The Millionaire’s Fake Wedding

“So, can you take me to the staff room?” Belle asked.

“Of course, Ms. Jameson. Come on.”

Natalie easily navigated through the maze, taking a different route from the one they’d taken the first time, and arriving at the thin door from the other side of the hallway. It reminded Belle of Hogwarts: hallways and staircases shifting, constantly changing the layout of the place. Crazy.

Natalie pushed open the door, and let Belle go in first. There was nobody inside, which was unsettling. The Belle remembered this was a practice match, not an actual game. Natalie went for the coffee maker, while Belle went to the window. The view was bad, but good enough to see that the stadium was empty, safe for a few maintenance workers.

“So,” Natalie said.

“So?” Belle replied. She wasn’t sure what was about to happen; only that she was ready for it. She hoped so, anyway.

“I saw you in the parking lot there, smooching like a bunch of teenagers. What do you have to say about that?”

“Wow. You don’t have to be so bitter. I fail to see the problem here.”

“Really? Do you need me to explain it to you?” Natalie asked. Belle noticed she’d only made one cup of coffee.

“If you don’t mind, then, yes, please,” Belle replied. What could be the problem, really? If anything, their romance only helped the assignment.

“Okay. You are an employee here. Your job is to smile on camera, say cute stuff to reporters, and that’s it. Just like we’ve agreed, no less, and no more.”

“The way I see it, this can only help.”

“You think so? You think this is for real?” Natalie smirked. Belle had never been in a catfight (or any other kind of fight), but just then she thought she could slap that smirk off Nat’s face.

Instead, she said, “I know this is for real. I feel it.”

“Feel it? Don’t kid yourself, girl. He’ll be over it the moment the press stop spitting in his direction. Then you’ll go back to whatever it was you came from. Personal assistant is the word.”

“Two words, actually. And you’re wrong,” that was the only argument Belle had. It was obvious that Natalie wouldn’t hear about their feelings towards each other, so why waste breath?

“I am rarely wrong. Except maybe I was when I hired you for the job. There’s no place for personal feelings here.”

“That is absurd.” Belle couldn’t help but to laugh. What was the woman talking about?

“Today you love each other, tomorrow you’ll want to break up and the whole plan will go south.”

“We won’t.”

Natalie took a step closer, trying to intimidate Belle and succeeding.

“You better listen to me, Ms. Jameson. Do as we’ve agreed, and you’ll be fine. Start playing a little Cinderella princess, and you’re done! I’ll kick you out so fast you won’t even notice!”

Such a wave of aggression completely put Belle down. She stepped aside and walked past Natalie and out of the room. Again she felt like quitting, but she wouldn’t She knew what she needed.

Belle ran through the complicated hallways, and soon, miraculously, she found herself in the main hallway. To the left would be the parking lot, and to the right – the court. Belle looked both ways, and saw the team walking out to play, stretching and shaking hands.

“Allen! Rodgers!” she cried on her way to the court. “Al!”

At first no one took notice of her, but then the men started turning, one by one, each one ten inches taller than her. After a moment she saw Allen hurrying towards her, concerned.

“What’s wrong, Bells?”

“It’s Natalie…” Belle couldn’t help it and broke down, hiding her face in his chest. He hugged her.

“What about Natalie?”

Belle told him, trying not to sound like she was complaining, while simultaneously getting the point across. Allen listened carefully. By the end of the story he was frowning.

“She said that? What the… Listen, I gotta go play now. How about I see you in twenty? We’ll go talk to her. Come, for now, I’ll take you to the bench.”

Allen held her hand, and led her to the court and sat her down on the same spot she’d had during the Sunday game. She was surprised to find how many people waved at her and said her name as a greeting. She smiled back, and her mood was getting better. The last couple of days really have been a roller coaster.

She watched her man play and shine. Belle didn’t follow the score, but Allen was scoring a lot, always at the hoop, always in action. He passed a lot, but took mostly safe shots. Belle was worried his head wouldn’t be in the game, but he delivered with no mistakes, and his teammates noticed that, too – they gave him high-fives and fist bumps after every successful shot.

During the break Allen took her to the staff room where Natalie was dwelling, for a serious talk. Belle hung back when they entered, trying not to look at Natalie, lest she got upset again.

“Hey, Nat, what’s up?”

“All good.” Natalie was drinking a new cup of steaming coffee.

“Why are you pressuring Belle, Nat? She’s got enough on her plate.”

“Al, you’re not thinking clearly! This isn’t going to end well.”

Belle interrupted, “I used to think that myself, Natalie, but I looked past it, and now everything’s working out!”

Natalie looked at her client. “Al, listen to me, this is a mistake. You’ll screw up, and then what? She’ll spill the beans, like that bi*ch Candice, and we’ll be back to square one!”

“Not gonna happen,” Al assured her.

“How so?”

Belle said, “Because I love him.”

Both of them looked at her, astonished. Natalie more so than Al, but his surprise was still visible.

“Yes, Allen, I’m sure that I love you. You are the kindest, bravest man I’ve met. You are gentle and you keep your promises. You like people, and you try to be nice to them. I want to help you become better. In the eyes of people, but also in your own eyes.”

There were tears in her eyes – she hadn’t expected to get so emotional – and Allen had forgotten all about Natalie. He lifted Belle off the floor and kissed her again and again.

He said, “And I love you. I couldn’t believe it at first. I mean, it sounds so silly, but it’s the truth. You are brilliant, Belle Jameson, and I’m so happy I’ve met you.”

Natalie interrupted, “Sorry to break you guys apart, but, Al, the second half?”

“Sh*t! Come on!”

Al grabbed Belle’s hand and they rushed downstairs, all the way to the court, and got there just on time before the ref blew his whistle. Belle was back in her chair; her eyes still wet, and a wide smile on her face. She cheered for the whole stadium during the second half, and she was sure Allen had scored even more. Maybe it wasn’t a world record, but it was enough for her to be proud of him, which in turn made him more confident. She jumped to her feet when the final whistle sounded, and their team won. Allen came over and kissed her for everyone to see, and what a scene that was. Those few of his teammates who weren’t busy celebrating clapped a little, but Belle didn’t care. She was in love.

After the kiss Allen sat her back down, and crouched in front of her.

“I have something to confess. This meeting earlier? It never took place.”

Belle couldn’t reply, only stare.

“I know, it wasn’t right, but…”

Suddenly, he stood on one knee and produced a small velvet box from his shorts pocket.

“I thought, maybe, since we’ve announced it already… Maybe you’d like to try and be my wife?”

She kissed him and whispered, “I would love to!”

The end.