In Love With My Bully

I had a busy morning as usual, I didn't even have time for my coffee. Consequences of skipping the rest of the day yesterday. I had an amazing time last night, Nita seems to be warming up to me but she still had this wall built around her. I had woken up feeling great this morning, I even said hi to the receptionist on my way in. 

Sam, my COO barged into my office with a stack of documents. The coffee on my desk was already lukewarm, I buzzed my assistant and requested another before I could enter into Sam's tirade of what was next on the day's agenda. 

"Richard?" Sam called while I distractedly opened one of the files he had just brought in.

"Yeah, Sam?" I asked without looking up. 

"I don't suppose you have checked your phone, email, or social media today, have you?"

"Haven't had the time. I remember dropping instructions yesterday for you to handle some of my tasks. I wonder why I still have so much to get done today,"

"Richard, you're trending!"

I froze. "Trending? What do you mean by trending? I haven't made any power play yet?"

"Not that kind of trend. The kind where you are the joke of the day,"

"Excuse me?" I raised my eyebrows not totally understanding

Sam thrust his phone in my hands and on the screen was a grainy picture of myself and Nita at Mama L's burger stand. Myself in my pretty suit and Nita in her hot shorts and tank top wolfing down a burger. It was a terrible angle and the caption 'Corporate King meets Burger Queen.'

I swiped and there was a meme of my horrified face in the middle of a bite. There was even a hashtag trending 'burgeraffair' 

"I'm in hell," I muttered.

"Who is she?" Sam asked.

"Ahh… it's the lady I told you Ma arranged for me to marry,"

"And you took her to a roadside burger shack,"

"Actually, she did," I said thinking of ways to get ahead of the situation. If Nita had seen those posts, she might not have liked the comments. Social media can be brutal. At least, they don't know who she is yet, and that's a good thing. The picture wasn't very clear.

"She took you to a burger shack?! Are you sure your mum chose this girl? Because I don't think she would have approved of a woman who could pull such a stunt,"

"Shut up, Sam," I called my assistant again to get our press officer to meet me in the car ASAP and to get a driver to the Williams residence immediately and get her to my family home. I shoved past Sam and raced down the stairs. The driver was already waiting with the door open. This was going to be a PR nightmare. I brought my personal phone out of my bag as Mary, the press officer got in next to me. I told the driver to head to my family home as the phone in my hand began to vibrate endlessly with emails and messages. 

"Why the fuck didn't you get ahead of this? Do I have to tell everyone how to do their jobs?" 

"I'm sorry sir. I was keeping an eye on the wrong place, keeping an eye on business reports and reviews. All I did was go on a date like a normal person and I became a joke to the world.

My phone rang again. It was my father. Oh boy!

"Richard," his deep voice rumbled. "Are you on top of this?"

"Working on it sir. On my way home now, Nita should be a couple of minutes away," I replied. 

"What were you thinking taking her out for burgers in nothing but shorts and on the street!!!" I heard my mother yell through the phone.

"Mom, we were just having a little bit of fun. It was getting late already."

"You should know better. You should have seen this coming," she shouted and ended the call.

I called Nita as soon as the call ended. "Richard, you have to stop sending cars to pick me up without notice. You could at least ask if I have plans of my own," 

"You can yell at me all you want later but there is a slight issue," I said.

"Is it the burger shack thingy? Yeah, I saw it this morning,"

"I will be with you in a jiffy. My parents' place is the safest place for you now,"

"Richard, it's a photo, it's not like someone is trying to kill me,"

"Nita, trust me. You are not ready to face the press,"

There was an odd silence for a minute before she spoke, "Is this going to be my life now?"

"I'll see you soon." What was my mother thinking? Nita might be a great girl but she wasn't right for our world. She was too innocent and pure.

I arrived at my parents' estate as soon as Nita was stepping out of the car, where my mother greeted me with a slap to the back of my head.

"Nita, I told you. From the moment you accepted to be a Numero, your go-to look should be elegant," she began, her voice sweet but holding a warning.

Nita smiled, "I couldn't wear a ball gown to a burger joint. He wore a suit and he looked like a dunce to everyone there." How in the hell did I catch a stray bullet in a conversation I wasn't even involved in? I already got a slap.

We headed into the living room along with Mary, my father was already waiting. 

Mary got to work immediately after exchanging pleasantries, "We have to make a public announcement immediately. People question what they don't know. Competitors can decide to spin this to their advantage."

"she is right," My father said, sipping his whiskey. "Give Mary the details and set a date for the wedding, son."

"The pictures are not flattering," Mary continued. "we need to control that narrative also. Miss Williams has to step into the limelight,"

"We can have an engagement party."

"Okay just give me the date and I will get some press in, we have to announce the wedding date today,"

I took a look at Nita, who was leaning on the wall, a lost look on her face. "hey," I nudged her.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have taken you to that place. I didn't know… I can't…"

"hey, sssh," I held her hand in mine, I felt her flinch but I didn't let it go. "Last night was the most fun I have had in a very long time. You may have been aiming to punish me but I did enjoy myself. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Besides, I have a meme to tease you with now,"

She chuckled. "How do we fix this?"

"We fix a date for the wedding. Mary will schedule a press conference for later in the day. We just have to get ahead of this. And when the world sees exactly how beautiful you are, this will be old news,"

"The news does not bother me. I can handle bullying. I just don't like that everyone is going out of their way to fix something that I didn't consider a problem in the first place,"

"Nita? I have done worse things. This is just because of the chairmanship transition, that's why everyone is on edge,"

"I know you're just trying to make me feel better. I don't," she said and walked away. 

"Nita…," I turned to my mum. "I hope this arrangement doesn't hurt her, Mum. It is typical of you to put people in difficult situations where they have to make hard choices," I told her and walked out towards the gardens in the direction Nita had gone.

"Junior…" I heard my mum whisper after me.