As Long as You Love Me (Previously Kiss and Tell)

Chapter 6 ♔ The Deal

The next morning Maya smacked me upside the head. It was like looking at the carbon copy of her mother, with her eyebrows pulled back to reveal her wide, dark eyes beaming in menace at me. Her lips pursed as if barely holding back the epithets she wanted to throw in a new remix of my name. More importantly, the strength in the palm of her hand would make sure the back of my head smarted for a couple of hours.

"What the hell was that?" I jumped to my feet, not to fight back but to put distance between us in case she wanted to pick up the chancla and smack it over my head.

Maya raised her hand but didn't move closer. "Do you have brain damage?"

"Not before you rattled my brain, no."

"Do you think that's the right way to get a job?" Her voice lowered into something close to the growl of an angry wolf. "Because a man gave it to you?"

A flash of heat went off in my body, except it wasn't anger. When she put it that way it sounded like I was lessening my own accomplishments, as though they weren't enough to get the job. As though only because of Gabe taking himself out of the running could I truly land the job. I hadn't worked as hard as I had for four years to get a job because of pity.

However, pride was nothing compared to the need to stay in this country.

"Technically Jeff is also a man and he'd be my hiring manager," I said. She continued giving me a look like she pondered whether to inflict more bodily harm, so I raised the palms of my hands and said, "Okay, I get it. Trust me. It's not super ethical but this works out for the better. I don't crush Gabe in cutthroat competition and I still get to stay in the USA. All I have to do is go to a wedding with him and done. Can I go back to eating my cereal now?"

Maya's eyes narrowed but it was enough that I thought the worst had passed. I joined her at the table and we continued eating our breakfast in relative silence. My stomach clenched up after being forced to face the moral implications of what I had agreed to do in such a simple way. I rubbed the back of my head as I chewed on my Special K. It wasn't like I'd stop being an excellent performer at work just because the position was almost mine now. After all, something crazy could happen like maybe the bosses decided to rescind the department's new headcount. That was why I still had to make sure I appeared as the best possible addition to the team.

"Are you sure, though?" she asked suddenly, stopping halfway from lifting her spoonful of Cheerios to her mouth.

While chewing I asked, "About what?"

"That all you have to do is attend a wedding?" Maya set the spoon down with gravitas. I braced for whatever she would say next, but I still wasn't expecting the following words, "What if he has something different in mind? Like, you acting as an escort with certain benefits."

The flakes soaked up in milk lodged in my windpipe. I made a mess of the table as I coughed them out. Despite being first aid certified, Maya did nothing to help me. I had a feeling she enjoyed the impact her words caused.

"Bet you hadn't thought of that, huh?" Folding her arms, she sat back to observe my struggle with a little smile on her lips.

"Ha!" I shouted after I was able to cease wheezing. "That's impossible."

She lifted a shoulder and tossed her hair over it. "Is it, though? We're talking about Gabe, the Campus Babe. Latin Lover Bae."

I cringed. I'd never been a big fan of that last one.

Maya continued, "I mean, with just a few words he got you to agree to a ridiculous scheme like this without even revealing the full extent of his plan. Who's to say he doesn't have some ulterior motives of his own?"