Chapter 4 The pain of Rejection

The sound of my alarm-scratch that- my ringtone woke me up. I tiredly grabbed my phone from my bedside drawer, mustering all the strength that I had in me to not cuss at the person who decided to call me at twelve noon on a fucking Saturday. My eyes widened when I read the caller ID, the words 'Dad' flashed on my screen, like it was mocking me.

Sighing, I answered the call and placed the cold screen against my ear. "Morning... dad." I said in a sickly sweet voice and I could hear him scoff.

"I think we've both grown past the stage of pretending that we're fond of each other." Well, ouch! I rolled my eyes at his words. "Did you see the news about your boss?"

I sighed, a part of me already knowing where this was going. "I'm not going to try to get him to fall in love with me-"

"That's not it at all," I sighed, I could almost imagine him running around the house with a stupid smile on his face. "His grandfather wants the both of you to have a date." My eyes widened and I shot out of bed.

Did I just hear my father correctly? The Cameron Pierce wanted me to have a date with his grandson? My hot boss?

"R-really?" I asked, my grip on my phone tightening. "How did he hear of you? Your company is nothing impressive." Lies.

"Get ready, I'll hire someone to pick you up."

I groaned and rolled my eyes again. "Dad, I'm not interested-"

"That wasn't a suggestion, get ready, the driver will be here at two."

"But Dad-"

I was cut off when he hung up. Typical, never really cared about me until you could gain something from me.

I was still on my bed, silently replaying my conversation with my dad, when it finally dawned on me. I was having a date with my hot boss, the one who may or may not be interested in me. I quickly grabbed a towel and rushed to my bathroom with joy that I couldn't quite contain. As much as I hated to admit, being from a rich family certainly had its perks.

^^

When I imagined a date, I imagined the kind in romance novels, the kind that most rich men could give to their lovers. Booking the entire restaurant was still expensive, but it was what I was expecting from the same man that I thought was in love with me moments ago. I coughed, trying my best to get his attention, but he looked down at his phone again.

What was going on? Was this a way to get me to beg for his attention?

"If you didn't want to go on a date with me, you didn't have to tell my father otherwise and make me leave my bed just to come here."

He raised a brow at me, before laughing. He finally put his phone away and rested his chin on the table, slowly inching closer to me. "So what you're saying is that you're jealous that my phone gets more of my attention than you today?"

I rolled my eyes, although it wouldn't save me from my flushed face that seemed to amuse Ashton.

"Tell me, Sweetheart, what would be the perfect wedding for you?" He mused, his signature smirk on his face.

I laughed a little, mostly so he wouldn't see how affected I was by what he said. Was this a sneaky way of proposing to me? I wasn't exactly going to decline if he did. The idea of waking up to his face every morning wasn't such a bad thing.

"Sweetheart?" His voice broke me out of my reverie and my cheeks reddened when I realised that I had been staring at him for quite an embarrassing amount of time.

I cocked my head to a side, trying to give myself that sexy coy look even though I probably looked like a fool just a few moments ago. "My dream wedding... it'll be from my favourite book, but if I told you the name, it would be too easy..."

He laughed, not the sexy kind, the kind that made me want to remove all of his sexy teeth, the kind that suggested that he found what I said as a joke. "So... if I get the name of the book, will you marry me?"

You know those moments when someone drops a bombshell on you and you spit out your drink or choke on it in surprise... If only I had a drink.

I raised a brow at him, a small smile on my face as an attempt to hide my probably red cheeks. "A-are you proposing to me?"

He smiled and placed his hand on mine. "If I told you my answer, it would be too easy." He repeated my words and I felt my face twitch.

"Whatever... I wouldn't accept even if you were proposing to me."

He raised a brow at me, his smile changing to a wide grin. "Are you sure? Doesn't the idea of waking up every morning to my face sound nice?"

My cheeks turned red. There was no way I said that out loud. "Did I say that out loud?" I blurted, instantly face-palming as the words left my mouth. "You know what? Just forget that I said that."

I quickly grabbed my purse and got up to leave but he got up and held my wrist. "Wait, I'll stop teasing you... for now."

Great, temporary vacation from my embarrassment. Who knew how long that would last?

"Marry me," My eyes widened and I took a few steps back. If his grip wasn't on my hand right now, my butt would have been kissing the floor right now. I mentally prepared for a lot of things before the date, but hearing those words from my boss was crazy. It was a crazy dream come true.

"I'm not going to do that." I said calmly, and the confused look that he gave me matched the one that I gave myself. My hot boss, that I'd fantasied a lot of dirty things with, proposed to me and I declined. "W-we should get to know each other more."

That sounded stupid. I don't even know why I declined in the first place. "I can't marry you because I'm still recovering from a breakup."

I wasn't a telepath, but I could tell that he was still confused. "Sure, I'll give you some time." He said, disappointment now evident on his face.

Oh, the pain of rejection. I wish I had a better reason as to why I rejected him-heck, my brain better had a good reason for me too. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, waved at him, and quickly left the restaurant. I could hear him calling, but I only walked faster, my heart beating hard in my chest as I replayed what had just happened.