enjoyebooks Chapter 7: The Real Dates
Chapter 7: The Real Dates
Diary Entry:
Date: September 8th
Time: 11:50 PM
Dear Diary,
Today, Alec told me his grandfather wants to meet me. You know, the billionaire patriarch who owns half the town and basically decides everyone’s future. No pressure or anything.
Alec thinks before that happens we should go on real dates first so people see us around town together. I guess that makes sense, but the problem? Alec doesn’t do dates. And I definitely don’t do Alec.
-Ivy
Alec dropped the bombshell over lunch in the office cafeteria.
One second, Ivy was biting into her sandwich, finally getting a moment of peace. The next, Alec was sitting across from her like he had simply decided she was his lunch companion.
“My grandfather wants to meet you,” he said flatly, like he was announcing a weather update.
Ivy nearly choked on her food. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Alec replied, stirring his espresso with infuriating calm. “He’s already suspicious. If we don’t sell this, it’s over.”
Ivy narrowed her eyes. “Sell this how? What am I supposed to do? Bring him cookies and tell him I’m madly in love with you?”
Alec raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Not cookies. But you can stop glaring at me like I ruined your life every time we’re in public.”
Ivy set down her sandwich. “Alec, your grandfather is the kind of man who could have me erased from existence with a single phone call. Excuse me for being a little concerned.”
His lips twitched, like he was trying not to smile, but he smothered it quickly.
“We need to be seen together,” he said instead. “Dinners. Walks. Normal couple things. So when he looks into you—and trust me, he will—everything checks out.”
Ivy blinked. “You want us to go on real dates?”
Alec didn’t blink. “Yes.”
“That’s… insane.”
Alec sipped his espresso. “It’s strategic.”
She opened her mouth to argue but stopped when she noticed a few people in the cafeteria whispering, their eyes flicking between her and Alec. Watching.
This wasn’t just about his grandfather.
The whole town was already watching.
With a sigh, she slumped back in her chair. “Fine. But if I have to go on fake dates with you, I at least get to pick the restaurant once in a while.”
Alec smirked. “We’ll see.”
And just like that, the plan was set.
The first dinner was at Ashbourne’s most expensive restaurant, the kind of place where the waiter didn’t bring menus, just recited the day’s curated selections like it was an art exhibit. Alec pulled her chair out for her, held her hand lightly on the table, played the role perfectly. If she hadn’t known better, she would have believed it herself.
Except for the fact that every touch, every lingering glance, was completely calculated.
The second “date” was a walk in the park—another public setting, another place where they could be conveniently seen. Alec’s version of affection was holding her hand like it was a business handshake and politely tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear when someone was looking.
But it was working.
The whispers in town were spreading.
The Brayton heir and his new girlfriend.
Unfortunately, the attention didn’t stop with strangers.
Ivy’s parents had noticed.
At dinner that night, her mother practically buzzed with excitement, while her father frowned at his plate.
“So, Ivy,” her mom said casually. “When were you going to tell us you’re dating Alec Brayton?”
Ivy’s fork slipped from her hand, clattering against the plate.
Her mother just smiled.
Her father didn’t.
Ivy was going to murder Alec.