Hayden: I have bad news

Hazel: WHAT???

Hayden: She wants to meet an hour early to plan the bachelor party

Hazel: Seriously? At a bar?

Hayden: Yup

Harry and Edwin invited us out tonight to hang out with Edwin's maid of honor, Val.

She's a famous interior designer and Astrid's cousin. (Hayden's ex, who plays the victim, then call you a cunt two seconds later).

But Val is more dangerous.

Astrid might have damaged Hayden's relationship with his parents, but Val can destroy his entire company.

Hazel: You think it's because she doesn't want to meet again separately? Trying to kill two birds with one stone?

Hayden: I'd rather get it over with too

Hazel: Don't let your hatred for each other stop you from giving your best friends the bachelor parties they deserve. You should meet as many times as needed

Hayden: I told her you'll be with me, by the way

Of course, he did. I have to act like his fake girlfriend. If Astrid has brainwashed her that Hayden is an abusive boyfriend, I have to convince her the opposite.

The problem is that Val...intimidates me.

I've Googled her. The woman dominates the world of interior aesthetics. She's designed multi-million dollar mansions for well-known celebrities. Her portfolio is breathtaking and she's only a couple of years older than me.

I've got no degree. I work at Harry's company, because he was kind enough to hire me with zero experience. And not so long ago, I was living in a metal tent on four wheels.

There's only one thing that can save me. One thing to help me impress this powerful woman.

Shopping.

Yay!

I run to the mall and blow my paycheck on a designer-looking bag, gold jewelry and a new outfit. Val dresses chic, so I choose white loose pants with a V-neck bodysuit and of course, I have to get a blowout to tame the curls.

Two hours later, I burst through the front door, out of breath. "Hayden, I'm here! Let's go, we're running late!"

"Finally." Hayden steps out of his bedroom, annoyed, adjusting the sleeve of his black button-down around his forearm. "What the fuck took you so—"

I hold absolutely still as he sweeps a speechless gaze over me.

"You like it?" I chuckle, unable to stand the silence.

"Y-yeah, you look really pretty..." He's hiding something.

"What's wrong?"

"Did you pay for all this?"

"I had to pay?" I gasp. "I just grabbed everything and took off. Was I not supposed to?"

Shaking his head, Hayden opens his wallet and pulls out a couple of hundred dollars.

My jaw drops when he hands it to me. "Here."

"Huh?"

"Next time, tell me and I'll take care of it."

I slap the butterflies off, my pride too deep to accept the gesture. "Why in the world would you need to take care of my needs?"

"You're meeting her because of me, aren't you?" He keeps the money in the air.

I refuse to touch it.

"I'm not taking your money, Hayden. Calm down." I roll my eyes, scoffing.

The fucker has the nerve to go to my bedroom and leave the cash there. He comes back empty-handed, wearing an unbothered expression.

"Did you just...I'm not taking it." I lift my chin in defiance.

He passes me and opens the front door. "Let's go, we're running late. Because of you."

"I'm going to shove that money up your ass." I hiss on my way out. "Thank you," I say with attitude as he opens the passenger door.

Chivalrous. Confusing. Hot.

The drive to the designated bar is thick with silence. I realize he's wearing his nighttime cologne. The one that makes me want to have his children. In my imagination, of course.

"What?" I reel back my irritation when he glances at me for the trillionth time.

"I'm not used to your hair like that."

"Professionally done?" I smile. "Yeah, genius. I can't afford it. That's why."

He ponders for a moment.

"What is it?" I ask, now self-conscious. "Does it look ugly?"

"Of course, not. It looks great."

"Then what is it?"

"I think your natural hair is beautiful."

"My frizzy curls?" I laugh. "No, it's not!"

"To me, it is." He trains his gaze on the traffic ahead, his voice quiet. "You don't need to pay so much money just to impress someone."

"You make me sound shallow." I frown. Maybe he's right. "I just didn't want to screw it up, okay? You're a homeowner. A business owner. She runs her own company. What do I bring to the table? Why would my relationship with you influence her if I'm not influential? I don't want her to think I'm an air headed gold digger."

"She's not going to think that."

"How do you know?"

"Because that's not who you are. It's not about how much money you bring to the table, Hazel. It's about who you are as a person. How you treat people. That says a lot more about someone than what they do for work or where they live."

I agree with him, but still... "Not everyone thinks that way."

"Then they're not worth your time."

We arrive at the bar and Hayden guides me past the security at the front. Then we're inside the bar, which is a casual and loud place packed with drunken people.

There's a karaoke stage, a bunch of pool tables, and a massive bar with people yelling out their orders.

"Where is she?" I shout at Hayden.

"By the bar." He keeps his hand around my waist, his protective body behind me as we move.

"Where? I don't see her!" There's too many people.

"Look for the only person with a laptop."

And there she is, indeed. Propped up on the bar stool in a white blazer, pointy heels and a sleek shoulder-length blonde hair. She's typing on her laptop as if there isn't deafening sex music shaking the walls.

"Hi," Hayden barks at her.

I twist my neck to give him an 'are you serious?' look. News flash, he's very serious.

The poor woman flinches. The man sitting beside her looks up from his phone, glaring at Hayden. He's bald with smooth dark skin and he's fit.

"Val, right?" Hayden shakes her hand, then points at me. "This is my girlfriend, Hazel."

Straight to the point, I see.

"Hi!" She sounds so stressed out. "It's nice to meet you."

"Thank you for letting me tag along." I force a smile. The mystery man is still watching.

"Oh, this is my assistant. Shane." Val explains.

"How's it going? I'm Hayden." Hayden immediately shakes hands with him. He wasn't kidding when he said he wants to get this over with. "Should we move to a booth? It'll be easier to talk that way."

"Yes, that's a good idea. It'll be easier to share my laptop screen if we're sitting across from each other anyway." Val hops off the bar stool with her half-finished cocktail and I'm ecstatic to discover that she's almost my height. We have something in common.

"What can I get for you?" A grinning waitress approaches us as soon as we take our seats.

"Um, let's start with four waters," Hayden says for all of us. Who put him in charge?

"And for you, ma'am?" She asks me.

"Do you have a lychee cocktail?"

"No, unfortunately we don't."

"Lychee? That sounds good," Val comments.

"Is it sweet?" Shane smirks. "She likes sweet."

Aren't you observant about your boss's tastebuds, Shane.

"Does she?" I smile back. "Guess who else likes sweet things?" I turn to Hayden. "This guy. Ask him how he likes his coffee. It's with—"

"Let's order first." Hayden points his chin at the waitress who is awkwardly waiting.

"Oops, sorry." Be cool, Hazel. "Um..."

"You want red wine?" Hayden helps me out.

"Red wine?" Why would he suggest that? And why is he right? "Sure."

"You have pinot noir?" he asks the waitress who nods and moves on to take the rest of the orders.

"I like pinot noir?" I whisper to Hayden.

"You had two glasses last week when I got it for dinner. Don't you remember?"

"No? How do you remember?"

He leans closer to whisper in my ear. "It's called...being smart."

I smack his arm, but laugh. He breaks into a smile too, and we're not even faking.

"Okay, I want to jump right into it before they get here." Val straightens her shoulders and after a dramatic pause, turns her laptop towards us. It's a PowerPoint slide show. Titled 'Edwin & Harry's Bachelor Party.' Subtitled 'Vegas Edition.'

"So official." I compliment.

"Right, so I've already scripted what we can do once we get there. We're getting there on Friday, around 3 o'clock." She clicks on the next slide, showing a detailed calendar. "We can settle into our rooms. Decorate each one. They're sleeping separately, so I was going to decorate Edwin's room and Hayden, maybe you can take care of Harry's room?"

"They're not sleeping in separate rooms." Hayden furrows his brows.

"Yes, they are. Edwin told me he's cool with it. It's their bachelor party."

Hayden chuckles. "They're not going to sleep in separate rooms. He might've said that he's cool with it, but the moment they get drunk, they're going to be all over each other."

I wish I could relate. I have no one.

"Well, that's not what Edwin told me. Do you know how many hours I've spent looking for specific places for them?" She taps anxiously to the next slide. Then the next. It's filled with links and screenshots and reviews and price points. "We were going to have breakfast together, then separate into different activities, then come together again at night. That way they get the best of both."

"Looks like you've planned everything. What am I here for?" Hayden glares at her.

THIS IS THE WOMAN WHO IS GOING TO DEFINE YOUR CAREER, YOU STUPID SHIT.

"Wow, Val. You're so organized. I need your brain." I chuckle. Underneath the table, I grab Hayden's thigh and dig my nails into his jeans. "Thank you for taking care of everything. I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"Of course." She squares her shoulders, adjusting her glasses. "It's not a problem at all. I just want my best friend to have a great time. I've never been a Maid of Honor before, but I know Edwin is really excited. So I want to make sure everything goes perfectly."

"She's a little bit of a perfectionist." Shane pinches his fingers together for emphasis.

"Did you plan Harry's night?" Hayden asks.

"I...put some suggestions in here, yes." She skips to the next slide. "I would recommend picking something from here, because I've already calculated the budget and distance from the hotel. You won't find anything better than these."

Hayden clenches his jaw, drilling holes into the laptop screen. "No."

"What?"

"I'll plan his bachelor party. Thanks."

She chokes. "What's wrong with my options?"

"She's put a lot of time into it." Shane warns Hayden and I almost snort my boogers out.

"Your drinks." The waiters brings the much-needed alcohol and I raise my glass to toast.

"Cheers, guys! To getting to know each other better and giving our friends the weekend of fun that they deserve!"

"Agreed!" Shane clicks his glass with mine. Hayden and Val look like they've swallowed lemons.

"Why wouldn't Harry like these?" She insists.

"Because these are too expensive. He won't feel comfortable knowing that we're paying for him."

"But it's his bachelor party, of course we're going to pay. It's once in a lifetime—"

"It doesn't matter. He'll get upset."

"So what are we supposed to do?"

"He'll be happy to hang out in the pool and drink with his friends. He doesn't need anything crazy."

"Okay..." Val looks around. "I mean, that's boring. But if that's what he wants...but I already had a pool drinking in the schedule for Saturday afternoon. What are we going to do at night?"

Hayden shrugs. "We'll check out a show."

"A show?" I ask. "Like...a classy show or a junk in your face kind of good time?"

"Classy." Hayden deadpans. "He's not into stuff like that."

"Are you sure?" Val asks. "Or are you not into it?"

"Excuse me?"

"I just hope you're considering that Harry might be into things you might find uncomfortable."

Hayden's head tilt is a mixture of cold anger and sarcasm. "Come again?"

She shifts in her seat. Shane puts his palm on the table, eyes set on Hayden. "Let's...try to be calm now—"

"It'd be easier to be calm, if she wasn't talking to my boyfriend like he's an incompetent douchebag," I say, my tone as indifferent as Hayden's.

Inside, my blood is starting to boil. Looks like Astrid has gotten inside her head after all. No one talks to my fake boyfriend like that.

"Excuse me?" Shane scowls at me.

"You're excused." Hayden's tone is soft, borderline amused and psychotic.

Silence passes. None of us speak. Are we going to start kicking and punching? Can I take down Val?

A vision flashes before my eyes. It involves lots of screaming and hair ripping in the middle of the bar. It involves me in jail. Bruised and bleeding. I've officially become a criminal. But I have no regrets. Maybe I'll get a tattoo.

They won't call me Hazel anymore.

They'll call me...

Nuts.

A/N
I can't with this dork