Contractual Romance

10

I barely slept well last night as all I saw in my dreams was Anthony kissing my cheek, repeatedly. I was still stunned up until now about the sudden kiss. The way he pulled me close to his body and how warm he felt, plus the way his lips felt on my skin was something from a fever dream. I was still feeling hot from the memory of the kiss. It may not mean anything to him, but it did to me.

I pulled my suit jacket by the hems when the elevator stopped, and the doors slid open. I stepped out and started walking, only to notice the way people stared at me and how low their voices were as they did. I bowed my head a bit to take a better look at them and strained my ears to hear what they were saying but all I got were whispers and finger points.

"She's finally here!"

I shook to a stop at Anthony's loud voice. I raised my head and shifted my eyes forward. There he stood with a bouquet. My heart skipped a beat and confusion followed as I tried to make out what he was planning. This fool needed to start telling me his plans before I make a real fool out of him by accident.

Anthony walked up to me and smiled wide. He stretched out the flowers and I glanced at them before looking at his face.

"Happy birthday, love."

Oh, it was my birthday. I totally forgot.

"I... Uh, thank you?" I replied and took the flowers he was offering.

Anthony raised his hand and cupped my cheek, then caressed it with his thumb while staring down at me with a look in his eyes. I felt shy and avoided looking at the audience we had.

"What are you doing?" I asked through gritted teeth and a fake smile.

He shrugged. "I know how much you love spending your birthday with me. So, today. I'm going to spoil you so well, my love."

The high tone of his voice made me cringe. I felt so embarrassed that I wrapped my arm around his and smiled at our audience before walking quickly to his office. Once the door was shut, I tossed the flowers at him with a shocked look on his face.

"What was that out there?!"

"Being your boyfriend?" He replied and dropped the flowers on his desk.

I held the sides of my head and paced around to catch my breath before stopping. I faced him and placed my hands on my hips while he smiled at me.

"Anthony, I think we should probably not do public displays of affection at the workplace.

"Why?"

"Because this company literally has a ban? Staff isn't supposed to have any romantic relationships with other staff. You know of this rule, fool. Besides, I'm sure these people already put two and two together to know that we are dating."

"You and I both know that the rule is a joke. There are a lot of people married to each other here. I'm sure some people are fucking themselves, even the executives too. But if you insist, we won't do much of that romance shit here at work," Anthony said with a shrug of his broad shoulders and went around his desk.

"Thank you. Anyway, thank you for the flowers. I totally forgot that today was my birthday. All this stress made me forget," I said.

"Well, there's going to be more stress today."

"What do you mean?" I asked, narrowing my eyes as he came out from around his desk with a small red box.

Anthony stood before me and grabbed my hand. He placed the velvet box on my hand, and I cocked an eyebrow in question at him.

"What is this?"

"You think I'd give you just a flower as a gift? Pfft. That's your birthday present."

With how the box looked, I could tell it was something expensive already and that didn't sit well with me.

"Anthony, I hope this isn't some expensive ass gift. I've always told you that—"

"You don't like me gifting you really expensive things, only things at a minimum expensive rate. I know but this particular gift means a lot to me and you. Check it."

I opened the box and blinked at a golden thin chain with a heart shape attached to it. I plucked it out of the casing and hung it between my fingers.

"A necklace?" I asked, not sure what I was looking at.

"A locket. Open it."

I handed the box back to him and parted the heart. I gasped at the interior. The rims were diamond studded and on the left side was a high school picture of us and on the right was a recent picture of us. My heart fluttered and my eyes watered the more I stared at how beautiful the locket was. I could even remember the memories from the pictures.

I tilted my head back to look at him through teary eyes. He was smiling softly at me and cupped my cheek to wipe a stray tear. I couldn't help but wrap my arms around him in a tight hug which he immediately returned, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer to his body.

"Thank you so much. This is so beautiful," I said against his chest. I pulled away and brought the locket to my chest while I grinned up at him.

"I know you don't fancy expensive material things. I would have gotten you a new car, a house, a yacht, maybe?"

"Thank goodness you didn't," I said, and he chuckled.

"Happy birthday, Sandy. I know I've said this every year, but I'll keep saying them as long as I'm alive. You're the greatest person in my life today and I'm so glad you are my best friend. And as long as I'm with you, I'll always love and protect you. Happy birthday, bestie."

I smiled warmly and was awed. I sniffed and stood back to wear the necklace. Once it was clipped, I touched it and smiled.

"I'm never taking this off."

The more I stared at the heart-shaped locket, a thought crossed my mind.

"How much did you spend on this? Is this real gold?"

I saw him scratch his neck with a nervous smile.

"Anthony?"

"Okay... That's a five thousand karat gold locket."

"Anthony?! That's fucking expensive!"

"Did you expect me to buy you a cheap gift?"

I glared at him for a second before rolling my eyes.

"Well, you're lucky I love it. Thank you anyway."

Things like this made me love our friendship even when I loved him more than a friend.


Π•Π

A few hours after, I walked into Anthony's office to drop off some files and met him holding up a white shopping bag with its designer's logo on it. I blinked at the paper bag before looking at him.

"What's that?" I asked as I came to a stop beside him.

"We have a dinner date tonight and I got you this dress. I checked the blogs and they are digging our trending news. So, we have to give them more of it tonight."

I took the bag from him while keeping my eyes on his face.

"What type of dress is in here?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I asked my secretary to get it for me while you were in a meeting. I already made reservations. I'll pick you up at eight," he spoke so casually.

As he walked to his desk, I tried to control my beating heart. I was going to go on a date with my best friend for the first time. I was starting to realize just how partially real this was becoming. No matter how fake this was, there was a realness to it in my eyes.

"But are you certain that there will be people following us and taking pictures?"

"Trust me, there will be. Just get ready, okay?"

I nodded and left the office without saying anything else. I walked into my office that was next door and dropped the paper bag on the glass table. I was tempted to see what type of dress was in it but something told me to leave that for tonight. I ignored the bag and placed the files on the table before going through one.

As I paid attention to the table of contents and calculations on the paper, I heard a knock on my door.

"You can come in."

The door opened and an unfamiliar masculine scent filled up the air in my office. I was too invested in what I was reading to look up until the person spoke.

"Hello, are you Miss. Hathaway?"

I raised my head and my heart fluttered at the sight of the good-looking man standing in my office. He was tall and had muscles that were defined by the expensive quality of his royal blue suit. He had perfectly styled dark hair and perfectly cut facial features. He looked like he just stepped out off a runway. This man had to be the second most good-looking man after Anthony.

"Hi," I said in a low voice and he stepped closer with his hands stretched out for a handshake.

I hesitated before wrapping my smaller hand around his warm and rough one. The way his light brown eyes were fixed on my face made me feel self-conscious for a moment.

"I don't think I've seen you around before," I said.

He smiled gorgeously. "No. My name's Trent Flintwood."

That name sounded familiar. In a split second, I remembered he was the manager of one of the company branches.