A Hired Boyfriend For Christmas

Blair's POV

"You keep slacking behind!" My boss raised his voice at me as he used the document in his hand to hit my head continuously.

"I'm sorry sir," I apologize with my gaze lowered, not daring to meet him.

I wish my eyes could kill, so my eyes would kill him now.

"Sorry, sorry?" He laughed and threw the documents on the floor, "Are you doing this because your grandfather is the minister of aviation? Or your Grandma is a CEO? Or your rich family?"

I ignored his questions and bent down to pick up the file. My boss was annoying as fuck, I don't know what his deal was, it felt like he bullied me for fun.

"Sir, I'm returning home for Christmas, the minister of aviation wants me home, so I will be reporting from there," I said in a low tone, hoping he got the message.

My boss glared at me, "Get out, I don't care what you do."

I dropped the documents on the table and left his office. He hated me because I got this job through connection and I was able to keep it.

"Are you okay?" Ziora, one of my colleagues asked and I nodded my head with a small smile on my face.

"Sure, I'm used to him already," I smiled and began arranging my things.

"What are your plans today? I wanted to hang out with you before you go home for the break," Ziora sweetly said and I pouted.

Ziora was such a sweetheart, she always covered up for me despite being my junior, "I would love to, today is my and Zade's fifteenth anniversary and we are having dinner."

"Sure," Ziora nodded her head and hugged me, "Have fun."

I picked up my bag and hurried downstairs, I didn't want to keep Zade waiting, especially since my best friend saw him picking up a ring at the ring shop. It's our fifteen years of being together, I hope he wasn't renewing my promise ring but giving me an engagement ring.

Zade and I had been together since middle school, we were the It couple everyone envied, right now everyone was waiting for our marriage and so was I.

I arrived at the restaurant and just like I thought, Zade was sitting at the table in the middle of the restaurant, he was looking as handsome as ever with his blue pants and beige color shirt. He was truly the man I had fallen for as a teenager.

"Babe, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting," I kissed both his cheeks and lips before sitting opposite him, "I'm sorry I didn't change into something good, my boss was on my neck."

"Sure, I already ordered something for us," Zade said, and I immediately saw the waiter bringing food to our table.

The waiter served the food and left while we began digging in.

"Zade, I hope you are already prepared. it's just a day remaining and we will be going to our hometown," I said, trying to cut my steak.

Zade exchanged my uncut stake for his own when he noticed I was finding it difficult to cut mine. I thanked him and smiled at him.

"I already have a gift for your family, so what gift do you have in mind for my parents and grandparents?" I asked as I put a piece of steak in my mouth, "Do you plan on going empty-handed?"

I raised my eyebrows when he didn't say anything, "This is the first Christmas we are going back for in six years."

"Blair, can we just eat silently?" Zade asked and confusion settled on my face.

Blair? That was weird, this was the first time in fifteen years I heard Zade call my name. I wanted to ask if he was okay but he didn't. He looked like he wanted to say something.

I nodded my head and ate silently. Once in a while, I took a secret glance at him to make sure he was okay.

After dinner, Zade paid, got us ice cream, and suggested we go for a walk and I agreed.

Zade led me to a bench and made me sit down, "Hold this for me," Zade handed me his ice cream and went down on his knees.

I took the ice cream with a smile on my face, I thought he wanted to propose but he tied the lace of my shoes tightly. "You should learn to do this, I will not always be in your life."

I rolled my eyes and then it suddenly hit me when I realized what he said, "Huh?" What was he saying?

"Blair, you are a beautiful and hard-working girl, you are the sweetest but you deserve the best," Zade stood up and lowered his gaze.

Where was this going, I felt chilly and I was scared, "You are the best Zade, and will always be the best, what are you saying?" I laughed nervously.

My body went still and my mind went blank when Zade said, "I really do care about you but let's end our journey here."

"Huh?" What did he just say? "Babe, why are you joking today?" I grabbed the hem of his shirt as tears gradually began to fill my eyes, "Babe what prank are you playing today?"

Zade gently removed my hand from his shirt and patted me on the head, "Blair, this is no prank and I promise you will be okay."

"You keep saying Blair, you never called me Blair, it's babe," If this was a dream someone should please wake me up, "Please say you are okay and it was a prank."

Zade swiped his hand through his hair "Blair, please let's stop, please."

"Who is she?" I didn't even know when those words left my mouth. That was the only thing I could think of since my best friend Clover mentioned the ring.

"After the break, I will come pick up my things from your house and drop your things too," Zade said, ignoring my question.

"Fifteen years of my life wasted," My voice barely above a whisper. I didn't want to attract the public's attention to us or rather I didn't have the strength to talk much.

I stood up and hugged him tightly, "I will give you time to think about it, huh, you are just confused at the moment."

Zade pushed me away from himself and looked me dead in the eyes, "I'm not confused or anything, we are over and that's it."

I bite my lower lips, "Are...are...are you serious?"

"Yes, yes I'm serious," Zade gave me a death stare and I felt shivers. He had never looked at me like that.

I didn't understand anything, what was going on? Fifteen years ended in a blink of an eye and just like that.

Zade licked his lips and held my hand, "Blair, Blair, please don't be like this, let's not end this on a bad note, we ended the relationship doesn't mean we can't be friends."

The tears I have been trying to hold back rolled down my eyes freely. Was Zade mad? He wants to be friends after fifteen years of being together, I removed my hand from his hand and looked at him one more time before walking away.

I placed my hand on my chest as my heart felt heavy and I couldn't breathe. I numbly walked all the way from the park and didn't realize when I got home.

I numbly opened the door and Clover screamed out of excitement, "How did it go?" she squeaked and did a little dance, "Where is the ring?"

The expression on Clover's face changed when she didn't see any ring on my figure and noticed my make-up was ruined.

I looked at her with emptiness in me and weakly said, "I just want to die."

Blair's POV

"Blair, are you okay?" Clover hurriedly hugged me and I shook my head at her, "What happened?" she looked at me then looked at the door, "Where is Zade?"

"Clover, I'm not okay Za...De.. ended every...thing...he.... didn't...give ... .me...any...ring...he.. broke...up...with...me," I cried in Clover's arms.

Clover rubbed my hair gently and whispered comforting words into my ears, I couldn't understand where I had gone wrong, I had done everything right since I became an adult, so why did he end it?

"I ..didn't .... do ...anything ...wrong, I...don't ....know ...why....he...ended...it..," I sobbed louder as my heart began to feel numb.

Clover excused herself from the living room and came back with a glass of water. I drank it and soon began to feel dizzy. Before I could ask about what was in the water, my eyelids began to feel heavy and I found myself falling into sleep mode.

I opened my eyes to a pounding headache, when I remembered what happened yesterday, I jumped down from my bed and bolted to Clover's room, "Clover!!" I pushed her door open without knocking, "What did you give me yesterday!!"

A sleepy Clover looked at me before saying, "It was sleeping pills and nothing big."

She gave me sleeping pills, why? "I needed you to rest so you would have enough strength to arrange your things for the holiday," Clover said before I could ask.

I looked at her with horror as tears began flooding my eyes, "This is the first holiday without Zade," my lips began to quiver, "What do I do?"

"Arrange your things, we are leaving tomorrow," Clover stated the obvious but she didn't understand.

I sat on her bed and wiped my eyes, "Clove, I know I and Zade are over but what I'm going to tell my parents, they loved him too," I was trying my best not to cry.

"You will tell them you two ended," I nodded my head listening to her, "I think he cheated though and he will bring her home this holiday."

I shook my head in disagreement, "He would never do that," I defended Zade, I know no matter what, Zade would never cheat, and maybe Clover saw him getting a necklace or watch and mistook it for a ring.

Clover placed both her hands on my shoulder, "A man doesn't just end a fifteen-year relationship unless there is someone, everyone is going to be around this Christmas, all family and friends and I honestly think he is going to introduce her to everyone."

If Clover was right then that would be embarrassing, "What do I do now?"

"You get yourself another boyfriend within these two days and would be willing to follow you home," Clover suggested and I shook my head.

I haven't had time to mourn my past relationship and who knows, he might just come back but she was suggesting I get into another one.

"We would just look for someone to act make believe boyfriend, we are all going to be in the same town for the holiday and you should act like the break-up didn't hurt you, and trust me that's the only way to make him feel bad," Clover said and I shook my head.

"No thank you," I shook my head and went to the kitchen.

I couldn't do that, I will talk to Zade later, maybe he was going through something and needed space.

I brought out a bottle of alcohol to clear my head when a notification popped up on my phone. I opened it to see Alec, Zade's best friend, posted on social media.

I wanted to ignore the post but I decided to check it out and it looked like a video from yesterday because of the shirt Zade was wearing,

"I'm finally done with that bitch!! Now I can peacefully go home to my baby," Zade yelled and his friends cheered him up.

So he really did cheat, how long was he with the other woman? There was no way I was the other woman. Why did he do it?

I didn't even realize when the bottle and my phone dropped from my hand, I bent down to pick it up so Clover wouldn't step on it.

"Blair, are you okay?" Clover ran to the kitchen, I guess she heard the bottle break, "Stay away, I will clean it."

I looked at her for a second, I picked up my phone to show her the video but Alec had already deleted it so I explained everything to her.

I'm sure Alec had posted that on purpose because he was Clover's boyfriend and he didn't want to show it to me directly.

I was tired, so I relaxed my body on the kitchen island while Clover helped me clean up the bottle. My head was trying to figure out what went wrong.

"I will kill Alec, so he knew about it?" Clover fumed.

"Clover," She dropped the rag and came to me, "How do I hire a boyfriend for Christmas?" I didn't know when those words left my mouth.

"You want to hire a boyfriend for Christmas?" Clover asked and I nodded my head.

Amusement flooded her face, she nodded her head and left the living room. I just sat there in confusion, after a moment I went to her room when I saw she wasn't coming out anytime soon.

Clover was sitting on the bed with her laptop in her hands, I wondered what she was doing, I sat by her side and saw she was setting up a profile for me.

"What are you doing?" I asked with my eyebrows furrowed.

"How much do you intend to pay the person and how long do you plan on making the person work?" My mouth parted slightly when I realized what she was doing.

"Clover," I wanted to tell her, I was joking and it was my emotions speaking earlier.

"I'm waiting," Clover raised her eyebrows, "Do it for the plot and get back at Zade," she winked.

I smiled with uncertainty and nodded my head, "The person works from the 20th of this month till the 15th of January and makes 100$ every day."

"That's 2600$ at the end of the job, I wish I was a guy," Clover said and we both laughed, "Any specific thing you want in him? Like height, profession, and other stuff."

"He should be perfect and better than Zade," I forced a smile on my face. I didn't want him to be better than Zade, I just wanted Zade.

I didn't know if I was doing the right thing, it wasn't about Zade, it was about my family, I didn't want them to feel sorry for me, I just wanted to have a normal Christmas and pretend to be happy at least.

Clover clicked away on her laptop, "Done, we should be getting notifications any moment from now."

Blair's POV

I kept reminding myself I was doing it to get back at Zade for cheating and so my family wouldn't use the holiday to feel sorry for me and lastly for the plot.

For the past few hours, I have been declining profiles and emails. I didn't like any of them and some looked weird, like they would rob or kill me. I needed someone to fit the perfect boyfriend.

"I think you should go check this one out," Clover said and I stared at his picture on the screen. He didn't look bad, he was handsome but I was older than him.

We had been at it for six hours and finally found someone that was okay.

"He looks good, he fits but what if he is a weirdo?" I voiced my concern to Clover.

"Get ready, let's go together and figure it out," Clover said and shut her laptop.

We didn't have time, we had decided if we saw someone, we would set up a physical meeting immediately.

I went to my room, freshened up, put on something comfy, and went back to the living room.

We picked a cafe, convenient for both of us and in the middle of the city where it would be safe.

Clover and I had been waiting for hours yet no one was coming. I kept checking my time and no one was coming. Why did he agree to meet, if he wasn't going to show up?

"I think we should go," I said when I was tired of waiting. I would just think of something else.

Clover was about to answer when her phone rang, she picked it up, "I have to go meet Alec down the road," I nodded my head, "Just go home and I will meet you there."

Clover gave me a quick hug, picked up her bag, and entered a cab. I was happy she left, now I could be alone, I picked up my phone and walked towards the direction of the house.

It was far but I just needed to clear my head and allow the cool breeze to hit my face. Every step I took made my legs heavy as everywhere reminded me of Zade.

I was trying to hold back my tears, I was trying my best, I didn't want to bring any attention to myself.

Everywhere became bright with the lights of moving vehicles and cars honking, it was so loud and at the same time so quiet that I didn't realize when I entered the road but I immediately felt a pair of hands grab my hand and drag me to the walkway.

"Woman, watch the road!" An angry driver said as she drove past me.

"Were you trying to get yourself killed?!!" The person yelled and immediately let go of me and at that very moment, my phone slipped away from my hand and fell into the drainage ditch.

I bent down to see if I could pick it up but there was no way I could. I tried to hide my tears but I couldn't anymore so I let the tears flow freely. I wanted to be quiet but I couldn't so I sobbed loudly. I wasn't crying because of my phone, I was crying because I wanted Zade back.

"I...I...didn't..I...didn't do... it.., I...didn't...make her...cry.." I could hear the stranger's voice who saved me telling passersby.

I felt the stranger place a face cap over my head and stand shedding me for everyone's view, "Everything ...in ...my... life ...isn't... going ...right.. it's... like.. the.. heavens... are ...punishing ..me... for ..my.. past.. or ..may..be... I... owe.. karma.." I said amidst tears and hiccups.

After crying my heart out, I wiped my eyes and stood. I removed the face cap and handed it to the owner without looking, "I'm sorry, thank you and I should get going now."

"Let me get you an ointment for your wound," I looked up to see this stranger. He was wearing a face cap, he was wearing a black T-shirt, black sweatpants, and a pair of glasses. He was so tall, I was reaching around his elbow and his voice was so good. I couldn't explain it.

I looked at him with confusion or rather I was staring at how good he looked. When he noticed I wasn't listening to what he was saying, he touched my knee showing me the injury and I couldn't even remember when and where I injured myself because I didn't feel any pain.

I looked at the watch on my wrist, "It's fine, I should get going," I said. I didn't want Clover to be worried, especially now that I didn't have a phone.

"Please let me," He said politely and I reluctantly agreed.

We walked silently to the closest convenience store along the road, I sat outside the store while he went inside to get what he wanted.

I did not have anything to do so I began looking around till my eyes fell on him, I saw him pay for so many things with his card and when he was about to drop the card inside his pocket, my eye caught a glimpse of it and I could swear I saw a black card or maybe I didn't see right.

"Here," He dropped a big bag in front of me and sat opposite me, "You sounded like you were in pain earlier."

I opened the bag and saw he brought ointment, snacks, and drinks. Why did he buy them? I removed his cap from his head and drank from the bottle of water.

"I don't know what you are going through but you shouldn't jump into the road like that, I can't tell you not to end it but you shouldn't do that in public," I was surprised when he said that, that wasn't what I was expecting.

He opened a bottle of water and gave it to me, "Thank you," I drank from it.

He looked decent, I looked at him for a brief second before blurting, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

He looked at me with confusion, "Excuse me?"

His 'excuse me,' gave me a reality check of how I sounded, "Do you have anything to do for Christmas?"

"Young lady, I just helped you, I don't understand why you would want that information," He looked at me like a weirdo.

I shook my hands and head when I saw the look in his eyes, "I'm not weird or anything, I'm just trying to create employment for people who don't have anything to do for Christmas."

Now he must think that I'm strange.

I lowered my gaze when I noticed the expression on his face and said, "Me and my boyfriend broke up, I just wanted to take someone home and pretend like the break-up didn't hurt," I bit my lips so I wouldn't cry.

"I'm sorry, I understand what you are saying but I can't do that, I don't know you, you might be a serial killer or something," The stranger said and he did have a point.

"I know it's shameless of me to ask but please, you will be paid, that's extra cash and if you don't have anyone to spend Christmas with then you can spend it with my family," I tried to make him see reasons but he placed his cap on his head and stood up.

"I'm sorry, I cannot do that," he stood up to excuse himself but I quickly held his hand before he could leave.

I hurriedly opened my purse, took out a pen, and wrote my house address, my phone number, and Clover's phone number. I put the piece of paper inside his pocket, "Please, in case you change your mind, we will be leaving for my hometown by 8 in the morning, please I will be waiting for you."

"I'm sorry, you don't even know my name and you want me to spend Christmas with you," He removed my hand from his wrist and walked away. before I could say anything, he boarded a taxi.

Shit!! I didn't even ask his name the whole time, I will find out tomorrow if he comes. I hope he comes.