Cinderella for Rent

The first time I saw Cecilia, I knew something wasn't right. At the time, I was still unaware that she was my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend.

"Jimmy, are you sure this is correct? This isn't the candidate I approved yesterday."

I asked my assistant, my brow furrowed in confusion.

An awkward smile appeared on Jimmy's face. "Mr. Short approved her personally."

Yesterday was the final round of interviews, for which there were two candidates: Cecilia and another young woman.

Both in terms of their professional backgrounds and their performances during the interview, the other candidate was clearly the better choice.

Not only was the design template that Cecilia produced uninspiring, but she hardly seemed to be paying any attention during the interview process. There were several points where she failed to answer questions because she appeared to be daydreaming.

I could never have imagined that Hugh Short—my boyfriend and someone who had never intervened in the employment process before—would suddenly decide to overrule my decision.

As such, I was already feeling a little angry when Hugh walked in and handed me a cup of coffee.

"Here you go, Reina. They had a new flavor on offer, I thought you might like to try it." His expression was so genuine that some of my anger melted away.

As I took the coffee from his one hand, my gaze fell on the dessert box in his other.

"What's the occasion? We don't usually eat cake in the morning."

"We have a new colleague starting. I thought we should celebrate. You know, do something to lift everyone's mood."

Seeing as the conversation had turned to the new hire, I took the opportunity to ask, "About that ... I was meaning to ask why we'd hired Cecilia. She didn't seem as impressive as the other candidate."

"It's like this ... She's an old school friend of mine and her family's been having a hard time of it. I could hardly turn her down, and her grades were always very impressive back in the day ... " Both his voice and expression were apologetic.

"I get it. But it would be nice if you could let me know in advance next time." I said, resignedly.

Hugh had been through difficult times himself, and so he was always sympathetic to those in need. This was one of the things about him that I found endearing.

"I'm so glad you understand!" He kissed me on the cheek. It was as though a great weight had been lifted from him.

I pushed him away, playfully, and headed into the office, to share the cake he had bought with the team.

When I handed Cecilia her portion, I made sure to get a good look at her: her eyes were a little red and she was wearing no makeup. Even so, there was a certain allure to her.

I handed her a piece of cake and said, "Welcome to the team!" When I did so, I noticed that she clenched her fists ever so slightly.

She lifted her head, but instead of looking at me, she stared straight at my boyfriend. "Thank you, Hugh."