After taking a quick shower, Suki decided to borrow Devin's shirt for a while longer because she only had the skimpy dress she wore to the club. It was a baggy t-shirt with the name of a prestigious university printed across the chest. The hem reached the top of her knees so she felt decent enough wearing it.
Then, she made her way down to the dining room. Devin said that he had made her breakfast. That sparked her curiosity. As far she knew, men didn't cook or at least her father didn't.
A grin tickled her lips when she saw a plate on the table with a slice of avocado toast and poached egg on top. There was also a bowl of fresh fruits. It was not the type of breakfast that she had imagined a man would make. That pleased her somehow because her notions of what men were like were not particularly stellar.
Just as he had said, there was also an iPad with a sticky note that said,
Use me. I don't have a password. :)
P.S. Just get anything you want from the fridge.
- D.
Suki got herself a glass of water from the dispenser and sat on a chair at the dining table. There, she was once again entertained by the city view. In the morning, the glint of sunlight as it bounced off tall skyscrapers had replaced the fairy lights. Everything seemed to shimmer against a backdrop of blue skies and wispy white clouds.
She gave herself a pep talk while eating some fruit and getting to work on the iPad. "Surely nothing can go wrong on a day like this."
First, she took stock of her money. She had some savings from her job, but most of that would be spent paying the morgue for her parents' cremation. Tears prickled the corner of her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. Right now, there was no time for sentimentalities. She went back to the iPad and started searching for apartments online.
After browsing through various websites, she found out that the only way she could afford rent was if she shared a place with other people farther away from the city center. That would mean commuting at least one hour and thirty minutes to work and taking the same time to go back.
"That's a long commute," she groaned. But what other options did she have?
She found a notepad next to the fridge and wrote down the listings that were of interest. She also needed to buy a cheaper phone to set appointments and use for work. She groaned again and dropped her head on the table wondering if she would have enough money to eat until the end of the month.
"Woah! Looks like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders."
Suki whipped her body back so hard at the sudden sound of his voice, she had to hold on to the table to keep her balance. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear him come in.
"Oh! You're back," she said as she scrambled to clean up the dirty dishes that were still on the table. "Sorry, I didn't realize that it's already been an hour. I'll wash these."
Devin walked towards her and took the dishes from her. "Don't worry, relax! Just do your thing and I'll take care of these."
"But you already made me breakfast. It's only right that I do the dishes," Suki said as she followed him to the kitchen.
"We can let the dishwasher do the work, okay?" He rinsed the crockery then put them in the dishwasher. "See? Finished."
She felt guilty about letting him do the work, but it was too late now. "Thanks, Devin," she said in resignation.
"No big deal," he replied while wiping his hands. "So, what's wrong? You seemed dejected when I came in."
She shrugged. "Oh, it's nothing. Just sorting out some stuff."
"Stuff?" He raised an eyebrow in question.
"Just you know..." - she fiddled with her shirt as she thought about what to say - "Just looking for a place to stay and other things."
Devin tilted his head as if waiting for her to say more, but when she didn't say anything else, he led her to the living room. Once they were seated, he started talking.
"So, I told you that I wanted to talk to you, right? Actually, I have a proposal for you."
"A... a proposal?" Suki asked while leaning forward in her seat.
"Yep, well basically, I know that you're looking for a place to stay and from what I saw earlier, it seems like things are not going too well. Am I right?"
After a slight hesitation, she replied, "Well... not exactly-"
Before she could finish what she was saying, he went on, "So, I thought that since I have an extra room here, I'd let you stay for free."
"Huh? Why would you do that?" Suki asked in surprise. "You barely know me."
Devin leaned back against the sofa and considered her words. "Yeah, if you put it like that, it is kind of unusual..."
He then stood up and started pacing around. Suki followed him with her eyes as he walked back and forth, wearing a path in the carpet. When she was about to go dizzy, he stopped and faced her.
"The thing is I also need a favor from you and the way I see it, this proposal can help us solve both our problems so it's a win-win situation."
"Ok..." she encouraged him to go on, a little more interested.
"Hear me out," he said acting like he was making a pitch. "You need a place to stay and I have room here at my apartment. It will be free of charge and it's close to where you work." He paused. Then seeing that she was still listening, he continued, "Meanwhile, I need someone to act like my girlfriend to keep my mother off my back. I'm working on a very important project right now, but my mother keeps throwing a fit, forcing me to go on blind dates. It's driving me crazy and keeping my focus off work."
"So... let me get this straight," Suki said from her seat while gazing up at him.
"You're offering me a room here, but I'll have to pretend to be your girlfriend so you can get your mother off your back and focus on work. Correct?"
"Right," he exclaimed as he sat back down with a smile.
She bit her lip in thought then asked, "How long is this arrangement going to be, and what does being your pretend girlfriend entail?"
"My project will be over in five months so that will give you a lot of time to sort things out and find a place to stay. As for your responsibilities, once in a while, you will have to go with me to meet my mother and attend some family events," he said.
Devin leaned back and crossed his legs before he went on, "Of course, while we're doing that, we'll have to convince them that we're really together by doing the usual things couples do. However, I do not expect you to sleep with me or do any other intimacies unless, of course, you find me irresistible and want to make a move."
He wiggled his brows as he ended his speech.
She rolled her eyes and scoffed, "I can assure you that I will not have a difficult time restraining myself."
"Ouch," he said while holding a hand over his heart. When she didn't laugh, he cleared his throat and said, "So, what do you think? Shall we make a deal?"
"Can you give me a few minutes to think about it?"
"Sure, go ahead," he said as he stood up. "Actually, I need to work on something so I'll be in my study. That's the door across the stairs from your room. Just come find me when you've decided."
After he was gone, she let out a huge sigh and covered her face with her hands. She needed to think but her thoughts were swirling with the proposal she had just received. Giving up on forming a rational thought, Suki put her hands down and swept her eyes across the area.
Just like the room she had slept in, the ground floor decor also appeared to be at odds with what one would usually expect from a bachelor's pad. Although the dominant shade was white - from the walls to the furniture - vibrant splashes of jewel tones livened the space. The sofa that she had been sitting on had emerald silk throw pillows with silver lotus leaves embroidered on one side.
Suki got up and walked straight to a huge shelf that featured various objet d'art. She examined each one before coming to the conclusion that he was probably well-traveled. Next to the art were several books on programming and industrial design. She flipped through some of them and saw that he had stuck post-its with handwritten notes on some of them. His handwriting was neat and precise. If he worked in the same area as she did, then this made sense. Most of the companies there were in the technology industry.
Not finding anything more concrete, Suki wandered around some more until she found a stack of magazines under the coffee table. One of them had his name and his face on the cover.
Is he famous? she thought as she flipped through the pages until she landed on the cover story.
There, she found the information she needed to ease her mind a bit. His full name was Devin Lee and he was the CEO of a well-known company, which produced drones. Because of his success as a young entrepreneur, the magazine had decided to write a feature about his life and his work.
Suki read through the article with care, sometimes stopping to admire the photos of him that accompanied the spread. He seemed decent enough. Surely, someone as well-regarded as he was won't suddenly turn out to be a criminal? Suki can't say for certain, but at the moment, her choices were either his proposal or risk living with other strangers and running out of money.
Suki put the magazine down. It was time to weigh her options.
Okay, think! What are the pros and cons?
PROS:
One, I get a place to stay for five months for free. I doubt that I'll be able to immediately move in even if I find somewhere today so it will save me from having to book a hostel or something.
Two, this apartment is near work so I don't have to waste time commuting.
Three, I can save money to find a better place later on.
Lastly, I will not have to starve until I get my next salary.
CONS:
One, not sure if I can trust him. So far though, he's been behaving. Is that enough?
Two, I'll have to pretend to be his girlfriend in front of other people. Not sure if I can pull that off, but I can try?
Three, I'm not really comfortable with staying at his place for free. Maybe I can offer to pay him a little rent or offer to do some housework.
After mulling about it some more, she finally made a decision and went to find him. She knocked on the door to his study and opened it after hearing his invitation to come in.
"Hey! Have you decided?" he asked as he glanced up from his laptop. His desk was a mess.
"Yes. I've decided to accept your offer, but I have a few conditions."
A smile spread across his face as he folded his arms on the table. "So what are your conditions?"
She sat on a chair in front of him and replied, "Number one, I'm not comfortable with staying here for free so we can agree on rent or I can do some housework. Number two, we will not interfere with each other's lives and maintain a professional relationship in private. Lastly, we'll avoid any intimacies as much as we can."
"I would like to negotiate a bit," he said as he leaned back and rubbed his chin with one hand. "I don't want to accept money from you and I have a housekeeper who comes here to clean. She won't be happy if I put her out of work, so maybe you can cook? I don't eat dinner here that often, but breakfast would be good. As for your second and third conditions, I technically don't have anything against them so I agree, pending unforeseen circumstances."
"Okay, I can make breakfast and dinner for when you need it. What do you mean by pending unforeseen circumstances?"
Devin explained, "Well, the future is uncertain and there are some possibilities that you can't completely rule out. So, while I agree to keep our relationship as professional as possible, I can't promise anything else."
He then stood up and extended his hand towards her, not giving her any more time to think. "Deal?"
She wasn't quite sure if she was doing the right thing, but this was the best option she had at the moment. "Okay, deal," she agreed as she shook his hand.
After the deal was sealed, she ventured to ask, "So... Is it okay if I borrow some more of your clothes?"
He laughed at her cheeky expression. "Come to think of it, I never thought that shirt could look cute, but you're proving me wrong. Come on, my pretend girlfriend, I'll get you some things."
She shook her head at his flattery but followed him anyway. All the while, she hoped that she did the right thing.