His Hired Wife

Chapter Two - I need a plan

Javier’s Point of view

If there is one thing that I hate the most, it is being told what to do. But recently it seems like my mother has been trying to push me to get married, which has never been on my mind in a long time.

“Mother, I have already explained this to you. I am not going to meet any of these ladies that you keep on arranging for me. It won’t work” I bluntly said to her, and she scoffed through the phone.

“Of course, you will. Do you know what is happening while you are there enjoying that small position?” She questioned through the phone as I took a deep breath. What could be more important?

“Your father is getting ready to retire and if you don’t do anything about it, he will definitely leave it in your sister’s hands while you have spent so many years working for nothing”, She whispered on the phone as I took a deep breath.

My mother always hated my step-siblings despite being the one that raised them. I have four siblings, but I will introduce them later.

“Mother, I can’t really talk right now. I will see you when I come over for thanksgiving”, I said to her as she shouted through the phone.

“Please JT, Thanksgiving is three months away. How do you expect me to wait until then?” she inquired from me as I sighed heavily.

“I have to get back to work. Bye,” I said, cutting the call before she could respond. I looked at the on the phone and did not know what to think anymore.

I fixed my suit and went to stand over by the window looking ahead. I worked for my father without expectations of one day leading this company. But recently I have been thinking of getting to the top and the only way to get there is through pleasing my father.

He keeps on insisting that I am not normal because I never express what I feel, I never show any emotions, no matter what happens.

I turned around and looked at the office that I have been kept in the last three years. I worked extremely hard to even get this position of COO. I had no problem, but my mother kept on pleading that I should take over from Dad for her sake.

I needed to make sure that I had secured my position in this company and the only way I was going to do that was to take over from my father and I knew the one person who would give me the best possible solution.

I headed over to my desk, picking up the phone off the ringer and dialed Miguel’s line. I loved having him because he was loyal and always had the best interest. He was a friend of mine from way back in high school, so he understands me better.

“Hello?” he picked up after the phone had rung for a while. It is not like him to take long to make a call, but today he took a long.

“Can you come over to my office?” I questioned him.

“Okay, I am on my way” he responded, and then I placed back the phone on the ringer. I sat down on my chair behind the desk and started stroking my chin gently while thinking of what to do.

The knock came on my door, and I fixed my suit, sitting up in my chair. “Come in” My voice came on as the door opened; it was Miguel who walked in.

“Hey, thanks for coming over,” I said, standing up while gesturing for him to sit down by the white couches in my office.

“You wanted to see me?” He questioned me as I nodded my head. I stood up and went to sit on my one-seater chair.

“How is it going with the German project?” I asked him while I sat back as he started explaining what was going on in the project. I allowed him to show me what was lacking as I sat there listening to him explain.

I nodded my head while I listened to him explain. We chatted about different things before I finally thought of telling him about my problem.

“My father plans on retiring,” I said to him after he came back to sit in the chair from presenting the project he was working on.

“What? What will happen to you?” he questioned as I took a deep breath, sitting back in my chair.

“What do you think?” I questioned him with no emotion in my voice. He raised his eyebrows and loosened his necktie as he moved to the edge of the chair.

“I thought he specifically said that you won’t be able to get any of the shares after what happened with Adelyn,” he said to me as I reluctantly nodded my head.

“What are you going to do now?” He questioned me as I looked at him, looking all worried. He was even sweaty thinking about it.

“I mean you disagreed with the arrangement because you told them you have someone you love. What are you going to do?” he went on talking without thinking for a minute.

“That’s why I called you here because I need your help,” I said to him as he swallowed hard.

“What are you thinking?” he questioned me and I just shook my head, he ran his fingers in his hair as he looked at me.

“Really? What about if we find someone to pretend to be your wife? That could work. Or maybe you go back to Adelyn and plead to marry her? I mean she is still single” he said to me as I took into thought what he said about marriage.

“No, we need to find another plan. I will let you work on it and give me some feedback by the end of the day” I said, standing up from my chair and walking over to the desk.

“Really? What if…” He wanted to say as I raised my eyebrows, looking at him, wondering what he was still doing there.

“Fine, whatever plan I come up with you will agree to it, right?” he questioned me and I nodded my head.

“Great!” he said, fixing his necktie before he headed out of the office. I sighed heavily as I went to my phone. I opened the, gallery on the phone, looking at pictures of the woman I liked.

**

I kept on thinking about what would happen. I went to my desk to get ready for all the meetings I had for the day. I spent time in my office from morning to late at night when I heard Miguel barging into the office.

“I think I have a plan,” he said while panting heavily. I raised my eyebrows, looking at him as he pulled a chair in front of me.

“Let’s hear it,” I said to him as I sat back in my chair while playing with my pen. “Can you stop that? it’s really annoying” he complained, and I placed had had back the phone on the desk as I looked at him to hear what he had to say.

“Remember that one time when I hired someone to help me at the school dance?” he questioned me and I reluctantly nodded my head to hear what exactly he was thinking.

“So, I was thinking. How about we hire someone to pretend to be your girlfriend?” He questioned me. I kept quiet looking, thinking he was normal?

“That’s crazy. I am not going to…” I protested but before I could finish my sentence, he quickly cut me a short, form saying nothing more.

“Listen. This person would be the perfect person. You will not have to look for someone to love. You can only touch her or act like lovers only when you need her.” He suggested to me, and I shook my head, this was too risky for me. My family would easily find out about it, and I would be on the chopping board.

“That’s risky and you know it,” I said, standing up from my chair and walking over to the window.

‘What if they do some digging into her? What happens when they find out that I made it up? I would be in trouble. And think of how someone can manipulate this to their advantage? I can’t” I said to him as I put my hands in my pockets, staring at the bright lights in the city.

“What if the person is willing to do it? I mean this person has some medical background which can work to your advantage. You can make her sign an NDA. Think about it” he said to me as I sighed heavily, looking at him. He had all this planned.

“Wait? How do you know the person has a medical background? Do you have someone in mind already?” I questioned him and he froze, looking at me like he was guilty of something.

He shook his head as if he had just come back to reality. “Remember my Cousin Jasmine?” He asked me as I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to remember who he was talking about.

“No. who is she?” I inquired, turning to face him.

“She’s the woman who ran away from home because they wanted to marry her off. She came here a few years ago” He explained to me. I could not recall her name or face but just agreed.

“Yes? What about her?”

“What if she agreed to do it? I mean you can pay her a few bucks here and there and she will gladly pretend to be your girlfriend, she will take this secret to the grave”, he said to me as I took a deep breath.

“But how do you expect her to be the perfect woman that I would go out with? I mean everyone knows I prefer perfect. That’s why they arranged Adelyn for me” I said to him as he swallowed hard.

“Well, she’s someone with a remarkably high IQ and she can also adapt very well. I will let her study and practice; she will be perfect”, he suggested to me as I looked at him. He looked like he trusted this cousin of his and if he trusts someone, then I know I can trust that person.

“Fine! I will go with it, but first, she will have to be a girlfriend before we can move on to the next step”, I said to him, and he grinned, nodding his head like he had achieved something big. I knew he only did this just to have an easy way out and not have to think about it.

“I will let you down” he excitedly said, walking backwards out of my office. I nodded my head as I watched him walk out of my office.