His Fake Fiancé: A Billionaire Boss Office Romance Read online

  His Fake Fiancé

  A Billionaire Boss Office Romance

  Nikki Bloom

  © Copyright 2020 by Nikki Bloom. All rights reserved.

  No portion of this document may be reproduced, duplicated, or transmitted in either electronic means or in printed format. This includes, but is not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher, except as permitted by copyright law. For permissions please contact [email protected]

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are fictitious products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, or events is purely coincidental.

  Contents

  1. Camelia

  2. Dmitry

  3. Camelia

  4. Dmitry

  5. Camelia

  6. Dmitry

  7. Camelia

  8. Dmitry

  9. Camelia

  10. Dmitry

  11. Camelia

  12. Dmitry

  13. Camelia

  14. Dmitry

  15. Camelia

  16. Dmitry

  17. Camelia

  18. Dmitry

  19. Camelia

  20. Dmitry

  Epilogue

  XOXO, Winter

  1. Winter

  2. Winter

  About the Author

  Also By Nikki Bloom (FREE w/ KU)

  FREE BOOK OFFER!

  1

  Camelia

  The world around me was a rush of vibrant colors. Cartoon character mascots danced along the pathways in the downtime between taking pictures with excited children. Occasionally, the children would scream with delight, too thrilled to contain themselves. Their smiles stretched from ear to ear.

  Meanwhile, I was miserable.

  For one, I was helplessly lost. I had a paper map in hand but it did little to help my situation.

  “Okay... there’s the main castle,” I whispered to myself. “Which means I should be right here...?” I scratched the side of my head. “No, that’s not right at all...” I spun the map upside down as if that might solve my directional problem. I even tilted my head to a ninety-degree angle, hoping that a new perspective would clear things up. It didn’t.

  A part of me thought about giving up the whole thing, but I had too much riding on the line. I needed this job – this new lease on life – and I wasn’t going to let my lack of directional skills defeat me. Sure, maybe I had a hard time with my lefts and my rights, but damn it, I could draw, and I was determined to show that to my future employer... if only I could find him.

  Irritated park-goers walked around me, mumbling that I was in their way. One mother of three even had the audacity to run over my foot with her son’s stroller and she didn’t even apologize for doing it. I tossed her a reprimanding glare, but she kept on marching in the other direction.

  I sighed. This was not a good start to the rest of my life. Maybe I had made a mistake by taking such a giant leap of faith without really thinking it through, but I had planned out everything else in my life and I had seen everything crash and burn. It was time for a change. Sink or swim.

  “Get your cotton candy here!” called out a vendor.

  I glanced in that direction, sweet tooth throbbing. If I had any sort of kryptonite, it was sugar. Sometimes, I just couldn’t help myself.

  This was one of those times.

  The vendor smiled as soon as I approached his booth. “What will it be? Large or extra-large?” he asked with a lopsided grin.

  “Realistically, I shouldn’t be buying cotton candy at all–”

  “Nonsense!” he interjected. “There is always a reason to buy cotton candy.”

  I bit my bottom lip. Everything was telling me to walk away, but as soon as he started to move that cone around the machine, gathering up that delicious pink fluff, I knew that he had me, hook, line, and sinker.

  “It’s on me,” he said. “Just don’t tell my boss.”

  “I don’t want to get you into trouble.”

  “For a girl like you, I’m willing to take the risk.” He winked a second time. Was this guy trying to flirt with me? My cheeks became red with blush and my ears were hot to the touch. “Why don’t you come back at the end of my shift? I can show you all the secrets that this place has to offer?” He leaned in really close and I caught a whiff of his horrible breath. The magic that had seemed to surround the guy vanished.

  “Sorry but I’m not interested.” In a flash, I abandoned both the creep and the cotton candy. It was a pity passing up on a free treat, but I was going to get myself lured into my dicey situation. I’ve had enough boy troubles in my life to know that I don’t need any more of it.

  Besides, don’t you have an interview to get to? came that little voice at the back of my head.

  I started sprinting like I had a clue where the hell I was going.

  And somehow, I landed myself in Kiddie central. There were little kids everywhere. They swarmed from one place to another, their giggles pounding through my temples. Some held on for dear life on the teacup ride while others sat at attention, watching a puppet show.

  “Something tells me that I’m not in Kansas anymore...” I grumbled under my breath, trying to figure out where I had gone wrong. I didn’t even think it was humanly possible to fuck up this badly but somehow, I had managed it.

  Maybe you should swallow your pride and just ask someone... my common-sense chimed in.

  A young woman dressed as an Ice Princess was leaning against a retaining wall, trying to camouflage herself against a horde of little girls. She breathed a sigh of relief when they walked her by.

  “Looks like you just dodged a bullet,” I said, trying to instigate a little bit of small talk.

  “You’re telling me,” she answered. “So, which one is yours?”

  “Mine?”

  “I’m assuming that you’re here with your kid.”

  I shook my head. “No way. I don’t even know if I want kids.”

  “So, what are you doing in Kiddie World? You’re not a creep or anything, are you?” The girl jerked to the left, using me as a human shield. Across the way, another princess was bombarded by a group of girls, all of them pulling at her hair. “Phew...”

  “No, I’m not a creep...” I said. “Why, do I look like a creep?”

  The girl turned her head to look at me like she was really seeing me for the first time. “Hmm, I guess not. Look, I’ve had a long day... This job takes a lot out of you. But, hey, it can only go up from here, right?”

  “I’m looking for Foxlight Towers,” I added quickly, fearing that the princess would go on some sort of tangent. She seemed the type.

  “Foxlight Towers?” she repeated. “Are you the replacement for Genevie?”

  “Genevie?”

  “Yeah. The Amazonian.” She screwed up her face, scrutinizing me. “You certainly have the look for it.” She picked up a strand of my hair. “Look at this volume!”

  “I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m here as a graphic designer.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Well, I still need to have my final interview before sealing the deal but I’m hoping it goes well...”

  “So, you’re the artsy type, huh? I can’t draw a straight line to save my life.” She looked at her watch. “Well, my shift is about to end and I just so happen to live at Foxlight Towers myself, so why don’t you stick around and I can walk you over there
? But I must admit, you’re pretty far from the mark. It’s like you’re in France looking for America.”

  “Yeah... I’m not so good at directions.”

  “Clearly,” she said and laughed. “My name is Kandy, by the way.”

  “Nice name.”

  “I’m as sweet as I sound,” she said with a chuckle. “Although, sometimes, the boys don’t really agree with that statement.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s their loss, really.”

  I was starting to like this girl already.

  “Anyway, are you going to introduce yourself or should I give you some wildly embarrassing nickname that you’ll learn to hate?”

  “Camelia.”

  “Isn’t that a flower?”

  “Mhm. My mom was a botanist.”

  “My mom was a lowlife.” Again, she shrugged. “Haven’t heard from her in five years.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that.

  “In any case, just give me a minute to change out of this dress. Wait over there by the carnival games. I’ll find you just as soon as I’m done.”

  “Right,” I said with a nod.

  And with that, she was gone.

  I wandered over to the carnival games and took a look around. Some of the prizes were obnoxiously big. I had to believe that it would be near impossible to take one of them home and even if you did manage it, I had no idea where you’d store a life-sized lion.

  The minutes rolled one into the other until I was left waiting for over a quarter of an hour. Did it really take that long to change out of a dress? Maybe she had forgotten about me.

  But I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Wanting to kill some time, I forked over a couple of bucks and tried my hand at some darts. I had played a few times in college at the local bars around campus, but I was hardly any good. At the time, I had blamed it on the booze. Now, I was starting to learn that I just downright sucked.

  “Oh, so close!” the carny egged me on, trying to get me to buy another round.

  And I did.

  The first dart strayed to the left. Then, after adjusting my stance, it strayed to the left. My third? Well, I swear that grazed the balloon but it did not pop. “I swear, this game is rigged,” I mumbled under my breath. “I should have gotten that one!”

  Anger controlled my fourth dart, resulting in another fail.

  I picked up my fifth and final dart, knowing that I’d need nothing short of a miracle. I was just about to throw it when I felt someone’s presence right behind me. I turned around, thinking it was Kandy but instead, I came face to face with one of the most handsome men I have ever seen. That isn’t even an exaggeration.

  He looked like a magazine model – the kind that didn’t need photoshop to look good.

  No. Scratch that. He looked like a real-life prince completed with the rich blue eyes and blond hair. But he wasn’t dressed in any sort of costume. He was just some regular theme-park visitor. So, what was he doing breathing down my neck? Not that I minded or anything...

  “May I offer some advice?” His voice matched his charming looks – rich, smooth, and absolutely intoxicating. “You need to follow through with your throw.” As he spoke, he took hold of my hand and lifted it into a throwing position.

  My heart started pounding, ready to burst right out of my chest. The pounding got even worse as he took a step forward, body pressed against mine. I had no idea what was going on but for some reason, I didn’t mind it.

  “And now... release...” his words came as a purr against my ear. It sent a shiver running down the length of my spine.

  Pop!

  To my surprise, the balloon fell in tatters, fluttering towards the ground. “Whoa,” I said aloud. “I did it.”

  The stranger flashed a smile, a mouth full of pearly whites. There was no way that this guy was real. He was just too perfect.

  “Ah, what a lovely couple!” The carny clapped his hands together.

  “Couple? Oh no, we aren’t an item,” I said, all too quickly.

  The man continued to stand right behind me. I half expected him to wrap his arm around my waist. No. I wanted him too.

  “Go on, pick out your prize.” Again, there came that honey-like voice of his. It was enough to make me go weak in the knees. I thought they would buckle at any given moment.

  “Uh...” I stammered like some sort of babbling idiot.

  “How about the panda bear?” he suggested. “Looks pretty cute to me...” I had a feeling that he wasn’t talking about the stuffed animal anymore. Or rather, I wanted him to mean something else.

  “Sure. The panda bear,” I agreed.

  The carny took it down and handed it to me. “Here you are.”

  I took my prize, arm stiff with my disbelief. Seeing as I wouldn’t move, the stranger took me by the shoulders and helped me aside so that someone else could have a go at popping balloons. I couldn’t tell you whether they did well or not because my eyes were fixed on the gentleman standing before me. He was a modern gentleman by every account of the word complete with a leather jacket, crisp white tee, and some nice, fitted jeans.

  “How did you do that?” Of all the questions I had running through my head, that was the one that I’d decided to ask.

  “I’ve been here long enough to have a couple of tricks up my sleeve,” he said.

  “But why did you help me? You don’t even know me.”

  “Would you consider it a crime to help a pretty girl?” he asked. His eyes were so rich and sincere that I knew, without a doubt, that his compliment was genuine. Or maybe I was just tricking myself into believing that this guy was one of the good ones. “Besides, I didn’t want you spending all your money on a stuffed animal worth about two dollars.”

  I ran my fingers over the rounded ears. The fake fur was soft to the touch. “It doesn’t feel like a two-dollar bear.”

  “Well, in a place like this, everything is bought in bulk. You get quite the bang for your buck that way.”

  He leaned back, resting against a post and at that moment, the light came down in exactly the right way, highlighting the tops of his cheeks, all chiseled and golden. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

  Suddenly, his phone went off. I could hear the soft buzz, buzz of the vibration. He pulled it from his breast pocket and looked at the screen. “I’m sorry but I need to take this call.” There was an apologetic look on his face as he walked away. It was only when it was too late that I came to realize that I hadn’t asked for his name – or his number for that matter.

  “Well, there goes that...” I whispered to myself, voice flat with disappointment. But, honestly, who was I kidding? That guy was only being nice. “There’s no way that he was laying into you,” I told myself. “Absolutely no way.”

  I don’t know how long I sat there and stared into the distance, but it must have been a little while because the sun was starting to set, casting the theme park in a thick blanket of orange hues. I blinked, ready to get up, certain that Kandy had forgotten about her promise to escort me to Foxlight Towers.

  “There you are!” came a familiar voice. “I’ve been looking all over the place for you! I thought you had skipped out on me.”

  Kandy had changed into a cargo green jumper and a pair of flats.

  “Sorry,” I responded, still a little out of it. For some reason, that encounter with the handsome stranger had left me reeling. I couldn’t quite describe it. In a way, it felt like magic but of course, it wasn’t that. Magic didn’t exist.

  “What’s up with the stuffed bear? Don’t tell me that you’re actually good at these carnival games. They are a total rip off in my opinion.”

  “Some guy helped me win it.”

  “Some guy?” She retorted and raised an eyebrow. “What kind of guy?”

  I shook my head.

  “Oh, come on, you have got to tell me.”

  “He had these blue eyes. Rich and dark, like matching pairs of cobalt.”

  Kandy blew air through her teeth
. “Blue eyes? Lame. I don’t know what the big deal is with blue eyes. Every Prince Charming around this place has them.” She waved her hand, motioning to the entire park. “I’m over it. If you ask me, hazel eyes are where it’s at. If I get myself a hunk with hazel eyes, I’m never letting him go.” Kandy continued her prattling, but I wasn’t listening for I came to realize that I was never going to see that man ever again.

  * * *

  We reached the apartment complex. Sure enough, it was located on the other side of the park, nowhere near where I had asked Kandy for directions.

  “What’s your number?” asked Kandy as they approached the elevator.

  “808.”

  “Pardon?” Kandy looked like she had just choked.

  “808,” I repeated, confused by her reaction.

  “You’re kidding me, right? Like, this is some kind of joke?”

  “I don’t think it is.”

  “What are the odds?” she mumbled to herself.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “We’re roommates,” she said. “What do you figure is the odds of that happening? I mean, talk about serendipity.” Her grin was contagious. “I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship!”

  2

  Dmitry

  It was the middle of the night and I couldn’t seem to sleep. From the window of my penthouse suite, I had a rather scenic view of the theme park’s castle, the crowning ornament that brought tourists from far and wide. The fireworks display had ended about an hour ago, but the lights that illuminated the building were kept twinkling through the night. Even after years of running the place, I was still amazed by its breathtaking beauty, though I couldn’t help but think that something was missing. The castle was spectacular, yes, but around the world, theme parks were getting bigger and better. It was time for me to catch up.