Chapter 4 ARE YOU FOR REAL

Juanita's POV:

A few minutes had passed and I was still shell shocked. My new boss, Jefferson Danvers, had just asked me to marry him; informally and suddenly, and as we both stood in his office, the air conditioning unit cooling the room and making the moment even tenser, I was stunned to see him waiting for an answer.

"Are.. are you being for real, Mr Jefferson?"

"As real as it gets," came his reply. He fixed his eyes steadily on me before continuing, "I know this is a surprise to you but, believe it or not, I am being serious. You see, I have a slight.. problem. And this problem can only be resolved by getting a bride. So I need you to marry me."

"B-but y-you are a billionaire.. Surely, you have lots of women who would love and say 'yes' to you in a heartbeat, sir," I replied, trying to process the whole thing. He was being serious; I could see that look of concentration in his eyes, and that scared me because I was worried that refusing him would mean losing the job.

"Yes, I do.. But I honestly don't have the luxury of a marriage born out of love. Time is of the essence; me accessing full control of this company and the entire empire, which is my freaking inheritance, lies in how quickly I get a wife."

He licked his lips and then slid his hands into his pockets before walking towards his table, which was clearly an expensive and exquisitely finished piece of mahogany wood.

"I know you're probably in a relationship but I promise, we don't have to be together forever or even live like man and wife. I'll pay you handsomely for your cooperation. All we have to do is go to the altar and tie the knot, then live together for six months, at best. When I say 'live together', I don't mean 'sleep together'; we just hg to be on the same house for it to look realistic. The divorce papers would be then prepared - after the contractual six months - and you can return to your life. I can assure you that I wouldn't get in your way or bother you; I may not even speak to you so don't worry, it won't get more complicated than it already is."

As he leaned on the table, he took his right hand out of his pocket, gestured to me and asked, "What do you say?"

I thought of how crazy this was: resuming to a new job - expectant, nervous and hoping to impress - only to be asked to marry your boss on a contract marriage basis. But, then, I thought of Robin and Xana's betrayal, I thought of my sorry financial state, I thought of how little I had left to lose.. And as I reminisced on these things, I realized that there was really only one answer to give him:

"Yes.. Yes, I will marry you."

Pleasantly, the expression on his face went from one of expectancy to relief and he cracked a smile; a cute one, at that.

"Well, then.. It's decided. But a woman who will be marrying Jefferson Danvers can't be seen in such horrendous clothes as the one you have on you, so I'll be taking you shopping."

"Right now?" I asked, feeling pauperized all of a sudden.

"Yes, right now."

"Okay, but I have a question, Mr Jefferson," I said again, and I could see that his face took on a worried look. Perhaps he thought I was reconsidering the marriage.

"Please, ask," he said.

"What about the PA job? Am I to be your PA and your wife?"

He waved his hand dismissively, "No, no.. Consider this as an unconventional promotion.. I'll hire another PA. You'll now be working as my wife, from now on."

The drive in his car, afterwards, was a very quiet one, but not one devoid of tension. I then took the time to look at him properly, and I couldn't help but gush over his accentuated features. Damn, he was handsome.

Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on which way one looked at it - he noticed my stares and remarked, without looking at the road, "With all that staring you're doing, we should both be thankful you're not the one driving.."

Feeling immensely embarrassed, I turned sharply to my side of the window and didn't look towards him again until he brought the vehicle to a halt. It was his voice that made me realize that we had arrived.

"Now.. Let's get you some new clothes.."

As I shopped according to Jefferson's directives - going for trouser suits, designer, heeled shoes, sunglasses and full sleeved gowns which were the 'billionaire wife' look - I felt so light. The pain of Robin's betrayal and the pain of my previously chaotic financial status had disappeared. This was a new Juanita Reyes.

Standing in front of a mirror in the changing room, looking at myself - the new and improved version - after having tried on one of the new clothes, I smirked. Who would have thought?

When I came out, Jefferson was talking to the cashier who was totalling the bill, and he had his back to me.

"Hey, how do I look?" I said, causing him to turn.

I watched as his expression changed from one of indifference to satisfaction, and he slowly nodded his head like someone whose investment had finally started to yield returns. But then he gave a bland compliment:

"You look like... Jefferson Danver's wife," and then he flashed a smile.

I rolled my eyes. I'd gotten a hint of how big the chip on his shoulder was but I didn't know it was big enough that he wouldn't even be able to compliment me properly. I guess I had my work cut out.

"Go on, Juanita, take the things to the car.. I'll catch up after paying," he added.

I began to take the clothes, which were at least 70, to the car, wondering when I'd be shown the company apartment which had been mentioned in the job listing. So engrossed in my thoughts was I that I didn't look where I was going, or so I initially thought, and ended up bumping into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't.." I started to say, before looking up at the person I'd bumped into. The impending apology disappeared and in its place, a forgotten anger welled up in me.

"What do you want, Robin? Haven't you done enough? And why the hell are you here? Have you been stalking me?"

He was looking disheveled and he smelled damp.

"Isn't it more than obvious? Of course, I've been stalking you.. And your new boyfriend," he said, looking past me and towards Jefferson's direction, his voice hoarse and thick with jealousy.

I wanted to say 'He's not my boyfriend' but then I realized that I didn't need to explain myself to anyone, especially not Robin, so I modified my reply:

"What's the matter? Is someone jealous? Let me guess, Xana dumped you? Of course she did. You should've known that she never really loved you; she did all she did to spite me; she let you have her to spite me. She was jealous of what we shared and she decided to ruin I by capitalizing on your list; she used you. How could you not even see that?"

"Listen, Juanita.." he started, but I cut him off.

"No, you listen. I'm done with you and I will no longer listen to you, ever again. Now.. Get out of my way."

His mouth began to twitch and he was even closing the distance between us and raising a hand towards me when I heard, much to my relief, Jefferson's voice:

"Is everything okay here?"

I slowly moved backwards, allowing Jefferson to stand in front of me and be face to face with Robin. He eclipsed Robin, height and muscle wise, so I felt even more secure.

Robin, cowering, replied, "Yeah, man, everything's good," before turning and walking out of the store, crossing the street and vanishing after turning a corner.

"Someone you know?" Jefferson asked, turning to me.

Still looking in the direction which Robin had gone in, I replied:

"Someone I used to know.."

Thinking I'd had my fill of surprises for the day, I hurried towards Jefferson's car, hoping to get in and be done with the day's ups and downs. However, I soon heard him speaking to someone:

"What, in God's name, are you doing here?"

"What's the matter, brother, Joachim Danvers can't shop in peace without his hateful brother suspecting foul play?"

That name, Joachim.. I knew that name.. And that voice.. I'd heard that voice as recently as this morning, but because I was still hungover at the time, I struggled to remember whose name it was. However, turning to look, my memory jogged: The man from the hotel! He was Jefferson's brother!

What on earth was going on?!