The Billionaire’s Fake Marriage

The group didn’t do or say anything until the tall dude got his Mojito and walked away. Janet’s eyes followed him till he disappeared behind the hotel wall.

“Tell me Janet,” Rose asked, “Are you single?”

“I am on a holiday with my friend. What do you think?”

“Is she your special friend?” Rose asked.

“No.” Janet could sense what Rose was asking.

“Then why didn’t you talk to that Mojito Guy?”

Janet tried to look for an answer in her head, but there was none.

“I don’t know. It happened too fast I guess.”

“Oh come on!” Ted jumped in. “The man was there till a mojito was conjured. How much more time do you need?”

Janet knew they were right.

“You know what, he is here with us. His room is around mine.” Elena said. “Next time you see him, just talk to him.”

Janet did not see any reason to not talk to that handsome man. “Maybe, it will start something exciting,” she said to herself. And so she was ready to mingle with this tall, broad shouldered man.

The same evening, fate presented Janet with the next opportunity.

The group was getting ready for their daily bonfire and today Janet had brought Kitty out. Usually Kitty did not like to go out and sit with these complete strangers but today Janet had pleaded her to come along and meet her new friends. Unable to say no, Kitty succumbed to her best friend’s pressure and was now standing beside this curly middle eastern man who strangely seemed attractive to her. But she kept her feelings to herself.

“So Kitty!” Bilal asked trying to sound casual. “Where are you from?”

“United States.” Kitty replied without taking a moment.

“I know that. I mean where are you from in the United States?” Bilal tried again.

“Washington DC.”

“Ooh the capital,” Bilal exclaimed.

“Uhh yeah!” Kitty said without any emotion.

An awkward pause filled the air as Bilal tried to come up with something to talk to her about. The group was noticing this and it was amusing them. Janet gently nudged Kitty with her elbow, signaling her to talk to this cute guy who was interested in her.

After giving Janet a stern look, Kitty thought really hard what to say next.

“Where are you from, Mr Bilal?”

“Dubai! I am from Dubai.” Bilal replied as if he was waiting for her to ask this question.

“Oh it’s a beautiful city. We were there just last year.”

“You like Dubai?” Bilal asked being excited.

“I guess, I like how it’s rapidly growing. I mean it used to be a desert not long ago, and now look at it. They created a snow park and an indoor beach. Not to forget a man made island in the middle of the ocean, in the shape of a tree. I think that’s pretty amazing.”

Listening to so much praise for his town, filled Bilal with joy and pride.

“I am glad you liked it. I really am!” he said with a big smile on his face.

But then, Kitty realized she was out of words. And the awkward silence took over the air again. Bilal could see Ted’s face with his encouraging smile.

“Would you like to walk with me on the beach? It’s really beautiful at this time of the day.” Bilal asked Kitty who looked at Janet.

Janet gave Kitty a subtle signal with a smile and a blink.

“I guess.” Kitty said, agreeing to Bilal’s proposal and soon the two of them were walking on the beach together.

“Look at them. Two people from different corners of the earth, trying to get to know each other.” Rose exclaimed with admiration and love.

Something in those words, stirred Janet’s brain. And suddenly she was not thinking about Kitty and Bilal anymore. Instead, the words said by Rose repeated in her head.

“Two people from different corners of the earth, trying to get to know each other.”

Soon the words started modifying themselves —

“Two people from different corners of the earth, getting to know each other.”

“People from different corners of the world, knowing each other.”

And suddenly, Janet’s train of thoughts was derailed with a sight that made her heart skip a beat. The tall broad shouldered man walked past her.

“There he goes!” Elena exclaimed looking at him. “Janet go, and talk to him.”

Janet’s feet froze as she looked at that man walking away. But Rose grabbed her shoulders and gave her the energy to move along, “Don’t let him disappear again. Go and talk to him.”

Before Janet could know, she was walking behind that man of mystery. Starting with slow paces, Janet then walked quickly but without making much noise. And as she caught up with the man, she slowed her pace down to look normal and walked up to him.

“Hey!” she said very casually.

“Hey!” the man returned the greeting with a warm smile.

“It’s a beautiful evening.” Janet said.

“Certainly it is. I love this place.”

“You come here often?”

“No, this is my first time, but I have been here for around a week. What about you?”

“I am a first timer here as well, but I am loving this place.”

Janet was now walking with this dude and so it only seemed fair to exchange names.

“I am Janet, by the way.”

The dude smiled and looked at her, “I am Marcin.”

“That a nice name. Where are you from?”

“Krakow, Poland… you?”

“New York, United States.”

The two kept walking by the beach when Marcin stopped.

“You want to sit down, Janet?”

Janet showed her agreement by nodding and both of them sat down on the sand, facing the ocean. The Moon grew bigger, coming higher in the sky and soon the stars appeared all around the sky.

“So what do you do Janet?” Marcin asked.

Janet was not expecting this question but then she remembered that she was not with her group where talking about work was forbidden. She decided to play with the new rules.

“I create new ideas and turn them into profitable businesses.”

“Nice! So you are both a business woman and creative person, I am guessing.”

Janet could only nod her head in embarrassment.

“And what do you do?” Janet thought it was no harm in asking now when the rules have changed.

“I help create policies for people living in and around Krakow.”

Janet tried to understand what that meant. Marcin could see that he had confused Janet and so he explained himself further. “I am a politician,” he said chuckling. “So I help in making policies and legislation.”