Page 20 of Yours, For Now

We took a few bites of our lunch. I looked for a way to explain myself.

"I talked to my parents about this, you know."

She stopped chewing and stared at me, her eyes opened wide. It seemed she didn't like my confession, and her shock looked funny enough that I stopped myself from continuing.

She spoke through the food in her mouth, a hand covering the view. "Why did you do that?! No one can know!"

I grinned. "I fully agree. That's why I didn't tell them what— or who I was talking about."

"What?" She pulled back in her chair, leaning against the backrest. A ray of sunlight shone on her dark brown hair, stealing red and blonde streaks from it. "How…?"

"I went for advice. Told them of my dilemma without any names or details. I just said I was in a position to help someone and lie, going against my beliefs, or…" A sudden cascade of vulnerability opened in my chest. I hesitated, but she gave me time, her eyes steady on me, questioning yet patient. I continued. "Or fail to help someone, and fail myself anyway."

At first, her face didn't shift, nor did the way she leaned back in the chair. She watched me for a second, another, until she finally leaned forward. "What did they say?"

Two kids ran past our table and sat nearby, calling for Mamma and Mommy. Two elegant women walked toward them, making quieting gestures with their hands. The children began chattering with each other in a low voice.

"I told them there was risk in helping this person. I didn't explain it to them, but I need you to know… If anyone ever learns, for any reason, that we're faking this… people in my company won't trust me the same, Lina. And I will disappoint my parents. That cannot happen."

She drank more wine, her eyes serious on me. "Understood. I will do everything in my power to make everyone believe this is a real relationship."

"Iamgoing against my values here, no matter what I do. But the risk of someone finding out— if we do a good job of it, I don't see why anyone would ever suspect it's not real. We're both single, have things in common…"

I stopped myself from sharing that I had entertained one day inviting her out, even before all of this had happened. It could only complicate things, not to say anything of revealing the part of me who looked at Lina and knew she was my type.

"You don't think it's that much of a stretch." She cut a piece of asparagus and put it in her mouth. She studied me, her gaze intense.

I frowned. She didn't show much on her face, and I didn't quite get her tone, so I answered directly. "It isn't. On the other hand… if I don't do this, I know for a fact that I left you to deal with all of this by yourself."

"And, somehow… in your mind… lying versus leaving me alone weigh the same."

My insides went still. "Yeah. What kind of person leaves someone else in a shitty situation and doesn't care enough to even regret it?"

Her face softened, and this time her eyes gazed at me with warmth. Getting that from her for the first time convinced me that I had made the right decision.

But it was brief. A breeze blew a strand of her hair in front of her face, and she pulled it back behind an ear. A second later, her usual challenging style came back.

She raised an eyebrow. "Won't your parents connect the dots? They know plenty already."

"I don't think so. They'll probably think it's someone in my friend group. As for you and I, I won't tell them right away that I'm seeing you. To them it'll be like for most other people: we've been spending a lot of time together, one thing led to another… and now we're dating. They won't start doubting me just because I went to them for advice. They trust me."

Her lips tensed for a second, before she took the last bit of food on her plate. "So is that our story? Late nights working on this project led to more?"

"Yeah, let's keep it simple." I finished my food as well. I washed it down with more wine. "We'll wait for your dad and uncle's answer. If they say no, we amicably break it up a week after. If they say yes… we keep this thing going for a couple of weeks after we have the contracts between our companies signed. Whenever it feels like it wouldn't cause trouble."

Having finished her food, she placed her fork and knife in the right position on her plate. "That's simple enough. You can pick me up for dates—" she made air quotes for the last bit— "and we can go work instead, each of us doing whatever we need to do."

I nodded, relief soothing the tension in my shoulders. Being on the same page bode well for the plan. "We'll have to spend more time together than if we'd only been preparing the shortlist proposal and the contracts, but I can't get too distracted. My family's company is preparing for transition, and I have a lot on my plate. I can't get sidetracked."

"I understand. We don't need to make a big show of it. I don't need big romance at this time in my life, either." She leaned back as servers took our plates away and offered us dessert. We both declined.

Soon after, I paid for our meal and we walked back to my car. Josué drove us back to the Martínez headquarters, with both of us in the back seat mostly in silence. When we got to her family's offices, I signaled to Josué he could stay in the car and I helped Lina out.

We stood next to the idling car, the doors closed as we exchanged personal phone numbers.

I buttoned up my blazer, a reflex from wearing suits every day. "You know, it's funny how you said earlier that you don't need a big romance. Yet here we are, two near workaholics, about to fake one for a few weeks."

I was rusty in the act-like-a-boyfriend department, but I would have wanted the extra seconds with Lina if I were developing feelings for her. I didn't have a crush on her, even, and I wanted those extra seconds.