Pretending To Be His

Dealing With The Paparazzi!

Both Nicole and Marko turned to Chantal, waiting to hear what she had to say. “Ride the wave.”

“What?” Nicole looked confused.

“Go with the flow,” Chantal replied. She held her hand up to stop Nicole from talking, “before you start refusing this, hear me out. This is a PR nightmare, believe me. I have been here a few times and it is usually not pretty. Now, you are unknown. This is the first time that Marko has been pictured with a woman no one knows about. Do you know how huge that is?”

Nicole shook her head and turned to the others in the room, they all seemed to be thinking what Chantal was thinking. “You have mentioned it before. How huge?”

“Talk about Armageddon huge. You are who everyone is curious about. This has nothing to do with Marko as what I thought at first,” Chantal turned her gaze to her. “But everything to do with you. Now, we can go the same route we usually take- agree that Marko is now dating, stage a few photos and then let it fizzle after a month or so. But I am not seeing that happening with you.”

“What do you mean?” Nicole moved on her chair. “Marko, what does she mean?”

“I am also wondering,” Marko replied. He turned his gaze to Chantal. “What are you getting at?”

Chantal stood up, seeming so excited. “I suggest we let this play out naturally. No staged photos, no pre-arranged breakups. Nothing. You go out as ordinary couples do. You spend time together. And you let this play out naturally.”

“Whaa-” Nicole blinked. “You are saying I should date the guy?”

Chantal shook her head, “I am saying spend time with the guy. Nothing huge.”

“The guy is right here!” Marko commented. “Why?” He liked the way his PR team was thinking, taking part in his scheme of things without even being aware of it.

“Because of her,” Wes chipped in, seeming to understand what Chantal is talking about. “This is not the ordinary woman who has a boyfriend every month of the year, Marko, like the actresses and models that you have dated. This is a hardworking, normal woman who values relationships and isn’t looking to gain more followers on i********: or get signed up by an agency for throwing your name around.”

“Exactly! And if we go the usual route then things will be bad for her,” Chantal nodded, smiling at Wes.

“What do you mean things will be bad for me?” Nicole swung her head between the two PR people in the room who seemed to be talking in their own world.

“You will be labeled a social climber, gold-digger and the list goes on,” Wes replied with his head down as he checked his phone.

Nicole glared at him, “doesn’t he have a filter? I thought PR practitioners are always supposed to choose what they say?” 

Wes looked up and turned red, “I-I am sorry! That shouldn’t have come out that way.”

“But he is right,” Chantal backed him up. “People will see you negatively. They will think you only wanted to date him for his money.”

“But I don’t even want to date him!” Nicole exclaimed, feeling frustrated.

“Can we have the room once again?” Marko asked his team, his gaze fixed on Nicole’s once again.

Without question, the three walked out, talking amongst themselves, and closed the door behind them.

“Now why did you chase them away?” Nicole turned to him. She watched as he stood up and walked to where she was sitting. She frowned as he extended his hand to her. “What are you doing?”

Marko wiggled his fingers, asking her to take his hand.

With little hesitation, Nicole placed her hand on his, a yelp escaping her lips as he pulled her to her feet. 

Without a word, Marko walked her to the sofa and sat her down, before sitting down beside her. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, and hid his face in his palms. “Am I that bad?”

“What?” Nicole looked at him with confusion.

“Am I that bad that you don’t even want to pretend to date me?”

Nicole sighed and shook her head, “I can’t answer that question because I don’t know you.”

“Then get to know me,” Marko replied as he turned to look at her.

“Bu-but I am not your type. You heard what Wes said. Tall, blonde, and sometimes brunette.” She pointed at herself. "Not tall, not blonde nor brunette"

Marko shook his head, “this is not about Wes. This is about us. I am willing to try and salvage this situation. Why aren’t you?”

Nicole shook her head, “you are not my type either.”

“Is it the color of my skin?”

Nicole’s eyes widened. “How could you say that?!”

“Then what is it?”

“I-we come from two different worlds, Marko. I am a bartender, you are a millionaire. Can’t you see that people will think it’s odd?”

“People will believe what they see,” Marko replied. “I wanted you to be my pretend girlfriend even knowing that you are a bartender. Why do you think that is?”

“Want free beer?” Nicole attempted to make a joke.

Marko shook his head. He leaned back and turned towards her. His gaze traveled over her face, taking in her small button nose, high cheekbones. He reached out and tugged on one of her curls, watching it spring back to its shape. “I think you are interesting. You put me in my place, and I need someone like that. To put a few people out of my place.”

If she was truthful to herself she was curious about Marko and the reason why he picked her in this scheme of his. Nicole took in a deep breath, then released it. She closed her eyes, her fingers massaging them before shaking her head. “I am going to regret this.”

“No you are not,” Marko took her hands in his. “You are going to enjoy this. I am going to wine, and dine and spend time with you. I am going to protect you with all I have until whatever this is dies down.”

“Wine?” Nicole wrinkled her nose. “Not really a fan of that.”

Marko laughed before he got serious once again. “We can do this. I am sorry but I think Chantal is right. We have to ride this wave and see how far it goes. Whatever the outcome, I will be right there.”

“Promise?” Nicole asked. She heard stories of how cruel the world of the rich and famous was. And she also knew what Wes had said was correct. 

Marko reached up and pushed the curls away, “promise.”

Nicole nodded and gave him a small smile. “Do you have anything stronger than coffee in here? I think I need to calm myself down.”

Marko laughed as he stood up and walked to his desk. Opening the last drawer, he brought out a bottle of whiskey and poured it into her coffee. He pressed the intercom and asked the team to come back in before he walked back to the sofa and handed Nicole the coffee. “Our secret!” he leaned into her and whispered into her ear.

Nicole gave him a smirk before turning to the people who walked in. “Ok. Sorry that I am making your work difficult. I was panicking. What do we need to get this to work? Keep in mind that I am not changing my hair, I am not going to be dressing like the Stepford wives and I am definitely not moving in with him.”

Chantal and Wes smiled. “Noted. Now let’s get to planning about what questions to answer and how.”

Nicole turned to Marko, “I thought we were letting everything flow naturally?”

“In order not to raise a lot of questions, you need to know a few important details, that’s all.” Chantal supplied. She hid her glee when she noticed Marko’s hand rubbing Nicole’s small back. 

It took about two hours of planning before they were done. Just as Marko was about to escort Nicole out, he was called into a meeting.

“Wait for me, I will drop you at the bar as soon as I am done,” he had said before disappearing into another conference room.

Nicole sighed as she leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes. It had been a very tiring morning. The buzzing of her mobile phone made her sit up as she reached for it in the back pocket of her pants.

“Hello, bossman,” she connected the call. “What’s up?”

“I should be asking you that. We had agreed you will be here early, only to see you in front of newspapers and all over the internet. Are you ok?”

Nicole smiled. “I am good, Jake. I am actually at Marko’s workplace right now.”

“On the first name basis, I see,” Jake’s voice carried a teasing note.

“Yeah. I am on my way to the bar right now.” Nicole disconnected the call and stood up. She walked to the reception area and found Bianca on the phone. “Hey, please tell your boss that I had to leave. We can meet up later.”  She did not wait but made her way to the elevators. She got in and turned as the doors started to close. She saw Bianca waving at her, and gave her a small wave back as the doors fully closed. Getting downstairs, there was no one by the door; she made her way out of the front door. Because Marko had offered to drop her at the bar, he had asked for her keys and handed them over to Alex who had someone drive her car home so she had to look for a taxi.

She removed her phone and scrolled through as she walked, missing the number of people that seemed to be growing by the second. It was only when she pumped into someone that she had to look up. “Oh, sor-What the heck?” She gasped as she came face to face with a huge camera. She tried to turn around only to have a microphone shoved into her face.

“What’s your name?”

“How long have you been dating Marko Sauntino?”

“Are you pregnant with Marko’s kid?”

Nicole could feel panic growing inside her. Her breathing was coming out in gasps. “P-please get away from me!” She tried to push the people around her so she could get away but they seemed to even increase in number. “Oh, Lord! Please just let me by!” Her voice seemed to be drowned by the never-ending questions. The flashes on her face had her putting her arms up to hide her face. She could feel tears start to pool in her eyes. Is this how it will always be? She thought to herself as she took in a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she shook her head. Not Nicole. “Enough!” She screamed and was surprised when everyone listened to her and the clicking stopped. “Those behind me: do you want to take a picture of my face or are you interested in something else?”

“Wha-?”

“Did she just ask if people were taking pics of her ass?”

“That’s new.”

The voices surrounded her but she did not care. “Can you give me space to breathe, please? I am sure your awesome cameras don’t require you to be this close to my face.”

There was shuffling of legs and all of a sudden, she could breathe. “Oh, thank you! Now, why in the world have you decided to attack me with your cameras and mics?”

“Are you dating Marko Sauntino?” one reporter asked.

Nicole placed her hands on her hips. She was about to open her mouth and blast all who were present when she felt very large and strong arms lifting her and depositing her to the other side, facing away from the reporters.

At that very instant she wished she was actually facing the reporters and not the stoic person in front of her. Marko did not say a word, instead, he took her elbow and with measured steps walked with her back into the building. They passed the lobby and entered the private elevator.

Nicole gnawed at her lip. She stole a glance of Marko before turning away and sighing, “I am in trouble, aren’t I?”

“What gave that way?” Marko asked as his gaze focused on the numbers on the display above them.

“I don’t know. Maybe it's the fact that you have become mute all of a sudden,” Nicole replied, relieved when there was a ping indicating they have reached their destination. “It wasn’t my fault you know!”

Marko took her elbow once again, passing the bemused looking Bianca before he walked into his office and banging the door. “I remember I specifically asked you to wait for me!”

“You were not around, I had to go to the office,” Nicole replied. “What’s the issue?”

“What’s the is-,” Marko shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose before cursing under his breath. “You can’t just do that! You were on the front pages of stupid tabloids, everyone is looking for ways to score an exclusive about us!”

Nicole closed her eyes and shook her head, “I was heading to the office. Jake called, he said he needed my help at the bar.” 

Marko walked to her, framing her pixie face with his huge hands, “you should have waited for me. Journalists are like vultures. The moment they smell meat, they are there. You are their newest obsession, Nicole. They will hound you day and night if you are not careful.”

Nicole swallowed, the gravity of her situation finally sinking in. “My life isn’t going to be normal for a while, is it?”

Markos shook his head and released her face, “unfortunately, no. You will need security and bodyguards to escort you around for a while. Just until something more interesting comes up and they move to that.”

Nicole sighed and ducked her head, “not used to this crap. It’ll cramp my lifestyle!” She shook her head, the curls bobbing with the movement. “What will they say when they find out that your latest flavor works at a bar that sells cheap liquor?”

“As I said, a breath of fresh air,” Marko replied as he took her elbow. “Come, let’s go and talk to your boss about a few changes that will need to happen from now on.”