Page 29 of Surprise! I'm Engaged To My Boss
I just didn't do it because the unfriendly way she looked at me made it clear that she wasn't very open to such demonstrations.
“So...” she said as soon as she let go of my hand. “How exactly is this going to work?”
Actually, I had no idea. But I knew someone who did.
I asked Collins to wait a minute and grabbed an iPad from the table, using it to make a video call. Janet answered with a very discouraged expression, but that completely changed in seconds when I positioned myself next to Camila Collins, putting her in the camera's focus as well.
Chapter thirteen
MICHAEL
At first, I thought the change in Janet's expression expressed relief. But I soon realized that wasn't exactly what happened.
In fact, she looked furious.
“I can't believe you're meeting women in your office, Michael,” my lawyer practically shouted. “After everything that happened, what kind of shit do you have in that empty head of yours? What do you want, to fuck up your life and mine too?”
She paused, seemingly waiting for an answer to her clearly rhetorical question. Beside me, looking a little shocked by the reaction, Collins asked quietly,
“Is she your mother or something?”
“Worse. She’s my lawyer.” I cleared my throat, finally answering Janet’s questions. “Ms. Rodriguez,this is Camila Collins. She just accepted the deal and... we’re engaged.”
I forced a smile. Janet blinked a few times, seeming to process my words, before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
“Thank God. There is still hope for your case. Sorry for the rudeness, Collins, but my client's history unfortunately makes me always think the worst of him.”
“Hey!” I protested.
“I'm aware,” Collins agreed.
“Hey!” I protested again, being ignored once again.
Janet then took the floor.
“Either way, that's great news. Please have a seat, we need to talk about how this is all going to work.”
We obeyed, sitting side by side on a sofa in the corner of the room. However, Collins made a point of moving away a little and placing her bag between us, cutting off the physical contact of my arm leaning against hers.
Did that, too, count as intimacy?
After a minute's pause, during which she leafed through a some papers, Janet resumed speaking.
“The hearing will take place in exactly three months and ten days. And I need this relationship to last at least until the day after that, okay? After that, it will be as if you broke up and each went your own way. Even if the Harrises appeal, they won't be able to attach the videos because, for all intents and purposes, the whole situation would be easily explainable. You were engaged, you went to the company party together, and since you had both been drinking, you were prudent and decided to spend the night at the hotel and leave only the next day. Got it?”
I looked at Collins, waiting for her to respond. She gave me a quick, irritated look that made it clear she wasn’t happy to learn that the actual deadline for our agreement would be ten days later than originally agreed. But eventually she looked back at the screen and nodded in agreement.
Janet continued.
“So, let's do this... the first step to making this work will be to publicly formalize your relationship. I think the ideal way to do this would be to have dinner with both families, what do you think?”
“Wait!” Camila reacted. “What do you mean between families? My only family is my grandmother, and I don't want her to know about this situation.”
“And she won't know. Not about it being a hoax, you mustn't tell anyone about that. She, like Michael's family, must believe that you are really engaged.”
“What? You want me to lie to my grandmother, is that it? Tell her that I'm engaged to my boss? And that we started dating after I got drunk at the company party and ended up in bed with him?”
“The details of how it all began are up to you, Collins. But yes, your grandmother, as well as anyone close to you, must truly believe that you are engaged.”
