Guidelines

3 | butterscotch

"Alex, this is Emma," Auntie Ana breaks our gaze causing our heads to slowly turn to her. His eyes widen at what his mom tells him. He looks at my hand that was stuck out and forces a fake smile at me as both of our mom watch us. Our right hands awkwardly shake up and down, and we both avoid eye contact after our so called "handshake".

As we both sit down, our mothers smile at each other. The waiter comes over to get our orders, and the awkward meeting begins.

"Alex, how are you? Are you working anywhere?" my mom asks Alex.

"I'm doing fine, Aunt Becky. I actually am a Vice President for the Winworks Company." When he says that, my eyes almost pop out of my face. He's a Vice President at that age? On top of that, one of the biggest companies here in New York? He smiles at my mom then turns to my direction but avoids his gaze from me. No wonder he can threaten to sue me, he has money to do it.

"Wow, Alex! Actually, Emma also majored in business, but the thing is, she decided to focus on making the cupcake shop for me. It may be small and all, but she put all her heart into it," my mom side hugs me. Alex nods and smiles at my mom. He also smiles at me, but boy, did it look forced.

Auntie Ana looked at both of us at awe then turned to Alex to say something. "Speaking of business, didn't your secretary resign a few weeks ago? Don't you need to wait a few months until you're assigned a new one?"

"Mhm, I still need to look for a temporary secretary," Alex replies to his mom then puts a spoonful of soup into his mouth.

"Didn't you say Emma has experience in the business field?" My mom nods at her best friend. "She could be your temporary secretary!" After his mom's burst of happiness from her "amazing" idea, Alex chokes on the soup in his mouth but quickly tries to regain his composure.

"I mean Emma could be busy from the cupcake shop, right Auntie Becky? It could be a big nuisance to them," Alex looks at my mom and hopes for a response that could save his life and probably mine.

"Please, Alex. Plus, I bet you, Emma is responsible enough and this would be a great chance for you guys to catch up with one another. Same goes to me and Becky," she takes a hold of his hand and squeezes it lightly.

"It would be absolutely wonderful if Emma could get some experience from the business workforce other than the cupcake shop. It would be a great opportunity for her. I mean, if it's okay with Alex," my mom touches my hair and grins widely at Ana, who is even more enthusiastic than she was earlier, and Alex, who looks like he is sitting on a bunch of push pins but forces himself to smile.

This was getting out of hand. My mom and her best friend were literally planning out my life for the next few months right in front of Alex and I, and Alex isn't doing anything to stop them.

I accidentally knock down the cup of water in front of me. The cold liquid starts to soak my jeans, but thankfully, it falls onto my thighs and not on the part of my pants that would make it seem like I peed myself. My slightly-panicked mom turns to me and starts to grab the napkins on the table to soak up the water on my jeans.

"Goodness, we're out of napkins," my mom breathes out. Auntie Ana also has panic on her face.

"I'll help her," all three of our heads turn to the unexpected voice, Alex. Oh, dear, why won't you just help us all.

"You're so sweet Alex. Thank you," my mom smiles at him and pushes me out of my seat towards Alex who is already standing up.

He starts to lead the way towards the napkins on the counter. If only he isn't the guy from this morning, I would've been really touched by this gesture. But since he is the guy from this morning, I feel like this is the end of my life. There's a GPS on my phone, just in case you need to find my dead body somewhere. Thanks.

When we reach the counter, he grabs several napkins and shoves them into my hands. He put his hands over his chest and begins to speak.

"Why in the world did it have to be you?" He frowns at me and probably at the problem we are tangled in.

I choose not to make him any angry than he already is at me, I'm trying to save myself and my mom's business.

"I'm thinking the same thing," I answer carefully then look down at the tiles which were a nice color, like beige or my misery.

He sighs loudly in frustration and runs his hands through his hair.

He clears his throat, signaling me to look at him. "Here's my offer," his voice rings in my ears, shocking me a little. I raise my head to look at his 6'0 figure compared to my 5'4 figure.

"You will work as my temporary secretary for a few months. If you do that, I'll forget everything that happened. I have way more things to worry than this." This time, he sticks out his right hand at me. Very straightforward.

"What's with the change of mind?" I slowly ask because this is a turn of events.

"That is none of your business, and my mom would wonder why I wouldn't let you work for me," his expression darkens with every word that comes out of his mouth.

"So you're doing this because your mom asked? How cute," I smile slightly at him and try to lighten up this very awkward and very serious conversation.

"Or you know what? I could always call my lawyer right now," he suggests and puts down his right hand.

I take his right hand from his side and shake it vigorously, "Thank you for giving me a chance to be your secretary. Thank you very much."

He pulls his hand out of mine and take a few more napkins from the counter and looks up at me, "Don't feel touched by this gesture. Our moms are watching." He then puts them into my right hand that is still in the air and gives me an ambiguous smile. He turns away from me and walks back to the table.

I now come to a conclusion with two things: He probably doesn't like me. He's 100% Mommy's boy.