeting, and then I’ll have time to myself. The pilot makes a statement over the intercom about the length of the trip. Typical five-hour plane ride. All I could manage was business class because of the urgency of my departure. There aren’t many people around me and I try to relax and see if I can get some shut-eye.

  As soon as we start taxiing along the runway, my phone starts vibrating. It’s Molly. I pick it up. Her voice sounds frantic through the phone.

  “Carlyle, did you get on the plane yet? I need to see you right now.”

  “Molly. What’s wrong?”

  A stewardess walks by me and points to my phone. “Sir, please turn that off. We’re about to take off.”

  I nod and smile, assuring her I’ll be just one more minute. She walks by me to the back of the plane. I turn my attention back to my phone.

  “I’m literally about to take off. What is it, Molly?”

  The stewardess comes back around and gives me an uneasy smile. She could get into big trouble if I’m on my phone during takeoff. I can tell she’s starting to lose her patience. She flashes me a dirty look before pretending to busy herself with something at the front.

  Molly is still in a frenzy. “I’m sorry. I need to see you. Right now. Please.”

  “I can’t. I’m on the plane and can’t really talk right now either. Can you tell me what it is quickly or just text me? I can look at it when I land.”

  The floor rumbles underneath me. The cabin’s lights start to dim. The captain makes another announcement, checking in with the passengers.

  Molly chimes in right before I see the stewardess swat me. “I’ll come to you. It’s urgent. I’ll meet you in New York.”

  “Are you serious? Are you sure?”

  “Sir?” the stewardess interrupts.

  “I have to see you in person, Carlyle. I’m coming. I’m leaving now. I’ll call you when I get there.”

  “Molly—wait.”

  She hangs up. What on earth did Molly need to see me for so badly that she’d be willing to fly hours just to tell me in person? I turn off my phone, making sure to flash the black screen to the stewardess before putting it in my pocket.

  Whatever it is Molly wants to tell me, I have to put it out of my mind until I get to New York. I have to work things out with Lisa. My father set up a trust for me in the company’s name. I have to know the details within it to make sure I make good decisions.

  My mom is right. I’ll be busy in the coming weeks. Still, I need to plan my dad’s funeral, which will be my priority when I get back. I realize I haven’t gotten much of a breather since I moved to California. Everything has just piled up on me.

  The family business, the whole thing with Molly, the lawsuit, my problems with Phillip, and now, my dad. That’s the cherry on top. To someone who doesn’t know me, on the outside, it looks like I’ve got it all. The limelight, the business, the money. No one realizes how much work it all is.

  After landing, I hop into a taxi. The New York office is downtown, and I know Lisa is there waiting for me. I remember to adjust the time on my watch ahead by three hours. It looks like I’ll be just on time. The city is exactly the same as I left it. The trees are starting to grow their leaves this time of year. The roads are the same. Slow stints of traffic and intervals of fast lanes. As we get deeper into the city, the office comes into view. It looks quiet on the outside.

  When I walk in, the receptionist is sitting there at the desk in the middle of the foyer. On a couch not far from her is Lisa. Almost as if they were her bodyguards, several lawyers in suits and ties stand around the couch. Lisa is a good family friend, knowing both my parents through work. She’s been with us since her early thirties, and I believe it’s been more than a decade that she’s worked for my family.

  I straighten up my jacket and walk toward her and her posse.

  I greet everyone and shake hands with them all. The receptionist gives me a big grin. I’m sure she remembers our past conversations, but there’s no time for that now. She gives me an access key to my office and directs us to the elevator.

  My office is on the executive floor. The boardroom right next to it is vacant. Everyone files into the room and we all take our seats. There must be eight, nine, maybe ten other people in the room besides Lisa and me.

  I stand in the front of the room. “Lisa, gentlemen. I’m sure you’re all aware of why we’re here. We’ve had many discussions regarding this, and now the day has come. As much as I love this office and wanted to eventually come back, the circumstances of my return have changed.”

  Lisa clears her throat and speaks up. “We’ll do whatever it takes to make sure things are in order.”

  “I know you will, Lisa. You’re one of our family’s most trusted friends and I know you will take this transition very seriously. And everyone else,” I raise my hands, “I want to thank you all for being here today. Let’s get all the documents and transfer forms signed today. I want to finish all of this in the next few hours. I trust we have most of it ready?”

  We go over some of the business plans for New York. Lisa will be in charge of executing business strategies from this point onward. She’ll also take partial ownership of some of the assets. This is a huge step in her career as a partner. The lawyers and managers in the room have very few questions. They stay quiet for the most part while Lisa and I work through the details. After we go over which buildings in New York are now under her jurisdiction, I pull her out of the room to talk to her about the trust in my name.

  With my hands in my pockets, and Lisa in front of me, I tell her about the news. “There is one more matter I need to discuss with you. It’s a personal matter, but it will be important to our partnership.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “The trust in my name, under my father’s company. We’re still up in the air on what the finer details look like. For now, it seems that the company’s assets should be going under me. I should be named the heir to the company. But I have to meet with my attorney this week. I’ll keep you posted.”

  “I’m aware, Carlyle. These things happen when there’s, ahem, an unexpected family occurrence. How are you doing, anyway?”

  “Things have been alright. It happened so recently that I haven’t had much time to think about it.”

  “You’re a strong person, Carlyle. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders. I’ll be sure not to disappoint you. But, I wanted to say as well, congratulations.”

  “Congratulations for what?”

  “For your partnership with the Stanleys. It’s all over the news.”

  “All over the news? What are they saying?”

  “Well, there’re saying the Stanleys are the richest family on the West Coast now. I know you were planning on partnering up with them, weren’t you? They just bought this massive slew of properties.”

  Lisa has her phone in her hand and starts unlocking it. I wait in anticipation. Her mentioning that I’ll be partnering with the Stanleys makes me anxious because I ran out on them at the charity event. She finds what she’s looking for and holds up her phone for me to see.

  “Go ahead, take a look.”

  It looks similar to the article Jeff forwarded me from earlier. It’s the same real estate blog. This time, however, it says something different. The Stanleys are now the single most powerful family on the West Coast. Mr. Hill isn’t some mysterious new real estate player no one has heard of before. He is Xander Stanley. It’s an open-and-shut case.

  There are still so many questions. I’m almost sure Xander has never seen my portfolio. Could Xander and Phillip be in cahoots? My eyes shift back and forth like a bug. Lisa is still standing in front of me. I can’t help but react this way. All along, it was Xander.

  How could he have—how could Xander have gotten into my library?

  How could anyone get into my house without me noticing? Then it hits me. The one person I don’t want it to be. The one person who was righ
t under my nose this entire time. I’m not jumping to conclusions, though. I need to be sure.

  “Are you alright?” Lisa asks, looking concerned.

  “Yeah, sorry about that.” I shake my head. “Where were we?”

  I hand the phone back over to her and smile.

  A part of me wants to believe that Molly has nothing to do with this. I want to believe she’s innocent, that she isn’t playing me. Feelings weren’t supposed to be a casualty of this arrangement between us.

  What the hell was I thinking.

  It really shouldn’t bother me this much. But it makes me so mad that everything is leading me to the answer that Molly was screwing me. She and her brother are the ones in cahoots. Not mine. I’m just the idiot who fell for their trap.

  When I get back to my condo, I wait for Molly to arrive. She’s already messaged me to let me know she’s running a bit late. It’s nightfall and the streets are almost empty. I look out the window to see her standing at the front door of my building then stumbling to make it up the stairs. She’s brought a duffle bag with her. I thought I could be civil and suppress my feelings, but the anger and rage slowly come to the surface.

  I told myself earlier that I would give her a fair trial. I let her into my condo and we stand there staring at each other for a while. I don’t know what to say. I’m confused as to whether I should hug her or scold her. We sit across from each other on the couch. I do everything in my power not to explode.

  “I’ll let you explain, Molly. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt first. You have the floor.”

  “I can explain.”

  “Then, please, do.”

  “My brother tricked me. He wanted me to do things that hurt you. I didn’t know what he was asking from me. Everything that’s happened now is his fault—I swear.”

  I put up a hand. “Did you, or did you not, help your brother steal information from my house? Did you give him my portfolio? Did you take it?”