Chapter 2

-NORA-

"What!?" Everyone said at the same time, including Vaughn and I.

"Mother, it will be better if you leave your fantasies out of this room." Vaughn finally spoke up, and with a tone that said he was not in the mood for one of his mother's 'crazy ideas.'

"Vaughn, I'm being totally serious here. Do you seriously think there's a way to convince the public that you're not having an affair with your secretary? Once people get one idea inside their head, it's impossible to convince them otherwise. Which is why I'm suggesting you let this ride out. Also, it'll be good for the resort." Louise explained.

"This has nothing to do with the resort." Vaughn prompted.

Louise rolled her eyes. "It has everything to do with the resort. This is going to be good publicity for it. You know how the public views the idea of the resort."

"I think I understand what you're trying to say, Louise," Francis Bourgeois—the biggest investor in the resort project—spoke up. "If we can spin this story to make it seem like a promotion for the resort. Have the people view it as the perfect spot for a couples' getaway."

"You understand me," Louise smiled at the balding man, then turned back to face Vaughn and I. Vaughn ignored his mother and focused on his father.

"And what do you have to say about this?" Vaughn asked Victor Keller, who had just received a pointed look from his wife.

"I agree with your mother," he started. Vaughn sucked in air through his mouth loudly which told me that he was getting very upset. "It's not bad what she's actually proposing. It even seems like the most logical option at this point." Victor continued.

"Might I say something?" Xander vacuumed attention his way. "People have started to trash the hotel at Soho, proclaiming justice for the 'love' between Mr. Keller and Ms. Brooks." He showed us his tablet, and a video started to play, showing how people were really throwing stones at the hotel and the people inside the hotel also protesting.

"Sue them!" Vaughn ordered me, and I flinched with surprise.

"Of course, sir," I said, then pulled out my phone and started to dial the police. I took an excuse from the boardroom and instructed the police to round up the people protesting in front of the hotel in Soho.

By the time I returned to the boardroom, the whole place was in disarray with people yelling in support of Vaughn and I to fake date while Vaughn, himself, was banging the table in disagreement. Xander was showing people pictures of things that were happening online based on the news.

An ache started to creep up my head as I watched the scene in front of me. Every time a scandal arose, these people behaved like kids in a playground.

"Enough!" Vaughn said with a final tone, standing up from his chair. The entire room went silent as they waited for him to say or do something. "I will not hear anything about this matter anymore."

"You can't be serious about that, Mr. Keller. Do you think doing nothing about the matter is going to make it go away?" One of the investors asked. Vaughn shot the man a glare that made him visibly shrink into himself.

"I will sue them all, that's a certainty," Vaughn said, more to himself than anyone on the board.

Louise scoffed. "That will only do more damage to the situation, son. Don't you want your resort to be a success? I thought you were open to anything before this point. You and Nora—"

"Nothing!" Vaughn cut his mother off. "Nora and I nothing! I will not hear a word of this anymore. This meeting is adjourned." Vaughn said with a final tone, then turned his back to everyone and stormed out of the boardroom.

Everyone released exasperated sighs in his absence, including me. I stood in the boardroom, still trying to register all the events that happened inside my head. I looked up to match the gaze of Louise. She gestured at me to tail Vaughn.

I recovered myself immediately and nodded fervently. "Of course, madam. Good day, everyone." I said respectfully, then walked out of the boardroom. By the time I did, I noticed that Vaughn was already stepping into the elevator.

I picked up my pace and ran inside before the doors closed. Vaughn still had a frown on his face. I could bet that it was surgically inputted because it was always there. I decided to fill in the silence, opening my mouth to speak.

"Um, sir. Mrs. Keller was—"

He shot me a look, and I closed my mouth. "Forget everything that happened in the boardroom just now," he said. I raised a questioning brow.

"Pardon?"

"You heard me right. Do you honestly think that anything my mother said was logical? That I would agree to feign being with you for the public's eye? You very well know how much I hate such publicity stunts." Vaughn said with an irritated tone.

Every word I had penned down as a reply in my head seemed so distant and forgotten at that moment. I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't make out any word.

"Don't go getting any idea inside that head of yours that I would stand for something as ludicrous as that," Vaughn said as the elevator stopped with a ding sound, and he stepped out. I did the same automatically because it looked like he was not done speaking.

"No public slander has ever moved me before and none will ever move me. This will all pass, so it'll be better if you completely forget about the idea since it will be of no use. You and I will never happen. Not even in a fake relationship." Vaughn clarified, ensuring to emphasize each word of his last sentence.

I nodded my head automatically, not knowing what else to do. "Of course, sir. It will only be a bother to the both of us anyway. And I know my place." I replied with an even tone, ignoring the way my hands were trembling.

Vaughn nodded as well. Satisfied with my answer. "Good. This is why you've been my secretary for so long. You're clever to draw a line when needed," Vaughn said with a compliment-like tone.

I made sure to put on a smile which I had practiced to perfection. It was a professional, polite one that Vaughn was used to getting whenever he said something demeaning to me on impulse and I swallowed it down.

"Rearrange my schedule for today to fit me into having dinner with all the resort investors." Vaughn went back to his business-as-usual-self, wearing a neutral face and standing upright.

I nodded. "Of course, sir," I said, then walked over to my station which was across the door to his office. He watched me as I settled down and began to work. It took Vaughn a little over a minute to walk back into his office and shut the door with a loud bang.

In his absence, I inhaled and exhaled deeply three times, which somehow reduced the strain I was feeling all over my body.

"There will never be anything like Vaughn and Nora being in a relationship," I reminded myself. "Never."

***

"You still haven't seen the pictures?" Hilary Sanders—one of the staff in the sales department and someone I would refer to as a close acquaintance—said as we settled down on a table in the canteen.

"I haven't had the time. I've been working since this morning." I explained with a sigh before I started to dig into my salad.

"Well, they're really compromising," Holt McGregor—one of the staff from the design department and another person I would refer to as a close acquaintance—piped up. Then went ahead to search for them on his phone.

"I don't really care about the photos, the main thing is that there is no personal relationship between Vaughn and I," I repeated for the umpteenth time today.

Everyone I had come across today had something to say about the matter, and I have been repeating that there was nothing between Vaughn and I to every single one of them, but they still didn't believe me.

"Look at this," Holt shoved his phone into my face, and I got startled for a moment before I held onto it and started to look at what he was showing me. "Does this seem mutual to you?" he asked rhetorically when a picture of Vaughn kissing me on one of my cheeks at night in front of my building popped up.

"Yes!" I protested. "It was a good night's kiss!" I argued. Hilary and Holt both gave me disbelieving looks.

"You receive a good night's kiss from your boss? That's like me receiving a good morning's kiss from Anthony." Hilary said with a deadpan voice.

"Anthony's thrice your age, so it'll be impossible," I reasoned.

"Aha!" Holt pointed at me. "You see! Age shouldn't matter. So it's okay to receive a good night's kiss from Vaughn because he's young? Nora, you just keep countering yourself here."

I let out an exasperated groan. "You two tricked me!" I said in my defense.

"You tricked yourself, honey. There's no way you can convince us that—"

"Where is she!? Where is that fucking whore!?" A familiar French-accented, high-pitched feminine voice tore through the entire canteen, causing everyone to put a pause to what they were doing.

"Oh, boy," I said to myself as Jenna Bourgeois strutted into the canteen. It only took a second for her eyes to find mine before they drew into narrow slits.

"There you are!"