Cris calmed herself as she walked towards Brix. He stood and pulled up a chair for her. Brix was always a gentleman and yet she could not keep herself from blushing. She reminded herself that Brix had invited her to dinner to ask her for a favor and she should not give any meaning to anything he did.

  "Thanks," she whispered with a half-smile.

  "What is it that you need? You said you need my help?" she asked forthrightly.

  Brix gave her a roguish smile and coyly said, "Can we order some food and eat first? Here." He handed her the menu. She did not comment and looked for something to eat.

  Cris tried to relax and casually placed her order. She still could not believe that she was having dinner alone with her first love. Her heart was throbbing…


  *Thump *thump

  She could hear it beating loudly within her chest.

  Brix gave their order to the waiter and then shifted his gaze to her.

  "Hmm, why do I feel like I'm scaring you?" Brix could not help but comment because he could sense that Cris was not meeting his gaze. Or when she did, she would quickly retract her gaze away from him.

  "Of course not. It's just that…" Cris hesitated, hating herself for acting too weird in front of Brix.

  "Just that???" Brix prompted staring intently at her and Cris almost cheered out loud when his mobile phone rang.

  "You should answer that," she said with a smile, nodding her head towards his mobile phone on the table.

  She noticed that Brix's face dulled as he excused himself to take the call and she wondered who it could be. Her eyes followed his back and she blushed scarlet when Brix suddenly turned around and looked in her direction.

  Their eyes met and Brix gave her a sweet smile before signaling to her that the call would not take long. She nodded in reply.

  Cris raised one hand to her chest, feeling the heavy beating of her heart.

  "Why are you being so stubborn? What you want is an impossible dream, so don't you dare think about it!" she murmured to herself as she sat alone, scolding her stubborn heart.

  She had tried to focus on work and had even entertained the possibility of other suitors but nothing had changed and her unrequited feelings for Brix Chua remained steadfast.

  Brix was a hard-working man and he totally deserved the position he had as COO. If not for his mother, Kenzie would have considered Brix for the CEO position as well. But they all knew that Brix loved his mother a lot. He was a mama's boy who always listened and followed what his mother asked him to do.

  She was torn about Brix in this matter. She did not know whether she should admire his dedication and love for his mother or pity the man who could not make his own decisions just to be certain that he did not hurt his mother's feelings.

  She unconsciously smiled, as she recalled all the things she had done to get over her feelings towards Brix. She had tried everything like looking at all his ugly traits, bad mannerism, etc. She could not help but smile at her pathetic attempts for trying to get over Brix.

  "I guess you're thinking of something good to have such a beautiful smile on your face," she heard Brix say. He was smiling as well as he sat down in front of her.

  "Yeah, I just remembered something funny," she answered evasively.

  The food was served right then and they began eating.

  "How's Kenzie doing? Is she giving you a hard time?" Brix asked.

  "No, she's actually doing great. She is a very passionate and determined individual." Cris replied.

  Brix nodded and casually said, "I heard she started her first day by firing some employees"

  Cris chuckled and proudly said, "Yes, indeed! She has an aggressive approach, unlike Master Jack. She doesn't like long talks and if she sees something or someone as a threat in getting her way, she immediately removes it. She says prevention is always better than the cure."

  Brix almost choked hearing the nonchalance in Cris' comment. He coughed.

  "Are you alright?" Cris asked with concern.

  "Yeah…" he answered. He was aware that it was a simple comment from Cris. It was just her genuine opinion about Kenzie since he had asked for it. But he couldn't help feeling that in Cris' words he and his mom were the biggest threat that should soon be eliminated.

  He sighed.

  "By the way, what is it that you need from me?" Cris asked.

  "Well, it's something… Uhm, I honestly don't know how to say this. Please don't misunderstand me. It's just that I see no other person I could ask for this favor. I promise that I will return the favor should you decide to help me out." Brix explained, a bit hesitantly.

  It was the only way he could think of that was the best, so his mother would stop nagging him. She wanted Brix to seduce Cris and use her as a pawn against Kenzie and Uncle Jack. If he did not obey his mother, she would keep threatening him with her health and he could not bear it any longer.

  "What is it?" Cris asked, suddenly curious about the favor, seeing how conflicted Brix's looked.

  "Can you pretend to be my woman, my girlfriend? I mean we need to pretend to be a couple. Together… As in a romantic relationship? You see my mother has been pushing me too hard to get married but I'm not ready. So I need someone to pretend to be with me so she will stop pushing me," he explained everything differently because he could not dare to tell Cris that his mother wanted him to seduce and use her.

  If Cris agreed, he could just pretend that he was following his mother's orders, and later he would just convince her that he got nothing from Cris.

  "Why me?" Cris murmured in disbelief.

  Brix smiled and said, "Because I trust you, and also because you can manage my mother very well."

  He followed the words with a wink that made Cris part her lips wondering if she just heard everything correctly. She? His fake girlfriend? His fake woman?

  "You don't need to give me an answer now. I mean, I know it sounds absurd, and…"

  "Alright. Okay. I will do it!!" Cris interrupted impulsively.