"Wait, what?" Scott unconsciously yelled out loud in total disbelief.
"I'm sorry miss Olivia but what did you just say? I don't think I quite understood what it is I just heard," he said with wide eyes and his ears fully alert to be sure he hadn't heard wrong.
Olivia rolled her eyes boredly at him as she folded her arms across her chest. She said nothing for a while and this frustrated Scott who needed to make sure he hadn't heard wrong.
"Please explain yourself clearly, miss Olivia," he said, visibly frustrated with her silence.
Olivia cleared her throat as she prepared herself to finally speak up. The mere thought of having to do this embarrassed her to no end and she never in a million years thought she'd find herself in such an embarrassing situation.
"What I said was simple, Mr Richardson. I want you to act as my fake boyfriend," she repeated, this time sounding a lot more confident.
Before Scott could say anything, she quickly chimed in defensively.
"You really don't have to worry about anything Mr Richardson. This favour I'm asking for won't be for free and since I know you're a busy man and all, I'll pay you a lot more than you can imagine," she quickly clarified so he doesn't think she's trying to order him around.
Scott blinked his eyes rapidly as he stared back at the woman he admired for long. She was literally asking him to play the role of her boyfriend and yet she thought he needed to be paid off to actually do it. The last thing Scott was interested in was Olivia's money and the fact that he could get a chance to do something for her was definitely all that mattered to him.
Having to act as her fake boyfriend was literally going to be the same thing as being her boyfriend and he honestly couldn't care less how long the relationship would last as long as he would get the chance to not only be by Olivia's side more often but he'd also get to know her better and not just observe her from a distance like he had been doing all these years.
"If you do not mind me asking Miss Olivia, why do you want me to act as your boyfriend? I mean, don't get me wrong and think I'm trying to disrespect you or anything like that. I just think it's not something very normal and I'm pretty curious to know why you would want a fake boyfriend," he said, genuinely curious to know why a beautiful woman like herself would even think of such and why her choice turned out to be him.
He had known Olivia for quite a long time now and he had never seen her looking this desperate before. The Olivia he knew didn't seem to care too much about men and she had never even been in any dating scandal. One would even think she wasn't into men sexually with how very clean her history with men was.
Her life was literally on the media most of the time and each time she was asked about her love life, she always told them she had none and she said it confidently each time.
Olivia let out a sigh as soon as Scott asked his question. She had expected him to ask her the reason because no one in their right mind would agree to act like a fake boyfriend without knowing why they were needed to do it and understanding what they were getting themselves into.
"The truth is, I got myself into a very complicated situation and in order to get out of it, I need to find someone who is willing to act as my fake boyfriend," she said, feeling very embarrassed by the fact that she was about to tell her story to a stranger.
"What situation?" Scott asked.
"The thing is, I somehow ended up lying to my parents about being in love and having a boyfriend so they won't force me into an arranged marriage with a jerk I don't like," she explained, closing her shut in anger as the embarrassment of her confession made her blood boil.
"I see," Scott muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"So what you want me to do for you is to act as your false boyfriend so you won't be married off, right?" he asked and she nodded her head positively.
"Exactly Mr Richardson. Just to get them off my back. You just have to act like my loving boyfriend who cares about me and we'll act like we have a very serious relationship and do all the lame things regular couples do just to make it believable," she explained to him.
"Well that makes sense and I know it may seem like I'm asking too many questions but I have to ask, why me? Why out of all the men you could have asked to do this for you, why did you choose me?" he asked, nervous about the reply he'd get.
The reason he asked was because he found it very weird that Olivia would randomly approach him and offer him such a deal to him when she never even glanced towards him on a normal day.
"Hmm, I don't really know what to tell you but I guess you could just say I chose you because of who I'd like to believe you are," she replied and Scott is confused.
"Who do you believe I am? What does that even mean?" he questioned.
Olivia sighed deeply as she got up from where she sat and started pacing around with her arms folded under her burst, pushing up her always protruding burst even more for him to see although it wasn't intentional of her.
"In other words, you are perfect for the job Scott. I mean take a look at you. You are a very known architect and you're also very responsible and capable which is a good thing in my opinion. As you may know, not anyone fits my standard and trust me, you are definitely not my type but I acknowledge a good enough man when I see one and it's also easy to convince my parents that you and I...," she paused for a while before pointing towards him and then at herself.
"Are in love," she said with a hint of irritation on her face.
Scott swallowed the lump in his throat. He felt a slight pain in his chest when she had said he wasn't her type but he acted cool about it since he honestly wasn't surprised by her words.
"I am not your type and yet you think I fit the role of playing your boyfriend? Interesting I must say," he muttered loud enough for her to hear him, with a smirk tugging on his lips.
Scott had already made up his mind even before Olivia explained her reason to him. There was no way he wasn't going to agree with her request cause he definitely saw it as the perfect opportunity to get closer to her.
He had known Olivia for over five years and for some strange reason, he had always been interested in her since the first day he laid his eyes on her. Not only was she the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, she was also the most intelligent and determined woman he had ever met and everything about her simply fascinated him.
"So, are you going to do it? I plan on paying you a lot, so worry not about the inconvenience," she assured him.
As much as Scott wanted to tell her that he wasn't at all interested in the money, he decided against it and kept quiet because knowing Olivia's personality, that could make her very uncomfortable and even make her change her mind.
"How long will I have to act like your fake boyfriend?" he asked.
She placed her index finger on her chin as she thought of it. She never really thought of how long she'd need a fake boyfriend. She was simply going to show her parents her boyfriend so they'd stop pestering her but aside from that, she couldn't really think of anything else to do afterwards.
But then again, what if her parents decide to get all nosy and take her love life way too seriously? she thought to herself, shuddering in disgust at the mere thought of it.
"Truth is, I don't really know how long it would take but like I said, for each time you'll play the role of my boyfriend, I'll pay you very well," she reassured him once again.
If there was anything that attracted Scott the most to Olivia, it was that she was very direct and honest and she'd never beat around the bush.
"So what do you say? Are you going to act like my fake boyfriend?" she asked him, feeling slightly nervous at the fact that his response could make her break her already perfect life.
"Okay then miss Olivia. I'll act as your fake boyfriend for as long as you need me to," he tells her and she mentally heaves a sigh of relief.
"Thank you very much for your cooperation Mr Richardson or should I say Scott. I hope we get along well," she said, stretching her hands out for a handshake.
"I genuinely hope to miss Olivia," he replied, taking her hands in his and watching her stare intensely at him, as if trying to read him openly.