Fake Marrying The Billionaire

Chapter 5: Hide And Seek

“That’s Mr. Carlson, he is the–”

“Accountant head, right?” I turned to Elliot who was looking at me with a giddy smile.

“That’s right, Lily. Very impressive. They always confuse him and Mr. Carlton, but he has way more hair. Like, three more strands, that is.” Elliot joked and I had to stifle my laugh as Mr. Carlson looked our way.

I can’t believe it’s already been exactly four days since I started at my new job and I was already a few hours away from my first weekend. To say I was excited was a complete understatement.

In those five days, I managed to memorize almost all of the employees I was required to, according to Violet. It was a very good thing that I have always been good with memorizing things.

But that wasn’t the only good thing. In fact, the best part about those days was how I single-handedly managed to avoid not being seen by the number one person I could not afford to encounter, my own boss.

If I keep this up for at least about another month or two then I’m sure by then he wouldn’t be able to remember the random girl he met in a club many nights ago. There was no way that someone as handsome and rich as he is didn’t sleep with a new woman almost every week.

“Yellow Lily, can you fix the annoying printer again? For some reason, it hates me.” Daisy popped up next to Elliot and I with a pleading pout.

“We’re busy, Daisy. Can’t you see I’m testing Lily’s memorization skills? Violet is going to have her head if she can’t differentiate Ms. Fruit Loops and Mr. Fruity Pebbles over there.” Elliot started snickering as we watched two employees from the cereal department finish their cereal bowl in seconds.

They don’t really work for a department called cereal, but they do work with cereal brands Olympus own, and these two specifically were the heads for each brand, thus the name.

“Ms. Delaware and Mr. Jersey. Did you know there’s a place called Delaware in New Jersey? What are the odds the two would wound up in the same place working with almost the same thing?” I got caught up in my own realization while Elliot and Daisy looked at me amused.

“You have an interesting way of thinking, Lily Sinclair.” Elliot said with a soft chuckle.

“Ditto! But on another note, her memorization is clearly perfect, so printer it is!” Daisy proclaimed, took my hand, and dragged me away from Elliot before we could even say our goodbyes.

Not like we wouldn’t see each other later on. Our desks were next to each other and I've become closest with him amongst everyone else around here. Something about his charisma and friendliness is magnetizing.

“There’s just paper jammed inside, that’s why it stopped working. You just have to pull up the cover, grab the paper, then click start to continue.” I explained to Daisy who was looking at me like I had given her the answer to world hunger.

“You’re a genius, Yellow Lily! Gosh, you’re making me put lilies on my top ten favorite flowers!” She squealed in happiness before giving me a quick hug and in a second, acting like I wasn’t there as she put all her focus on the printer.

Well, so much for being in her top ten.

I smiled to myself before deciding to go back to my desk, seeing as I wasn’t needed anywhere else yet.

Usually, if anyone needed me, I would be approached or contacted through the company phone. I’ve never gotten a phone back in my old company, but apparently every employee gets one.

The coolest thing? Your name was engraved at the back so no one can steal it and everyone knows it’s yours. The bad thing? If you lose it, you’ll have to wait another quarter to get a new one because that’s when the financials are refreshed.

Needless to say, I held on to it like my baby.

Just as I was just about to relax on my seat and review some names and other company matters, my name gets called rather demandingly.

“Lilibeth!”

I already knew who it was before turning around. I have corrected my name to her at least five times every day, but she calls me the same thing right after. I’m convinced she’s just doing it on purpose at this point.

Ms. Greene was clicking her metallic green colored three inch heels towards me, arms in front of her chest, and long silver hair tied up in a tight ponytail. Her expression read – “My position is higher than yours so therefore I am more important”.

She was a b***h.

Okay, that was too harsh. Maybe just–

“Get these downstairs to the eighth floor right now. I mean right now! What are you just sitting there for? Hurry up!” She frantically ordered me as she shoved a brown envelope right in my hands.

Did I say I was too harsh? Never mind, she is a full-blown female dog in its prime. Even that is quite insulting to the dog being compared to Ms. Greene.

I managed to force a smile at her. Working with people and having to keep a friendly face no matter what has definitely proved to be useful around her.

“Will do, Ms. Greene.” I stood up from my chair and when I thought she was done, she kept yapping.

“Can’t you go any faster? The development team needed that twenty minutes ago!” She complained.

Well, if they needed it twenty minutes ago, why didn’t you give it to me earlier then? Or better yet, give it to them yourself?!

I rolled my eyes almost to the back of my skull at her exasperating comment, thanking the heavens she couldn’t see my face right now.

Having no choice, I hurriedly rushed to the elevators.

When I looked back around, I saw Ms. Greene dilly-dallying around, grabbing a few pieces of free chocolate and enjoying her sweet time.

Just because she was staff director and her father was a part of the board, she acted like she ruled above us.

I hate people who abuse their power.

I let out an annoyed huff, just as the elevator doors opened.

“Are you absolutely certain it’s not that goddamn wretched All Ways Express that is blocking the deal?”

Oh, s**t.

Mr. Ares came out of nowhere, standing in front of the same elevator I had just stepped in and he was seconds from looking up and seeing me like a frozen idíot! I had to do something!

Hide? But there were no more plants to hide behind here.

Run? They were blocking the way!

Shit!

“I swear to god, Hasselhoff always talks bad about us with the North American representatives. Check with the secretary. Bring a box of cinnamon rolls when you do. I know she likes those and she’ll likely cave.”

How the hell does he know another company’s secretary likes cinnamon rolls? Oh my god, don’t tell me he also–

Wait, not the time to be thinking about that, Lily! You need to hide! Your job and actual survival depends on it!

Just as Mr. Ares was raising his head up, the best thing I could think of to save myself was to lower myself down and pretend to be tying my shoelaces, using as much of my hair there is to cover my face.

When the elevator door closed and we started to go down with no feeling that Mr. Ares had noticed me, I felt relieved.

Too bad I celebrated a little too soon because all of a sudden, a pair of shiny black formal shoes were standing inches apart from me, my body frozen on the ground and my eyes staring wide-eyed.

“What floor?” His deep and smooth voice resonated in my ears, immediately sending shivers down my spine.

Fuck. I forgot to click the floor.

“E-eighth floor, p-please.” I said in a voice that I tried to make sound a little bit more high-pitched than my normal voice.

I think I sounded like a chipmunk from Alvin and the chipmunks. Great.

I heard the elevator beep when the floor was pressed and I internally prayed and hoped that Mr. Ares would turn around again and leave me be.

Once again, I had hoped too much it seems, because he was still standing there as I kept my head down.

“May I know what you’re doing down there?”

What an odd question. Of course I was–

Oh. My. God.

No wonder he asked because when I thought I had quickly thought of an amazing cover-up as to why I was on the floor, supposedly tying my shoelaces, I realized one crucial thing.

I don’t have freaking shoelaces!

At this point, I was mentally stabbing myself at how dumb I was.

Please, just bury me here. I can’t take this.

“I- uh…” f**k, think of something, Lily!

“I dropped, uh, I dropped an earring, yeah! It’s- it’s somewhere here!” I internally let out a deep sigh of relief as I came up with another good cover-up.

There was no way he wouldn’t buy that. No man would bother to even check if it was true. What would he do? Help me look for an invisible earring?

“Ah,” he said and I felt relief again thinking it was over.

“In that case, help her find it, Benjamin.” Oh my god, it wasn’t over.

Of course, Mr. Ares wouldn’t bother to help look for my earring. He would ask his driver to do it for him.

I am so screwed. So much for that streak of not being caught by my boss. This is the end of it for me.

Benjamin was a tall man that was in his mid-thirties so when he crouched down to help me, he took up quite a lot of space on the floor and I had to make sure to scoot further without compromising showing my face.

“Wait a second.”

Mr. Ares spoke up again, making me freeze as my heart thumped loud in my chest.

Shit, what is it now?! Can’t I catch a break?!

“Your earrings…”

I gulped nervously.

“They’re… on your ears.”

Oh my god, someone please drag me out of this mess I have made for myself.

Help.

—

Ares Callisto was having the time of his life.

The thing is, Lily thinks he doesn’t know she’s there.

But the truth is, he definitely knows.

He just liked playing with her making it seem like he doesn’t because what’s more fun than her hiding and running away every time she noticed he was nearing her?

It’s like hide and seek, and the seeker was Mr. Ares who was playing the winning game.

Who doesn’t love winning?

Ares watched as Lily dove for a plant each time he passed the glasshouse where her desk was. His favorite hiding spot of hers was Elliot, though, because that assistant of his made the funniest confused expression every single time.

“You’re not telling me something,” Nate said on the phone as he tried to figure out what his best friend was hiding from him.

“You haven’t even told me anything about the girl you slept with last weekend and you always have something to say.”

Nate was right. Ares and him were so close that he had no problem talking about his one night stands. This time, though. For some reason, he wanted to keep the knowledge of Lily all to himself.

“Don’t you have some kind of inventory to do? Do you have the cases of beer and a bunch of hard liquor I need for tonight’s event ready?” Ares asked, completely changing the topic to a 360 degree.

Nate huffed on the other side. “I know what you’re trying to do, Callisto, and you may get away this time, but not next time!” His friend warned him.

“I do have everything set though, and you’re welcome because I’m throwing in the new bartender we have tonight. She’s apparently smoking hot, but I guess you can be the judge of that.”

“We’ll see,” is all Ares said before ending the call.

And as if by instinct, his eyes traveled all the way to the glasshouse where Lily was just about to take a seat.

His office had the perfect location to see the entire office floor but the one-way glass that he used in order to check employees and what they were doing soon became a little too focused on one specific employee only.

Ares’ brows furrowed, showing distress, as he watched Ms. Greene who looked to be ordering Lily to do something for her. It was obvious Lily was not into it, but Ms. Greene couldn’t care less.

Then again, when did she ever care about anyone but herself? Ares knew all too well that the only reason she was hired staff director was because her father in the board insisted and Ares’ grandfather, the Chairman, could not decline.

“f**k, I’m going to be late.” Ares muttered to himself, realizing that he still had another quick meeting downstairs before tonight.

His driver, who waited around for orders from his boss swiftly appeared and they rushed to the elevator.

Ares enjoyed seeing Lily panicking around him, so when he noticed her in the elevator, he knew he just had to step into the same one even if the other elevator was available too.

He had to stop himself from snickering at the sight of Lily pretending to tie her shoelaces. The funniest part is that she didn’t even have laces to begin with so in order to torment Lily a bit more, he confronts her on what she’s doing down there.

God, Ares thought. Even the way she tried to change her voice into a higher pitch was too goddamn funny for Ares and finding things funny for him was rare.

Just when Ares was just getting to the fun part after pointing out that Lily had all her earrings, the elevator doors opened and they arrived at their designated floor.

Coincidentally, it was also the same floor Lily had to go to.

Ares quickly stepped out as he had business to attend to, but it was at that moment that he had a fantastic idea come up in his head. Pulling out his phone, he quickly texted Elliot.

Right on cue, Lily’s phone began to ring behind him as they were in the same hallway.

“I’m invited to what?” He heard Lily sound confused and even that was cute to him.

What the hell was happening to him?

By this time, Elliot should be informing Lily that she was specially invited to tonight’s small celebration.

Olympus was known for letting their employees celebrate as much as they wanted on a Friday night after closing a deal or just finishing something with success. It was all you can drink, and the best part? You wore masks so you wouldn’t feel like you were being judged for how you celebrate.

Call it free will, free domain, etcetera.

Ares was just there for the alcohol most of the time.

“That’s so cool. Okay!” He heard Lily sound excited before thinking – yes, he is a pretty cool boss coming up with something like that for his employees, huh?

A smirk then formed on his lips.

It looks like this time around, he will be there for more than just the alcohol.