"Wow! Oh my God, this place is so beautiful, Enrique," Grace gushed.For the past two weeks after signing the fake relationship contract, she and Enrique had been going out in dates. With the new house under renovation due to the book cafe she wanted to set up, Enrique had made one of his apartments available for her to stay in.She and Penny had moved in and Grace was extremely glad because her younger sister now had a better place to relax and write the novels that she so much loved writing. They also had a heater installed that ensured Penny didn't catch colds at night.Camila had been surprisingly quiet about Grace and Penny's moving out. Grace realized later that she was only interested in the money she was earning from Enrique's contract with Grace.Since the staircase incident, Enrique had been very much civil with Grace at work. She was now familiar with his likes and dislikes and even though coming to work everyday, meant she had to get up very early and work so hard at meeti
After driving for over forty minutes in silence, Grace finally asked the question that had been on her mind."Where exactly are we going?" "Yesterday at dinner, you told me you hadn't ever enjoyed a normal childhood. I'd like to give you an amazing experience today, show you what you've been missing,""You remembered that? I just said that without thinking too much about it," Grace blushed."I take everything you say seriously, Lila. We are going to the beach, that's why I asked Mr Barrett to go home. I wouldn't want him seeing you in a swimsuit.""What? Swimsuit, beach?""Yes, we're going to the beach. Remember David Stone, my cousin?""Of course I do. The fact that he kissed my hand caused the both of us to trend for a while on social media. What about him?""His family have several hotels, just like the one I used for the anniversary party the other time. We're going to one of their hotels which has a private beach. David allowed me exclusive access to it for the entire day," Enri
"Where are we going next?" Grace asked Enrique once they were back in the car and on the road again.It was already 1pm and Enrique had assured her after they left the beach that he still had other exciting places to take her to.She had never felt so free and happy before. Her life since she was eighteen had been revolving around going to several occasions with men she didn't like. She had always longed for getting home after the functions were over to spend time with Penny.Was it wrong of her to not be as eager as she normally would have been to get back to spending time with Penny? "The aquarium, I'm sure you haven't been there either," Enrique smiled."No, I haven't. I'm so glad we're going there, I really love aquatic animals and I've always wanted to visit an aquarium," Grace smiled back at him."Feel free to turn on the radio," Enrique said."Alright," Grace replied, turning the radio on. Her favourite song at the moment filled the car and she squealed in excitement. "I real
"So are you ready for the fun stuff I said we were going to be doing together?" Enrique asked as they walked out of the aquarium.He had noticed her cold and detached behaviour ever since they discussed Margot in the car earlier. He had no idea why she was being so nosy, it wasn't like they were in a real relationship, after all.He still couldn't deny the fact that he was hoping she was curious because she was catching the same feelings he was, but he always had to wake himself up to the fact that she was only an escort he had hired. She was incapable of loving him or anyone else."Yeah, sure," Grace replied in an almost robotic tone. Their car stopped in front of Enrique's mansion and Grace turned to look at him, confused at why they were at his house.They got out of the car and she let Enrique wrap his arms around her waist like a real lover would."Why are we here? You said there's something fun you and I would do, is that—?""I can tell where your mind is headed, but that's not
Enrique finally dropped Grace and Penny at their new home. Throughout the ride, Penny and Enrique had been discussing non-stop. They got on like a house on fire and Grace couldn't help, but feel a kind of happiness at that."I'll leave you guys to do all the kissing stuff," Penny said winking at Grace before running into the house.Grace blushed at her sister's comment and turned to stare into Enrique's hazel-green eyes."Your sister thinks we are for real," he prompted."Yeah, sure," Grace lied."Would it be so bad if it were, though?" Enrique found himself asking. It was becoming clearer to him that he really enjoyed spending time with Lila, he liked how happy she had been throughout the day. She had totally forgotten about her own birthday, but he had gone out of his way to make sure she had an amazing day. Enrique had never felt so determined to make someone else happy."What?" Grace frowned, confused. Was he suggesting a real relationship with her?"It's nothing, go on in, it's
Grace resumed work the following day in a sour mood. The previous day which was Sunday, she had been eager to get a response from Enrique and also see him again.She had assumed he would invite her to Sunday brunch with his family or even take her to church with him as he had done the previous week, but he didn't.Reaching her office, she hung her bag and coat and sitting in her seat. She was just about to let out a sigh of relief for getting to work early enough that day when she heard Enrique's voice through the intercom."Ms Jones, I need you in my office now!"Grace rushed to her feet and made an attempt at smoothing out the wrinkles on her grey dress. Her hair was also a bit out of place and she tried her best to arrange it, but gave up when they didn't budge.Why was she trying to look good? For whom exactly? Mr Black wasn't interested in Grace, he was attracted to Lila's enchanting beauty and at the moment, she wasn't Lila.She knocked before rushing into the large office where
Grace was just about to call Penny to bring one of her suits to Howard Tech when she remembered Penny had an interview with her editor that morning.She realized that she had no other choice, but to look for a suit in the nearest boutique. Just as she was about to enter the elevator to go down, the doors opened to reveal Giselle and Grace sighed in frustration.Once she was inside and the elevator was moving, Giselle asked, "what happened to your designer suits? I thought you had a new one for every single day.""I don't think my choice of outfit is any of your business," Grace snapped."You seem to have got yourself a backbone, I have a feeling I prefer the Grace Jones of before," Giselle frowned."Can you just leave me alone?""I'm sure you must have watched The Cook Room, you should know that Mr Black is way out of your league. His new girlfriend is what you dream of becoming," Giselle said."What I dream of becoming? I think you're speaking for yourself, excuse me," Grace said, le
"I'm looking forward to working with you, Mr Black," Mr Chan, a slim, tall and lanky Chinese man said, shaking Enrique's hand.Throughout that week, they had been very busy, working on the business proposals to merge one of The Black family's most famous restaurant in Beijing.Mr Chan was an incredibly influential businessman based in Beijing. His traditional and outdated way of doing things made it impossible for Enrique to wrap up the deal as quickly as he normally would.Grace had been working like a dog during the last four days, Enrique had become much more irritable at the slightest opportunity. There was always an issue with the drafts she made and then he would have her redo the entire thing once again.Luckily for her, she always had Mr Bradley's help with the numerous tasks she had to handle. Enrique had fired a number of staff from the offices and restaurants he had in the city. Grace had been shocked to witness his ruthless side, firsthand.She couldn't help, but feel wor