"Roger, this doesn't make sense. Why would you give the inn to someone else? You're always saying we should see a deal through to the end."
"In this case, I've changed my mind. I think it's best if you stay in the city. There are some loose ends that need to be tied up between you and my daughter if you two are indeed ending your relationship."
"What loose ends are you talking about?"
"There are several social engagements coming up. I need you to go with her."
"No. Absolutely not. We're not together anymore. She can go with someone else."
"She doesn't have time to find someone else, and she wants to go with you. It's three events. It's nothing."
"I'm sorry, Roger, but I'm not going to pretend to date Celine. She's a beautiful woman. She could easily find someone else."
"Why are you arguing about this? You go with her to some dinners and then go your separate ways. I don't see what the problem is."
What do I do? If I don't agree to this I might get fired. But agreeing to it will hurt Sophie. Maybe if I talk to her and explain what's going on, she'll understand. It's just three events. And if it means keeping my job, maybe Sophie would be okay with it.
I really don't want to do this. Maybe I should let him fire me.
No. I'm not getting fired over this. And I'm not letting Roger take the inn from me.
"I want the inn," I say. "If I agree to go with Celine, then I want the inn. That's the deal."
My heart pounds as I await his answer, which I'm almost sure will be no.
"Why are you so attached to this inn?"
I've told Roger the story of my grandfather's inn several times and he still doesn't remember. It's not worth telling him again.
"I like to finish what I started."
He takes a moment to consider it. "Okay, fine, you can have the inn. Nobody else here wants it anyway. But don't be taking your girlfriend up there. In fact, I don't want you seeing her until this is over. It'd be a horrible embarrassment to my daughter for you to be seen prancing around town with some other woman when it's assumed you're still with Celine."
"When does it end? These events."
"You'll take her to a charity auction on Sunday at the yacht club, and an art gallery opening next week. Oh, and the client dinner on Saturday."
The client dinner. The one Sophie's planning.
"Why is Celine going to the dinner? She doesn't normally attend those."
"She's friends with the daughter of one of the potential clients who will be attending. You two will be seated across from him and his wife." Roger smiles. "Don't look so glum, Aiden. You got your inn and I get to keep my daughter happy. We both win. Now get back to work."
I didn't win. I'm being forced to take my ex to a dinner my girlfriend will be at, after telling her Celine was finally out of my life.
Chapter Eighteen
Sophie
"I don't understand why she can't take someone else," I say to Aiden. He just informed me he'll be taking Celine to several social engagements that are coming up, including the client dinner I'm working on. I'm trying to remain calm but I'm furious Celine is making him do this.
"It's only three events," Aiden says. "And they'll be over in a couple weeks. Sophie, I know you don't want me going with her but if I don't, I'll lose the deal I've been working on with Tom. Roger will give it to someone else. I can't let that happen."
"Isn't the offer close to being done?"
"Yes, but it's not approved. I'm afraid if someone else takes it, they'll change the terms and the offer price, and trust me, it won't be in Tom's favor."
We're on a video chat and I can see Aiden's eyes, pleading me to be okay with this. I know the deal is important to him and I don't want him to lose his job, but I'm still angry Celine is manipulating him like this, making demands he can't really say no to.
"What if she took one of your friends? Griffen is single, and he's rich. I could see the two of them together. Why can't she take him?"
"She isn't doing this because she needs a date. She's doing it to get back at me for breaking up with her."
"Have you talked to her since you found this out?"
"Yes. She called me last night to tell me what she's wearing to the dinner. She wants us to coordinate."
"So she told you what to wear," I say, annoyed.
"I'm wearing a suit, like I always do. Her call was just an excuse to talk to me."
"What else did she say?"
"That she hasn't told her friends about the breakup. That's her reason for making us pretend to still be dating. She claims she needs another week to break the news to people."
"You know she's lying, right? That's just an excuse to keep this going."
"I realize that, but I wasn't going to waste time arguing with her. It's not worth it. We just need to get through the next couple weeks and then I'm all yours. No more Celine. No more sneaking around. No more video chats. We can go on actual dates, in person."
"So we're not going to keep hiding this?"
"I don't see why we'd need to. Once Celine is out of our lives, we can be together, as in actually go out together."
"But what if Celine keeps doing events with us? She'll try to get me fired if she finds out I'm dating you."
Aiden backs away from the screen, rubbing his jaw. "Yeah, you're right. And the inn deal may take some time to get finalized."
"It's going to be a
