Cinderella for Hire

I tied my hair up in a bun that morning and hoped to bump into Nick at breakfast as I've made up my mind to go back to New York. I just needed to get away from all the crazy that had been happening over the past, fast-paced week and honestly I was too tired to cope with more 'work' and 'tasks' that needed to be fulfilled as Nick's 'girlfriend'. Thank goodness I could have some time alone.

When I yanked my door open and stepped out, I almost ran into a man who was poised to knock on my door. As I looked up, I noticed that Caleb was hiding behind that huge bouquet of assorted flowers. He peeked around it and grinned childishly. "So I didn't know what to get you."

"Holy crap, Caleb!" I said, my eyes widening at the sight of him with that many flowers. "What…?"

"I feel bad, about last night. My parents can be a tiny bit…intense," he said awkwardly.

"Tiny bit?" I scoffed but bit my tongue afterwards. Damn, that came out of nowhere. Thankfully, he laughed and pushed the flowers to me and I hugged it. It even had a little teddy bear perched in it.

"A lot," he admitted. "There's nothing anyone can do or say to make them…not as harsh," he said, wrinkling his nose.

"Um, thank you," I said, unsure. "For the flowers, really. They're beautiful," I grinned, hugging them closer to my chest. I honestly wanted to go back to my life now, away from Seattle but…

I gazed at Caleb. Maybe I could stay for a little bit.

"Do you want to come in?"



I leaned over the balcony of my room, looking at the cloudy sky as Caleb began to speak, a bit hesitantly. I didn't blame him because my question did seem a bit intrusive. But I just had to know a bit more about Nicholas' life. He had his elbows rested on the baluster.

"I know what he's going through, Nicholas, I mean," he said, smiling politely at me. "Hell, I have to live with my family until I went to college. When I found out I got admitted into said college, I was so ecstatic, I punched the wall for no reason. Bad idea," he emphasized, cringing and I laughed. "My grandfather, he…wasn't a bad parent, per se. He was really loving and caring towards others, but he did treat Richard – Nick's dad – a bit more fondly than my dad."

Sibling rivalries?

One of the reasons to be thankful why I didn't have a big, rich family I suppose.

I chuckled a bit at that thought. "You guys are plagued with many petty problems."

"We're a bit dysfunctional that way. It does seem petty, doesn't it?" he said as he grinned. "My dad, I guess, always harbored some sort of grudge against Richard for that. Richard was always his parents' priority, being the youngest child. And he grew up, still holding that priority. Every success my dad had was eventually overshadowed by the success that Richard had. My dad began to seriously detest Richard. It didn't help that one of his children – me – wanted to follow in Richard's footsteps. And ever since then, my father had been treating me like my grandfather treated him."

There was a kind of wistfulness in his voice. He wasn't angry at his family, he didn't really want to insult them but instead, it was as if he made his peace with it. "That's not fair," I managed and he shrugged.

"You can say. And Nicholas, well, he isn't the type of person to play around either. I've been trying to be in his good books for as long as I can remember but it's kind of impossible with what my family members has done to him. Has he told you?"

I nodded. "I'm sorry about that," I said impulsively. "On behalf of him. He's just…angry."

Caleb shook his head. "There's no need. I can understand," he replied sincerely. "I'm fascinated in you though," he told me, much to my amazement. "Nicholas is a work-driven guy. After Olivia, he doesn't really have any interest in keeping relationships. He considers it as a petty thing that would only get in his way of success, I suppose. It's hard, to break the wall of someone like that. How on earth did you manage it…" he chuckled to himself as he looked at me.

"Besides, you'll be better off without me. Trust me."

No. I didn't break his wall at all.

'What to do?' I mentally sighed.



I skipped down the marble stairs leading to the café of the hotel. It was all glass panels from floor to ceiling, overlooking the huge swimming pool next to it. I knew Nick had breakfast here but I hoped I wasn't too late.

I didn't want to give up what he wanted to give up. Not just yet.

When I spotted him in a fairly private booth, I plopped down on the seat next to him. Surprised, he looked up from his iPad and looked at me curiously. "Are you busy?" I chirped.

"Meeting my lawyers here for breakfast. They're late," he said, annoyed.

I held his gaze for a while, a million thoughts running through my mind and I realized that I've probably should come up with a plan rather than…just going down here after Caleb left. But suddenly, somehow, it hit me. Hard.

I thought about coming down here and convince him that we should at least give us a try. A chance. But then his voice played again in my head, saving me from what would be the biggest mistake I would've probably done thus far. Of course he was right, I just didn't want him to be right. For the first time, I could actually see the consequences that would fall on us if we were to lock our lips now.

If personal feelings get mixed up in business…

…it'll screw things up.

Suddenly a sharp pain tugged somewhere deep inside my chest.

"April?" he called out softly, a concerned look on his face.

"I…" I gasped out. "I'm going back to New York. Today."

He frowned. "Are you sure?" And in reply, I just nodded fervently. "I'll have Zara book the tickets then," he said just as his lawyers appeared out of nowhere. I got up and bade them all goodbye before rushing to pack my luggage up. I clutched the bouquet of flowers that Caleb gave me once I was done and it was weird…

I had never cried over a boy before.

The pretty, colorful plastic wrapper made scrunching noises under the touch of my fingers as I sat on the side of the bed. I buried my face in the bouquet and silently sobbed, feeling defeated.

I truly wished that things didn't have to be this confusing and complicated.