Best Enemies [COMPLETED]

CHAPTER FIVE: SCRATCH MY BACK, I'll SCRATCH YOURS

Saturday came sooner than it was supposed to. Selena re-read her list of conditions hundred times over and could not find anything else to add. She was finally satisfied with the result and hoped that Ash would be ready to cooperate.

Unable to take a decision even after midnight, she had done what she always did before taking a decision at work. She had drawn a pros and cons chart and rated the benefits versus the drawbacks. She would not only get back her job but a far better one than she had aspired for the first five years of her career. Plus she would be able to pay off her apartment and keep the rest to buy herself a fancy car; something she had always wanted. And finally, she would be spared the humiliation of having her apartment seized from her at the inability to pay off her debts.

The real challenge was to bear Ashton for a duration of five whole months. And not only tolerate but pretend to be in love with him. Talk about an ordeal! That was why she had drawn up the list; it was going to be difficult enough to pretend to like him but she must have some kind of compensations to make goo-goo eyes at him.

She had tried not to be too greedy or exigent in her conditions as even if she hated him with every pore of her entire being, she knew that Ashton had been kind enough to make her an offer which could save her from ruin. Initially she had been surprised. Why the hell would the great arrogant Ashton Cooper be offering her a job for? Well, she had known that his company was facing some problems but anybody could fix those business issues. She was not the only one qualified and adept for the job.

When he had asked her to pose as his girlfriend, to say she had been surprised would be an understatement. Astounded most probably. Why would he want her to be his girlfriend? From what she had heard, Ashton had a new woman in his life every month and needed no hired girlfriend. When he had explained the reason why he had picked her up, she had not known whether to feel flattered or insulted.

It was flattering to know that she was the only woman who could resist Ashton Cooper but to go as far as paying her to be his pretend girlfriend was something that bothered her. She was too busy counting her benefits to wonder too much about the reason why it rattled her. It left her with no choice than to murder her self-respect; she would worry about that later. For now, her analysis proved that the benefits surpassed the losses and she had decided to give it a go.

Come to think of it however, she realized that she had no choice but to accept the offer Ash had proposed to her. While she understood that he was only using her for his own advantage, it was certainly the best thing for her as well. It was going to be a symbiosis process; both depending entirely on each other for their survival.

Consequently, she had established certain rules before things go out of hand with Ashton. Well, she knew that he would not cheat on their agreement but things tended to go haywire with him. Especially when both of them were concerned.

Another glance at the clock made her heart miss a beat as she realized Ashton would be arriving any minute now. She of course labeled her feeling as anticipation and nothing else.

At the sound of her doorbell, her heartbeats were now chaotic and she hastily opened the door to a casual looking Ashton. She gulped at the sight of him. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a vee-shaped neckline which molded against his body showing his muscled body to perfection. His wet hair indicated that he had recently showered and smelled heavenly of a very expensive after shave. Despite themselves, her fingers itched to feel his hair and she had to clench them into a fist to control them. Taking a step backwards, she let him in with an offhanded smile and closed the door behind him.

“Hey,” he greeted her awkwardly.

And it seemed bizarre. Usually it was “if it isn’t the high and mighty princess” or “what did I do to deserve meeting you again” or something along the same line. Selena swallowed hard at the awkward feeling that installed within her.