Chapter 03

POV Miguel Carrascal 

I frowned, my body visibly tensing. In front of me stood the girl with the oversized glasses, dressed in an oddly mismatched way, unmistakably pointing her finger at me.

Her words echoed in my head: “I want that man. I’ll pay for him to be my fake boyfriend for a month.”

“Excuse me.” I shoved my phone into my pocket and walked toward her, glancing around to make sure she wasn’t talking to anyone else in the lounge. “You must be mistaken.”

Gregory’s eyes immediately landed on me. He stammered, trying to clear up the misunderstanding, but the girl’s impatient voice cut him off.

“Listen, I don’t have much time. The man who humiliated me publicly is getting engaged tomorrow. I said I’d bring my rich boyfriend. I can’t show up empty-handed.”

Did this girl seriously think I was some kind of accessory she could carry around?

“Miss, I think there’s been a mistake.” My gray eyes narrowed at her. I tried to take a step forward, but Gregory raised a hand, blocking me.

“You want him to accompany you on this project?” Gregory asked, gesturing toward me.

“Yes, I want him. He’s handsome and looks rich. It can’t go wrong.”

“Then he’s yours,” Gregory said, catching me completely off guard. I grabbed his arm, silently demanding an explanation, but he kept talking as if I weren’t even there. “The initial investment is fifteen thousand dollars for this one-month partnership.”

“You’re comparing me to merchandise?” I hissed, my restrained anger grinding between my teeth.

The girl smiled, opened her bag, and handed Gregory a credit card. He kept ignoring me, swiping the card and completing the payment. My eyes widened when I realized what my friend had just done.

“I need you to be in front of the university tomorrow,” she said. “Please dress well and bring a good car. I told him you were rich, so you have to look rich. Got it?”

What arrogance. Who did she think I was? The skin on my neck burned with irritation. She spoke nonstop, her words tumbling over each other, clearly nervous. For a brief moment, the desperate passion in her voice was almost charming, until I remembered the mess I was caught in. I didn’t even know her name, and I didn’t need to.

I had to clear up this misunderstanding.

She adjusted her glasses, which kept slipping down her face, and left a note with the address where I was supposed to meet her on the counter. She gave me one last look; her eyes were sad and desperate, yet a sudden spark appeared in them, as if she had just found the solution to a life-or-death problem.

I opened my mouth to explain who I was, but she turned on her heels and ran out. I clenched my fists, watching her disappear. Not only that, but I couldn’t believe I had let myself get dragged into this situation, and worse, that I hadn’t fixed it.

“What the hell just happened here?”

I asked, and Gregory couldn’t suppress a grin. He walked over, pulling off his receptionist badge.

“That girl just hired you to be her fake boyfriend for a month, Miguel.”

Gregory was my best friend and, yes, the owner of this “lounge” he used as a front for his agency. I came here almost every day. Talking to him was the only thing that helped me forget what had happened in the last thirty days.

“I’m not your employee, and I’m definitely not an escort. Call that girl back and cancel the deal.”

“Too late. The money’s already in my account, and the f*e is nonrefundable.”

That had to be a joke. But I knew he wasn’t bluffing.

“I’m not helping that girl get revenge on anyone.”

“I’ll split the fifteen thousand with you.”

“You must’ve forgotten who I am.” I shook my head, incredulous. “Do you think I need that money? Fifteen thousand dollars wouldn’t even pay for the shoes I’m wearing.”

“I know,” Gregory said seriously. “But I thought it’d be good for you to get out, to go to a party. It’s been a month, Miguel. You can’t keep blaming yourself forever.”

“I should be the one to decide that, not you.” My voice came out firm, heavy with pain. “Forget it. I’m not showing up at the university to see her.”

“She’s twenty-six and in her last semester of law school, Roberta. Were you even listening to everything she said?” Gregory teased, smirking.

“I don’t want to know anything about that woman.” I scoffed, cutting him off. “Find one of your employees to take my place.”

I shook my head, my palms damp with frustration. I twisted the ring on my finger absentmindedly. Gregory’s expression darkened.

“You need to move on, Miguel. Amanda would have wanted that.”

“Move on by going out with a stranger and lying to everyone?” The pain carved itself across my face. “I shouldn’t have come here.”

I turned away without another word, a knot tightening in my throat. I realized the girl was long gone, and I felt like an idiot for not chasing after her to fix the mess.

As I started the car, I decided to forget it all. The agency was Gregory’s problem, not mine. But on my way home, I couldn’t stop thinking about the sadness in that woman’s eyes and how desperate she had looked.

Thinking about it only made me angrier, because I was already involved.

Screw it. It had been a long day. I shoved the piece of paper with the university address, the one I’d grabbed from the counter when Gregory wasn’t looking, into my pocket and decided I’d handle it later.