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I go to the bathroom, and I see her ring on the counter. Why isn’t she wearing it?
I think about that as I drive to work from my place and remind myself that if she wears it out, that’s all that matters. She probably took it off to get ready for bed and left it there. She’s only had it for almost a week and it’s not a big deal.
She doesn’t know I picked it out weeks in advance and I’ll never tell her that.
17
The Next Move
Laina
IfIhadanickel for every time someone asked to see my ring or when we were getting married, I’d be rich. Everyone surrounded me when I got to work on Monday, and I blushed as they asked me questions about the proposal and the wedding.
It seemed appropriate, and I feel relief when I walk into my office.
“Congrats!” Marcie tells me, walking over to give me a hug. “Were you surprised?”
“Yes. I didn’t think he’d do it so soon. In a happy way, of course.” I grin and she pulls away with a searching gaze.
“Were they terrible out there? You might need a bodyguard for a while.” She jokes as I roll my eyes.
“Why does everyone think I need to get married next week? What happened to a long engagement?” I ask as I warm up my computer and then make some coffee. “I’m pretty sure they’re judging the ring, too.” I look at it, thinking how beautiful it was and how I felt upset when I realized I left it on the bathroom counter a few times.
“It’s gorgeous and unique. I can see that Kyle put some thought into it.” Marcie smiles at my hand and I look at her with a smile. “Do you have any idea when you’ll get married?”
“We haven’t talked about it too much. I know my family will have to travel if we have it here, but we may also do it there. Who knows?” I shrug, knowing it probably won’t get planned at all.
Just for show.
The rest of the team members come in and once Marcie tells them, they congratulate me. Eli looks a little stiff when it’s his turn, but he’s a big boy and he’ll be fine. They’re also men and don’t put so much on a ring and a proposal. It’s the women around that seem to be the nosiest, looking and judging the diamonds on my finger.
There is happiness for me and a lot of envy. I landed the sexy billionaire, and some people don’t think I’m worthy of Kyle. If they only knew it was fake the entire time and we were just friends with benefits.
Sure, I’d move in this weekend, but even that is for convenience. It is what people do when they commit to something and will save money when we can just cook dinner at home.
I mean, his place. It isn’t my home forever and I’ll return to the apartment when this facade ends. I plan to sleep in the guest room to have my space, but more than likely we’ll have sex every night and I’ll fall asleep in his bed.
I just can’t say no to the man and that might be my demise.
I think about the night of the engagement and how different it felt with Kyle. There were more eye contact and emotions in the room, but I probably imagined it. He did a good job of making it a fun surprise, even with all the planning, and that probably took a lot out of him. I think it would cause emotions to happen no matter the situation and we were both on an adrenaline high.
The questions continue through the week, and there is some media coverage of the story. We even faced reporters a few times that week and it felt uncomfortable for me, but I kept a smile on my face. I wasn’t sure about being a celebrity, but this is what I signed up for.
They did some digging on me and as expected, didn’t find anything scandalous. My mom reads everything about it now, calling me a celebrity when we talk on the phone. I want to tell her the truth so badly, but it will break her heart. She wants me to settle down and be happy, and while Kyle is perfect for that, he doesn’t want me that way.
I focus on work when I’m there, still moving towards bettering myself somehow. I love working with a team but there’s room for promotion if nobody thinks too much about the fact I’m engaged to the boss. This is even a stepping stone to another company if it doesn’t work out here. I can see that happening when things end with Kyle, though I don’t let myself think about it right now.
When I have lunch with Marcie on Thursday, I announce that I’m moving in with Kyle over the weekend. She’s surprised I haven’t already, but I explain that we just spend a lot of time back and forth between places right now. It is a whirlwind romance, after all. She’s the one person who’s supportive of us and seems to like us as people. Marcie is becoming a friend to me as well, and I hate the idea of leaving the company should the need arise.
Friday night, Kyle takes me out to dinner after work at our favorite hamburger place. He talks about making a couple of trips in his SUV to load up my boxes and clothes on Saturday and settling in over the weekend. I see the excitement in his eyes, but why? This is just the next step in the plan before we decide to end the engagement.
I’m excited too, but I try not to be as we eat and talk about the week and what a rush it had been for me, for lack of a better word. I feel like I don’t know Kyle that well and living together will differ from just staying at each other’s homes overnight.
We’ll be in his space together, just living. We go out to dinner so much that I don’t know if he enjoys cooking in the amazing kitchen or not. There are things I’d like to make that I grew up with and I think I remember Kyle enjoying them, but that was years ago.
Should I even put in this effort? Am I overthinking things?
“Do you like to cook?” I ask, picking up a fry from my plate.
