You Can Be The Boss | Kylo Ren x Reader AU

Chapter 3

"Sorry, I must have misheard you, sir." You laughed.

"Meet me at the garden after this is over." The time was up. You couldn't even ask him to elaborate. You had to sit there and think about what the fuck had just happened.

More and more guys had come to sit in front of you with each turn, but you couldn't even concentrate. You weren't sure if you had hallucinated the entire conversation with Mr Ren. On one hand you understood why he didn't beat around the bush. He was a busy man. He didn't have time to speak about things vaguely. But on the other hand, what in the world would make him want you to pretend to be his girlfriend. As Troy said, he could literally get any girl he liked.

You spotted your friend from across the room as the speed dating process ended and you dashed towards him. He was talking to a random man from the party who you had embarrassed yourself in front of on purpose. You didn't care if you had to see him again, you needed to talk to your friend because this was absolutely insane.

You tapped Troy on the shoulder. "I really need to talk to you," you whispered from behind him.

"Can't you see I'm having a nice conversation with the very sexy man in front of me?" He whispered while raising his eyebrows, turning towards you.

"It's important," you said.

Troy sighed. "Listen, I love you, but I'm sure it can wait until after the party. Right?"

You nodded. In a way he was right. You could tell he was getting along with this man and perhaps Troy could finally find a partner—even if he was commitment-phobic. But on the other hand, you knew this could become an excuse for you to get angry at him, thus leading to some Louis Vuitton heels in your possession.

You scanned the room, searching for Mr Ren, but you couldn't find him anywhere. You realised that meant he was already waiting for you and it would be rude to not speak with your boss after he'd asked you to. Ren Industries was your dream job and the only job you could get, really.

You opened the door that led to the garden and saw him standing at the gazebo with his secretary. You had to shove the thought of running away, into a deep, dark hole. You would probably lose your job if you did.

"Good evening, Mr Ren," you said as you approached him.

"Good evening," he said. "Let's talk. Shall we?" He motioned for you to sit down and you did so. You were scared of what would happen if you disobeyed him. "Hux and I have discussed this. There are many ways this could go wrong, but we've come to the realisation that this is urgent. So, let's start off with money. I'll pay you as much as you like and you'll also be given whatever clothes or accessories you need to play your part–"

"Sorry, could I just interrupt you quickly, sir?" You said hesitantly. "With all due respect, wouldn't it be easier and cheaper if you got an actual girlfriend?"

"I'm not interested in getting married and every girl here is looking for that. It would be cruel to string someone along when I couldn't give them what they wanted. So, unless you want to maintain your steady, but unsatisfying income, stay focused." As much as you wanted to punch him in the face right now, you knew he was right. You weren't exactly satisfied with your living situation. Your parents had pretty much clung onto you as soon as you had gotten your dream job. Even though they never cared to pay any attention to you when you were younger, they needed you to keep their house and to buy their groceries with zero effort. You wanted to move out as soon as possible, but you were a balloon stuck attached to a massive boulder. Mr Ren didn't have to work for his money. It was probably handed to him, which was why you didn't respect the way he spoke to you. He didn't understand what it was like to grow up without the things regular kids your age would have.

"Okay," you said, not wanting to slip out a snarky remark.

"You'll meet my parents next Sunday. Wednesday I'll need to meet you in my office so we can discuss your identity even further and Saturday we'll take you to get some new clothes."

"Sir, I'm just finding it very difficult to understand what's going on right now," you said with a nervous smile.

"You've probably heard what my father expects of me, knowing how quick gossip spreads across the company." He pinched the area between his eyes as he squinted. "I just need someone to get him off my back, and then when he's convinced that I'm completely and irrevocably in love, I'll tell him it's over and that I'll never date again."

"Why would you never date again?"

"Because you would have broken my heart and then we could have a 'one woman ruined my life' situation."

You paused, contemplating his offer. "I don't know."

"We were thinking of paying you $20,000 per date," Mr Ren said. Your jaw dropped at that. Money wasn't a priority in your life. You kind of just did what you enjoyed which didn't require too much cash out of your bank account, but you used to be a university student in NYU which meant one thing. Debt. Crushing debt. You knew you would never be able to finish paying it off, even if you worked as hard as you could for the rest of your life.

"Okay, but I have a few rules of my own," you said as you stood up.

"What are they?" He said, clearly amused that the money had persuaded you.

"I don't want any of my coworkers finding out about this. I don't want the paparazzi knowing who I am, and I especially don't want my parents finding out about this."

He paused in thought as he looked towards his assistant who shrugged at him. "That can be easily done. We'll have to change the way you look entirely."

You raised your eyebrows. "I'm not getting any surgery done."

"Not surgery," Hux laughed. "We'll get a hair and makeup team to sort you out."

"Okay..." You said. "And I don't need you to buy me clothes. I'm perfectly fine with my own."

Armitage Hux looked down at your feet then back up at your face. "Trust me, you do."