Status: Sequel is posted :) !

Cinderella for Hire

thirty-one.

The next morning, I walked out of my room feeling dazed. I was planning to stay in the whole day today because the outside world seemed really, ridiculously stressful now and by the looks of it, Nick was probably thinking the same thing too. The moment he arrived home, he let himself fall on the black couch and minutes after that, he was asleep. He probably didn't sleep for the last 2 days. As I made breakfast, Andrea called me and I told her everything that she needed to know and that she need not to worry. I was worried about her, actually – with the whole Ian thing but she seemed really…busy.

"You know what, I'm just going to put this behind me and study about biology now," she said with determination but over the phone, it was hard to tell if she was okay or not.

I sat at the breakfast bar and shovel a combination of sausages and scrambled eggs in my mouth. I flicked through the papers and saw the classifieds section. I still didn't know if I meant every word I told Nick – about me quitting, that is – or not but if I did, there was some serious job-hunting to do. But then what?

I surreptitiously glanced at the sleeping Nicholas. Would I still live with him? Would he still need me to be his girlfriend? I had enough of his problems, really, but I couldn't run away or get away from it either. Mock girlfriend or real girlfriend or whatever, I was still entangled in his web of problems.

Putting the newspaper down, I rubbed my temples and went back to finishing my meal. We should really talk about this before I decide anything. I was as confused as I was before and I felt as if even though we kissed, we weren't really moving towards anywhere.

Nick was in such a deep sleep that when his phone rang for the umpteenth time that morning, he didn't even budge. It wasn't until lunch was almost over that he actually woke up. I was in the middle of watching a movie when that happened. And the first thing that he did was check his phone whilst ignoring my inquiries.

"I feel like crap," he groaned out.

I got up from the floor and slid next to him as I peeked at his phone. "So even the security tapes don't reveal anything, huh?" I asked, munching on popcorns. "The security in your office really sucks."

He leaned back, rubbing his face. "I know."

"So what are you guys going to do?" I asked, worried.

"There's nothing we can do. We've got the best lawyers in town and even they don't know how to sue those bastards. I guess, we'll just have to pick ourselves up and move forward."

I stopped reaching into the bowl of popcorn and just stare at it. Well, that sounded sad. So Olivia and Ian were going to get away with it. Earlier in the morning I took some time to browse online for news about it if there were any and…well, needless to say I hid the laptop from view so Nick won't even see it.

"I don't know how long this will go on. There's a lot of damage control to do and a lot of people are already worrying about their jobs," Nick muttered to himself, scrolling down emails after emails. It wasn't pretty.

"You'll get through this, right? I mean…" I trailed off.

His head cocked to the side and he looked at me with a surprisingly boyish grin. "I'm the one who's supposed to be worried about this, April. Stop worrying about everything, it'll drive you insane."

I blushed. "But it's…I can't help it," I said lamely, pushing more popcorn in my mouth. "How long will it take for you guys to recover?" I asked. 'If they recover at all, that is…'

"The accountants are working on it right now. But by my estimation, if we don't get investment rolling in again, then…it'll probably take years. I wouldn't worry too much though," he said, sighing as he ruffled his hair up more. "My dad's company reputation shouldn't take that much of a hit, I suppose. Our PR people are working on it right now. So we should find some funding some time soon."

Even so, he still looked incredibly worried and stressed out.

"Are you in trouble?" I whispered lightly.

"Yep," he said, smiling wryly. "I had all the files after all and I was stupid enough not to back them up in a more secured location. I just…honestly didn't expect this to happen."

"No one did," I replied. "Nick, I should've told you earlier about…Olivia and I'm so sorry that I have a memory of a goldfish—"

He grabbed me by the chin and pecked my lips to shut me up. "Mm, don't worry about it so much. What's done is done. There's nothing anyone can do right now but just move on."

"But—"

He kissed me again. "Move on," he said sternly.

And stupidly, I could feel a growing sense of pride for him, overwhelming me. And I was a little bit awe-struck at how he was handling it all. I could understand though that it was important to look forward as much as possible now rather than being stuck in the past. But there was that lingering, bitter taste of guilt in me that I couldn't shake off and suddenly I wanted to break down again.

Holy crap, was I an emotional wreck nowadays.

"And…" I trailed off as he pulled me closer. I blushed furiously as he trailed kisses down my neck. "What about us?'

"What about us?" he repeated, more to himself than me. "I haven't figured that out at all, actually."

"You and I both," I said, sighing heavily. "What if…what if I continue to be your mock girlfriend? What will happen then?"

"Then I think we should seriously consider signing a contract about this. Draw lines, discuss boundaries."

I chuckled a tad, remembering the conversation Andrea and I had that night.

"And what if I quit?"

"You'll still be stuck with me anyway. Congratulations, you've scored yourself a screw-up."

"Eh, we all have our problems," I said, shrugging and smiling along with him. "What if I walk away from all of this?"

"Can you, I wonder?" he said thoughtfully and smirked.

I scowled at him. "Such arrogance."

But who was I kidding? Of course that wasn't an option. I was in too deep to get out from it all now.
♠ ♠ ♠
There would probably be one or two chapters left before the ending of the story, by the way.

Thanks for reading and hope you've enjoyed this one. As always, comments are appreciated :)