Page 28 of Surprise! I'm Engaged To My Boss
"You're right: the position is rightfully mine. The selected project was mine, and I worked hard on it. But that's not what I want. I can't take the new role. At least not while I'm your...fiancée."
“What do you mean? Why not?”
“Because everyone will say that I was promoted because I'm sleeping with the boss.”
I liked her honesty and direct choice of words. I had thought it was something that was unique to her when she was drunk, but apparently, she was like that when she was emotionally upset too.
She continued. “I want the job, but only when our charade is over, and then I can take it. Not as payment for something, but because it is rightfully mine.”
“Okay. Deal.” For Christ’s sake, I would accept any condition she imposed. “But I’ll need to put someone in charge temporarily, I can't leave it vacant for three months.”
“I've thought about that too. I want you to put Layla in.”
“Layla?”
“Layla East.”
“Layla East... Right...” I obviously didn't recognize the name. There were too many peopleworking in that office for me to know them all. Well, actually, I don't think I even knew a tenth of them. “Is she an architect in your department?”
“More or less. Almost. Actually, Layla is an intern.”
“What? You want me to put aninternin charge?”
“It's temporary, isn't it? It'll only be for a few months. Besides having to pay for college, her mother is sick, so this better salary for this time will help her a lot.”
“But she's an intern! Still a college student. How can she have a management position?”
“Well... I googled and found out that the current CEO of Turner Architecture, who happens to be you, dropped out of college with less than a year to go before graduating.”
Sure, that was a low blow, but it was still a valid argument.
I fell silent again. I was in no position to deny any negotiation idea she had.
“Okay, we'll put the intern in charge until you can take over. With that, do you accept the proposal?”
“Just one more condition. I want to make it very clear that our involvement will be purely a facade.Which means there will never be any intimacy between us.”
Memories of my tongue invading her mouth flooded my mind.
Too late for her to demand that of me.
“You mean from now on, right?”
Her face turned red. I thought her reaction was a bit disproportionate. Well, we had exchanged a few kisses, a few snogs, a hand here, another there, we had seen each other naked and everything, but... nothing more than that. Was she really going to be embarrassed every time she remembered that?
This seemed to embarrass her even more than calling her boss anasshole.
“Yes, from now on,” she finally answered. “Any advances, jokes or attempts on your part to cross the line, and I will announce to God and the world that our engagement is a sham. Deal?”
“Deal. Oh, and I promise I'll give you a real ring too. With a huge diamond, just the way you women like it.”
“I don't give a damn about this jewelry nonsense.”
Oh my... I swore every woman was crazy about those rings with big diamonds.
“Well... We have a deal, then?” I extended my hand towards her, trying not to show how much I was shaking at that moment.
Her agreement with that was fundamental to me. So much so that when she shook my hand, I even wanted to hug her.
