“Agreed,” Arvil responded with a nod of his head. “You know how it is in the company, and the media. There’s a lot of things that need to be handled before we can announce that I’m engaged.”
Rowan nodded, though there was still doubt on his features.
“Then we’ll talk about this in our free time. Away from the public eye.”
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Davis,” Daisy said, the polite smile ever-present on her lips. He’d spoken to his son, so now he could leave. They could go back to planning.
“I’ll see you back at the company, son,” Rowan turned to Arvil and smiled. His son smiled back. “Enjoy your date.”
It was when Rowan left that Arvil sank in his chair, for once an exasperated look on his features.
“This is bad,” he groaned. “This is very, very bad.”
Daisy sat across from him and buried her face in her hands. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this,” she muttered after a moment of silence. “You can back out if you want to…”
“You do know that’s not possible now, don’t you?” He looked at her in disbelief. “I’m in the mess as deep as you are.”
“You could dump me. Easily. The only people we’ve revealed it to are my parents and your father. All we would have to say was that it wasn’t working out. I was too standoffish,” Daisy murmured without removing her hands from her face. “In fact, we should. We should do that, before we dig ourselves a deeper hole.”
“And leave you to marry a pig like Gavril?” Arvil quirked an eyebrow. “I told you I would help you. What good would my help be if I backed out before it’s guaranteed you aren’t pushed into marriage with him?”
Daisy tore her eyes up to meet his gaze, curiousity dancing in them. “Why? What good does it do you? Why help a woman you barely know with something hat isn’t your business? Yes, I dragged you into this, but I’m not keeping you here. You’re free to leave whenever you please. But I don’t understand why you’re choosing to stay.”
“Because you’re a good woman and I can tell you’re not one to have your wings cut off,” Arvil responded casually. “You don’t want to be tied down. Staying with me might be a similar situation, but at least you’d be free. In a way, I guess. And maybe there might be some benefit for me, too. If I’m engaged to you, it would clear my image. Somewhat, I guess.”
Daisy regarded him for a moment longer, then sighed and took a sip of her water. “All right… Well, then, thank you, I guess,” she murmured.
“Though I’m sure it’s the last thing either of us want, but I think we should make our engagement public,” Arvil continued, taking another bite of his cake. “The more in public we appear, the more people will likely to believe.”
Daisy nodded slowly, staring down at her glass. “Yes, that’s true… I guess you’re right, though I’d rather not do so…”
Arvil returned her nod with one of his own. “Visit me often at the company,” he said to her. “People will more likely believe if you will.”
“I’ll need the address. I’m not going to Internet-stalk you to find it,” Daisy half-joked with a tiny smile. “Text it to me. You already have my number, anyway.”
Arvil laughed. “All right, fair enough. I’ll send it to you.”
He took out his phone and shared his company’s location with her.
“When you come over, tell them you’re my fiancée. They’ll most likely not believe you, so you can give me a call,” he shrugged. “I feel like I’m a part of a movie.”
Daisy nodded, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. “A horrible, cheesy romance?” she guessed, a teasing light gleaming in her eyes. “Is there any specific time I should be coming over?”
“Definitely a horrible, cheesy romance,” Arvil nodded in agreement, a grin on his features. “And no. You can come whenever you want.”
“All right, then. I’ll come over sometime,” Daisy agreed with a small smile. “Maybe I’ll even bring you some lunch.”
“My future wife bringing me food? I’d like that,” Arvil purred, grinning. “This is one cheesy romantic movie, it seems.”
Daisy snorted and moved to stand. “Yeah, yeah. Well, I have to play the part, don’t i?”
Arvil grinned as he waved a waiter over for their bill.
“Oh, yes,” he responded with a chuckle. “You really do.”
“And I will do it nicely since I must. May as well, right?” Daisy questioned, raising her eyebrows.
Arvil took the bill the waiter gave him, setting a few dollars in the book. “Keep the change,” he said, thanked him, and then turned his attention back towards Daisy.
“Might as well,” he grinned at her, turning around to leave. “Do dress up lovely, my dear. I’ll see you then.”
Daisy hummed, holding back a scoff even as she rolled her eyes. Why should she dress up? It’s not like she was going to do something important… Though, she supposed, it was pretty important.
“I’ll see you soon, Arvil,” she called to him as she started to walk away.
[TIME SKIP: Next Tuesday afternoon]
Daisy didn’t quite know what to get Arvil for lunch since he had said he didn’t have a favorite, so she just picked up some burgers and fries. If he liked them, good. If not, he could live without them. He should have given her something specific to get, anyway.
She walked into the building, tugging at her black pencil skirt and making sure her gray sweatshirt was still tucked in correctly. It had been a while since she’d work these heels, too, but they went with her outfit for the day. Obviously, she’d decided to humor her fake fiancé and dress nicely.
Stepping up to the front desk, she told them that she was there to see Arvil Davis.