Page 1 of Faking it with My Boss' Son

Prologue

Michelle

Thirteen Years Ago

Ryan and I sat together one last time on our high school campus after the farewell party was over. He passed me a packet of salt and vinegar chips as we both sat in silence.

I shook my head; my stomach was too tangled in knots to think about food right now.

‘‘I thought they were your favorite.’’ Ryan said with confusion.

‘‘Yes, they are. But I don’t feel like having them right now.’’ I huffed, crossing my arms.

‘‘You seem out of sorts today.’’ He observed my unease.

I had a lump in my throat as Ryan said those words. ‘‘Aren’t you, Ryan? Today is the last day of school. Besides, you are leaving Davenport for good. Won’t you miss school, Davenport, me, and all our friends? Won’t you miss all this?” I said, trying not to cry.

‘‘I will, Michelle, of course. My life will never be the same again. You know good and well that if it were in my hands, I would never leave Davenport. Dad decided to move to Los Angeles to expand his business, so I don’t have much choice. I promise to stay in touch with you. We can talk over the phone; we have Facebook, email, and Messenger. We won’t lose touch.’’

I kept quiet. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Ryan how different the virtual world was from the world we were living in now. ‘‘You’ll have no time for all of this when you get there, Ryan. When you start going to college and get a new set of friends, you will forget all your friends here. And I am sure you’ll be just as popular there as you are here.’’ I tried to keep my tone light-hearted and playful, but of course, I didn’t mean it.

I had always found it quite hard to make friends because of my shy nature. I hardly had any friends because of it. The only friends I had were Ryan and Maya. Ryan was the popular guy and adored by all. Smart in school and talented at sports. Despite his huge circle of friends, he always made time for me. Our closeness seemed to make others think that we were in a relationship; we’d always laugh it off because we were nothing more than good friends.

‘‘Come on, Michelle. You know that isn’t true. You know that you’re a dear friend to me. Why don’t you apply to one of the universities in Los Angeles? You’re a bright student, and I’m sure that you could get accepted to any one of them.’’

‘‘You know our financial situation, Ryan. My family can’t afford it.’’I looked down at my feet self-consciously.

‘‘You can always apply for a scholarship.” He said as if he was truly confident that I could get one. “Or maybe my family can help pay to get you through college?”

‘‘I appreciate your kindness and that you are thinking about me. But you know it is impossible.” I said gratefully.

Ryan snorted. ‘‘I knew that you’d never agree.’’ He threw a small piece of pebble in the air. “But it was worth a shot.”

I put my hands on his and smiled.‘‘Ryan, you know me well. I just want to achieve things in life on my own. It is not that I am not trying. I’ll be applying to a few universities that I have in mind. I want to see if I get a scholarship to pursue my degree in management. But LA is too far away from my family.’’

‘‘I am sure you will. But remember, Michelle. If you ever need anything, I’m just a call away.’’ Ryan reassured me.

I nodded my head.

‘‘Hey, Ryan. Howdy!’’ A male voice called out softly behind us. Before I could turn and see who it was, Lucas appeared in front of us. He looked at me and smiled.

‘‘Oh, Michelle. I didn’t notice that it was you.’’ His cheeks reddened as he saw me and Ryan together. "How is Abel?’’ Lucas asked me as he sat next to Ryan.

‘‘He is fine. You haven’t been over to the house in a while. I hope everything is okay.”

Lucas was my brother’s good friend, soft-spoken and personable. He was a year younger than him and in the same grade as me, but they still formed a close bond. We lived in the same neighborhood and have been friends since childhood. I liked Lucas for his kind disposition and his pleasant demeanor.

‘‘I’ve been swamped with finals. I hope to visit him this weekend. Just saw Ryan in the distance and thought I should say goodbye before he goes to Los Angeles. God knows if we’ll see him again or not.’’

That’s exactly what I am feeling right now.

‘‘Come on, buddy. You know that isn’t true.’’ Ryan gave Lucas a hug. “I’ll stay in touch, and you know that.’’

I watched quietly as they exchanged pleasantries and said their goodbyes to each other.

‘‘You guys carry on. I’ll see you this weekend, Michelle.’’ Lucas waved goodbye. He turned back once more before leaving and smiled at both of us.

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