Rose and I sat on the long couch with our arms crossed over our chests. We were staring at John, who was sitting on the opposite couch. His expression was clear that he knew he couldn't escape this time. When I'd told Rose about today, she had fired question after question at him, but he hadn't answered one.
When Katherine had refused to leave, Mike had left the office. Momentary happiness had washed over me when I'd realized that the meeting had been canceled, but I'd been horrified when Katherine had glared at me. She had been mad at me because she still thought that I was Mike's girlfriend.
I didn't know why but I had avoided eye contact with her. I'd felt like I had done something wrong when I had done nothing. She had left, ignoring me.
"Are you going to tell us or not?" Rose demanded.
John glared at me for putting him in this situation but I didn't care because I was desperate to know about Katherine. My only option was to get the truth from him through Rose.
He sighed heavily before he began. "Mike and Katherine were friends in high school and dated in college. They broke up on his, let me see, twenty-second birthday? Anyway, it's because she said that she couldn't make it to his birthday party, and said she was sick. Mike was so worried about her that he canceled his birthday party to make sure she was alright."
He fixed his gaze on the ground as he continued, "She cheated on Mike on his birthday. I wish he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes. It broke his heart into pieces."
His eyes flared and there was pain in his voice. "If I had known I would have lost Mike that day, I would have never allowed him to leave. I still regret letting him go."
Rose moved to him and took John's hand in hers and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know this would hurt you. If I had any idea, I wouldn't have forced you to tell us," Rose apologized.
I should have been the one who was apologizing but I couldn't say anything because guilt was suppressing the words in my throat.
"It's nothing compared to how Mike was hurt. You used to ask me, right? Why Mike is so mysterious and why he doesn't have a girlfriend? It's because of that bitch. At first I thought he just needed a couple of days to move on, but I was wrong.
"Do you want to know how Mike used to be?" A small smile formed at the corner of his lips.
Rose nodded. I did, too, unconsciously growing curious to know more about him.
"The Mike you know now is a workaholic and strict. But the Mike I used to know was joyful, cool...flirty."
He laughed softly when he said flirty. Rose and I chuckled.
"He used to have more friends than me but he stopped trusting people after what she did. That bitch broke his heart, his trust, everything."
I'd never seen John disrespect a woman in the past two years. The way he addressed Katherine was enough to acknowledge how much hatred he had towards her.
Rose looked at me and gestured to me that she needed some time alone with John. I nodded before going to my room. Rose took him in her arms as I was closing my room door. She was the best at comforting people.
I slumped on my bed. My mind couldn't stop thinking about Mike. God! He had gone through so much. I hadn't seen him celebrate his birthday in the last two years and I couldn't even imagine how much it had hurt him to stop celebrating his birthday. I was starting to despise Katherine now.
Did she really have to do that on his birthday?
It didn't mean she was supposed to do it another day but…Damn! It's his birthday. One of the most important days of life.
How could she?
The rest of the night was terrible. I couldn't fall asleep because I had forgotten to take my pills. I couldn't even ask Rose for some. I didn't want to disturb them, especially John, after what had just happened.
A part of me wished—hoped—to see the old Mike, the way John had described him. I didn't know why but I wanted to. Shaking my head, I reminded myself that I shouldn't have been thinking about him. But somehow my mind diverted to Mike over and over, no matter how much I tried to stop it.
The next day was like any other work day, though Mike didn't look good. He was a mess when I went to his house in the morning. Even though he managed to pretend that he was okay, I could tell by the look on his face that he was having trouble sleeping.
I pretended as if nothing happened the other day because I didn't want him to feel embarrassed. I didn't want him to feel any worse than he already did.
Right now, I was sitting on a small stool across from the coffee machine on our office floor. I came to get some coffee after I finished the presentation successfully without Mike's help. It was good when I did it alone but I wasn't satisfied because if Mike had helped me, it would have turned out better.
A gentle tap on my shoulder startled me.
"What's up?" John asked, taking a mug from the cabinet.
"Nothing." I placed my mug into the sink, which was next to the coffee machine.
He flashed me a smile like he always did whenever we met but this time I couldn't smile back after putting him in such an uncomfortable situation last night.
He took the stool next to me after getting his coffee.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled, avoiding eye contact.
"It's okay. Now smile. You don't look good with that sad look on your face," he teased.
"Does that mean I look ugly?" I frowned.
"With that expression"—he pointed his finger towards my face—"yes." He scrunched his nose. I smiled finally.
"That's better." He smiled back and took a sip of his coffee before he added, "Thanks for last night. It felt good to talk about it with you guys."
My smile widened. It felt as if a huge weight had lifted from my chest knowing that John wasn't mad about last night.
"I want your help with something. Can you help me?" he asked.
"Yes, anything," I said without giving it a second thought.
"Can you keep pretending to be Mike's girlfriend?"
"Are you crazy?" I blurted.After last night, I was ready to help John with anything to make up for what I had done, but this was insane."I know it sounds crazy, but you're the only one who can help Mike.""Why me?" I raised a brow."Because Katherine still thinks that you're his girlfriend," he explained."I know...but you should have seen the look she gave me the other day." I dramatically rubbed my arms as if I had goosebumps before adding, "She's scary..."He laughed at my reaction. "Well, you learn quickly. She will do anything to get back with Mike. She even convinced Mr. Nelson to make her the brand ambassador of our new project."
Everyone looked at me with confusion drawn on their faces. The employees were staring at us through the glass door even though they couldn't hear a single word.Nervousness kicked in me. There were so many eyes on me. My mouth sealed in fear. By the way Katherine narrowed her eyes at me, though, I knew I couldn't back out now. It would prove that she was right and I didn't want to see her devilish smirk again.I gulped and looked straight into her eyes. "Yes, it was because of me," I repeated. "I asked Mike to keep our relationship a secret because I didn't want any rumors in the workplace. I don't like to mix my personal life with my professional life."I risked a quick glance at Mike and John (whose lips were parted slightly and eyes were fixed on me) before shifting my eyes back to Katherine, who had a frown on h
"It happened in the heat of the moment. I didn't plan to do it." Mike gave a nonchalant shrug.I held back a heavy sigh. "Why are you making this conversation more uncomfortable?" I asked John, frowning."What?" John's forehead creased. "I'm making this uncomfortable? God, please save me. It was you guys who kissed and made me feel uncomfortable."I scoffed. "Don't tell me that made you uncomfortable. How do you explain making out with Rose right in front of me in our living room? You would be very comfortable—""Oh, shut up!""You shut up!" I yelled back."Enough!" Mike shoute
As I entered my apartment, my gaze fell on Rose and John, who were staring at me as they leaned against the couch in the living room.I didn't need to guess because I knew John very well. He had told her everything. The look on Rose's face confirmed it.I didn't have the energy to answer Rose's endless questions so I tried to ignore them and ambled towards my room. She rushed to me and blocked the door before I could enter my room, though.Her arms were crossed over her chest as she leaned against the doorframe."So, tell me, what's going on?" Rose's voice was filled with anxiety. Knowing that she wouldn't leave until I told her everything, I sighed. I walked to the couch and slumped on the opposite couch of John. Rose followed me and sat next to her boyfriend.
No matter how many times I asked Rose, she didn't tell me where we were going. Eventually, I gave up and just followed her.Twenty minutes later, we were in front of a mall that had recently opened. Rose had wanted to come here as soon as it opened but we'd both been too busy last week.In one week, my life had taken a roller-coaster ride. It'd all started when Mr. Daniel Nelson had invited Mike to the party. I had to admit, this "friends" thing with Mike was new and kind of interesting.Rose linked her arm with mine and scurried inside the mall while I teetered along with her. She stopped in abrupt motion, giving me a chance to breathe."I told you we were going to be late," Rose hissed, jutting her chin towards her left. "See? They're waiting for us."
I excused myself when Mike's gaze was piercing me. His eyes asked so many questions but his mouth was silent.The moment we got back to the house, I was going to kill Rose.Why does she need to tell everything to Mike? Doesn't she know that there are things I don't want him to know?I was standing in front of a mirror in the restroom. My eyes fixed on my reflection. "Okay," I told myself, trying to calm down. "You need to face him and talk to him. You can't let him misunderstand the situation. Go clear this up."My phone vibrated in my jeans pocket. I checked it to see a message from Rose.ROSE: Stop talking to yourself and come back. I'm not telling him anything.
He closed the distance between us and put both of his hands on the wall, caging me between them. He brought his face closer to mine. I squeezed my eyes shut. His warm breath fanned my cheeks, which increased my heart rate. Butterflies made their way into my stomach when his lips slightly brushed against my earlobe. A tingling sensation spread through my body. What is he going to do?"Good morning," he drawled.After a second, his breath disappeared. I opened my eyes to see him standing straight with his arms folded."G-good morning," I stammered and tilted my head to the left. I scolded myself for overthinking the way I had."What were you expecti
"You made it look like we slept together last night!" I yelled, cutting him off."First you scold me for your work hours and now you're yelling at me about this? Have you forgotten who I am?"Oh no, I yelled at him! How could I? Though we were pretending to be a couple, he was still my boss. I should have been more careful with my words."I'm sorry," I apologized."It's okay. I get what you are trying to say but I don't think we need to worry about it. If they misunderstand then let them. It's normal for couples to sleep together."It was normal for real couples.When I opened my mouth to protes