A/N: THANK YOU :D seriously a big big big thank you for all the wishes. You guys are the radest people I know. (: your reviews made everything so much better. Thank you. Keep supporting me, guys. I need you. Haha! :)
Enjoy this chapter!
"Pretend Game Begins Again"
Cody Martin waited patiently for Zack to reveal his big idea. But the more patient he tried to be, the more frustrated he got with the dramatic silent effect that Zack was creating. He had a spaced out look on his face. Cody observed as he continued to live in his day dream. Finally he decided to break the minutes long built ice. He cleared his throat to get his brother's attention..."Any minute you're ready to tell me that idea, Zack. No need to hurry, really." Cody sarcastically shoot...
"Well excuse me for thinking if there's anything really important I need to do before I die..." Zack responded...Cody just gave him the "What the heck?" look..."You know, just in case you kill me after hearing the idea..." Zack calmly stated. He was such a drama queen. Cody thought to himself...
"Oh would you quit exaggerating and spill your stupid idea already?" Zack was already getting on his last nerve. He was so impossible to talk to and not be mad. Zack finally gave in and laughed..."Okay...I was just teasing you." He leaned forward and lightly whispered..."This is very confidential, so it better not leave this room. You hear me, brother?" Cody just rolled his eyes. It wasn't like Cody was in a very good mood and Zack was only making it worse. "You're the one who won't be able to leave this room alive if you continue fooling around..." Cody threatened and Zack was in laughter once again. For some reason, he just really enjoyed messing with him. His anger was a terror to every single one of his employee but to Zack, it was the most amusing thing in the world.
"Alright alright! I'll stop." Zack smiled and lay back in his chair..."So you know how you have two problems at hand right now. One is mom and the other just left this room." Zack waited for Cody to catch up to him and as he nodded, he continued..."And the problem with mom is not so easy to handle since you don't know any girl, right?" Zack paused again for a signal from Cody and then immediately continued as he received it..."But...you know one girl. And that girl is Bailey."
Zack finished with a smile and waited for Cody to respond. In his opinion, he had explained his idea clearly...but for Cody, it didn't even make any sense..."So? What about it?" Cody asked..."knowing her is my other problem, remember? What exactly is your big idea?"
Zack just sighed..."You idiot! Your other problem will solve your biggest problem, and in the process will solve itself as well. You get it?" Cody again just looked at him surprised...what did he even want to say?
"I MEAN JUST DATE HER!" Zack slightly shouted. Now Cody got what he was saying. He wanted him to take Bailey out on a date and then introduce her to mom. He was actually right, that would solve his problems. But only the thought of it was enough to disturb him. Even though he completely got it, he acted as if he didn't..."Her who?" Cody asked. "HER, her..." Zack shouted again, now gesturing towards the door from where Bailey left a while ago. "What the door?" Cody fake laughed and Zack just looked at him. He knew full well that Cody was doing it on purpose..."You know exactly who 'her' I'm talking about. Stop playing..."
"NO!" Cody defended..."I don't know...and even if I did know it, I sure hope for your sake that its not the 'her' I think you're talking about..." It was clearly now Cody who was overacting and exaggerating the whole situation. Zack decided to calmly explain the potential benefits of his idea...
"Look, Cody! You may think that this is bizarre, but it would really work. I'm not saying you really have to date her. Just pretend date her. Cody, she's in need. Didn't you hear? She doesn't have a job, her sister doesn't either. If we make a deal with her, the way she wants it...her terms, I'm sure she'd agree. Plus, it'd be easy to connivence mom as well. When mon will know that you're dating the same girl you got in to a fight with, she'll question for sure that if you liked her, why'd you behave that way with her. And on that you can say that you were just upset over the fact that she was dating me and not you. You can tell mom that you always liked her but was afraid to tell her. She'd believe it right away. And once she transfer the company to your name, you can just have a fake 'break up' and then you both can go your separate ways. Your life's worry will be gone forever."
Zack exhaled as he finished. Even though Cody was more than just tired of the whole "pretend" game, he had to admit that Zack's idea was pretty workable. All he had to do was make Bailey meet his mom once. He'd connivence her that he had loved this girl all along. It'd be that much easier to make his mother believe about Bailey than any other girl. Plus, it'd save him a lot of time to find a girl. "You're actually on to something this time, Zack" Cody appreciated..."Now, all we have to do is get Bailey to agree to this." Cody wandered off in his thoughts as he pointed that out to Zack. This was possibly the hardest part of their plan. After all they've been through, the chances of her agreeing to help him were slim to none. However Zack seemed to be pretty confident about what he was doing. He took his phone out and gave it to Cody..."Here, call her now. Invite her over and we'll discuss about our plan..."
Without even thinking what he was saying, Cody uttered..."How on earth you have my girlfriend's number?"
The moment these words escaped his mouth, he realized what he said, or it was Zack's laughter that made him realize it..."Not bad, Cody." Zack joked..."you're already calling her your girlfriend. Good going, little brother."
Cody just held his head and sighed. There was no point in arguing with him on this. He gave the phone back to Zack..."You call her over. I'm sure she'd hang up the minute she'd hear my voice."
Zack took the phone understanding that Cody was right. He quickly scrolled down his contacts and dialled her number and waited as it rang.
Meanwhile Bailey Pickett was walking down the lane to get to the main road. Tears were flowing freely from her eyes and she didn't even bother clearing them up. In the crowd, there was nobody who'd notice her. And it wasn't like anyone cared either. Cody Martin had ruined her life. She was wrong to challenge him. Now she knew that she didn't stand a chance against him. He was rich and powerful, and he could do anything he wanted to. For Bailey, she barely remembered her name herself, why would anybody care about who she was? She was a nobody and would remain that.
On the verge of an emotional breakdown, Bailey stopped and leaned back against a wall. She took a deep breath and wiped away the remains of her tears off of her face. She was just about to start her walk again when she felt her phone ringing. She took it out and saw who it was, Zack. Why was he calling her now. She pressed answer...
"What do you want?" She asked harshly. On the other side of the phone, she heard a stammering voice of Zack Martin.
"I...I just...you know, Bailey, I know you're going through a lot and I'm really sorry for that. I can...I mean, we can help you. If you just come over for a few minutes? I'll tell you the details then..,"
Bailey listened carefully...it felt like he was on to something again..."I don't need your or your brother's help. Thank you very much..." She was about to hang up when she heard him speak again...
"Bailey, please just hear us out once. We're in equal trouble. We both can solve eachother's problems. Just come over, Bailey. It won't hurt to just listen to what we've planned?"
Bailey paused to think about it. She really didn't have anything left to lose. And if he was begging her like that, she got a feeling that it was them who were in more need of her presence over there than she was of them. She smiled to herself..."Alright! I'll be over in 10 minutes." She hung up the phone and smiled..."this is gonna be good."
Back at Martin Empire, both Zack and Cody were waiting for Bailey to arrive. Zack was calmly sitting in the same chair, whereas Cody was pacing back and forth. He was being too impatient. He was actually doing the count down. Zack thought he was being just crazy. But then again, it was not his life's hard work being taken away from him. Why would he get it?
"She's not coming. I knew she wouldn't come. She said 10 minutes and its..." Cody paused to check his watch..."12 minutes now. She's NOT coming, Zack." Cody panicked. Zack just rolled his eyes and got up. He grabbed Cody by his shoulder in order to get him to stop pacing around. He forced his attention towards him and spoke..."Dude, relax! She's just 2 minutes late. Besides, nobody go by the nano-seconds of the clock like you do."
As Zack was again pulling his brother's leg, the doors to Cody's office opened and Bailey entered the room once again. But this time, with less of an alarming situation.
"Sorry I'm a bit late..." She announced. Zack couldn't help but let out a little laugh again..."I see! You go by the nano-seconds of the clock too. Great. You two seem to be already computable..."
While Zack was joking, Cody observed the confused look on Bailey's face as the last words escaped Zack's mouth. Clearly Zack didn't understand the sensitivity of the whole situation..."Zack, instead of wasting time on your silly jokes, can you just tell her the plan?" Cody mumbled but Bailey heard and quickly spoke up..."Yeah, please! I don't have all day to be here and wait for your silliness..."
"Now you two are agreeing on the same things? Wow! Made for eachother..." Zack joked again.
"WHAT?" Bailey asked surprised. She wasn't quite recovered from Zack's first comment, and he passed a second, more shocking one. She turned towards Cody..."What is he saying? Made for eachother? Us? What in the world is going on here?"
Cody just held his head and ignored all of Bailey's questions. He had to deal with Zack and his silly jokes first..."Zack, she's gonna freak out if you won't refrain from passing such comments BEFORE telling her what our plan is."
"Oh alright!" Zack said giving in. He turned to Bailey and tried his best to put on a straight business face..."We have to offer you a deal, Miss Pickett. Please have a seat." He said gesturing towards a chair. She obliged and sat down. "Now, I know we've had our issues in the past but, the Martins are willing to settle them all down. And offer your sister her job back and for you to officially join the Martin Empires." Zack presented her the offer imitating his best professional voice.
"And why would you do that?" Bailey casually asked. She knew there was something that they wanted out of this..."because we're nice people." Zack exclaimed and waited for her to believe it but to no avail. She kept staring at him, giving him a look that said 'I know what you're upto'. While Cody was observing Bailey and Zack's conversation from the other side of the table, he only hoped that Zack wouldn't tell her how much they needed her. But it was Zack...
"Okay okay, I'll tell you..." Zack let out an audible sigh of defeat before he continued..."Mom has put our company, which Cody handles, on stake over a deal she made with him. Unless he dates a girl and introduce her to mom within one month, she'd take away everything from him."
"ZACK!" Cody shouted as he finished..."Why did you tell her all of this?" Zack was confused as to why Cody didn't want him to tell Bailey about his deal with mom. While Bailey had finally gotten everything. She grinned..."I see, so unless I agree to be your 'pretend' girlfriend for my and my sister's job, your precious empire will be taken away from you. Hm! Interesting." She said smiling...
Cody just shook his head..."Why did I ever agree to take your help, Zack. You never, and I mean NEVER tell the person you're doing business with about your weakness. Because if you do, they'll find a way to use it against you."
"Oohhhh!" Zack uttered as he realized what Cody meant..."Well, why didn't you just tell me that before?"
Cody just rolled her eyes. However Bailey had a lot of things running through her mind. She would have to say yes because she desperately needed a job. And she also felt really guilty about the fact that her sister lost her job. This could solve many problems. She had to do this. But now that she knew that Cody Martin was in bigger need, she wanted to use it in her favour. And also to have some fun with it. She grinned and got up from her chair...
"I'll do it..." She exclaimed and both Zack and Cody stood up with smiling faces to thank her but she held out a hand..."BUT." She paused..."I have a few conditions that you have to meet."
"Anything you want." Zack quickly agreed..."Very well." Bailey stated happily..."my first condition is that Cody would have to accept his mistake and apologise to me."
"What? No way! I would NEVER apologise to...HER!" Cody said refusing...Bailey quickly turned around and began to walk away..."Then good luck finding another girl..."
"No, Bailey wait." Zack stepped forward to stop her from going..."he's just joking. He will apologise. Just give me a second with him." Zack passed by her and went to where Cody was standing and whispered lightly in his ears..."You dumb-wit. You don't have much time. And I already explained to you all the pros of having her as your girlfriend. You need her. Don't ruin this, will you?" Cody just sighed...Zack was right, he did somehow need her...he turned his attention towards Bailey..."I was wrong." He tried to sound as sincere as possible..."I'm really sorry." The moment those words escaped, it brought a smile on Bailey's face. She beamed..."You're forgiven." She said amused by his little and to the point apology..."Now, the second thing I want is for Cody to ask me out. Just like any guy would ask a girl out."
"What? Are you crazy?" Cody said refusing her condition once again..."There's no way in hell I'll ever ask you out..."
"Fine!" Bailey muttered..."Then I hope you find the streets comfortable enough to sleep."
She was about to walk away when Zack stopped her again..."Wait!" Bailey turned around and saw Zack giving Cody a dead glare.
Cody sighed and stepped forward and made his way towards her. He looked in to her eyes and took a deep breath and mumbled..."lets get this over with..." He closed eyes and tried to imagine the one time he actually asked a girl out. If he was being honest with himself, he didn't remember a single thing. For what seemed like forever, he remained there still not saying a word. Then he opened his eyes and saw it, her eyes, her sparkling brown eyes. She was looking at him and he felt as if she was looking directly through his soul. Cody didn't know what possessed him but he instinctively grabbed her hands in his. The whole time his eyes remained on her. He unwantedly and unknowingly observed each expression that came and went on her face. She defined innocence. Cody couldn't help it, she somehow had this force that triggered something inside of him everytime he looked at her. He once again took a deep breath and gave her hands a light squeeze...
"Bailey. I...you know. I mean..." He stammered as if he was really asking a girl out. He felt the same nervousness..."The thing is, I really like you a lot. You somehow make things better. We've started out on a wrong foot but I'd like to give us a chance. Bailey, will you go out with me?" His voice was a pure reflection of honesty. Bailey was left speechless. It was either he was a really good actor or was he being actually honest? Her thoughts would have continued but they were disturbed by the doors opening...it was Cody's secretary, Martha. She wanted to say something but saw Cody holding a girl's hands, so she stopped and backed away..."I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know I was disturbing something..." With that she left. However her sudden arrival did bring Cody out of his daze. He quickly let go of her hands and stepped a little away from her. Just then Zack got over and leaned forward..."so your answer is?" He asked. Cody was glad Zack took over the situation and made it less awkward.
"Yes. I'll go out with you." Bailey said looking at Cody with same amount of sincerity in her eyes. Both Cody and Bailey would've lost in eachother's gaze again but Zack quickly spoke up.
"Perfect! Now all we have to do is practice for a few days, prepare a nice script to say in front of mom then take Bailey to her when we're ready. But first..." Zack turned to Cody..."Go call mom and tell her you've found a girl and that you'll bring her home in a few days..."
Cody nodded in agreement without even thinking. He took out his phone and called his mom. Both Bailey and Zack waited patiently as they heard only one side of the conversation...
"Yes, mom! Its the same girl..."
"No, mom...I don't hate her, in fact...I've always loved her. Thats the reason I was upset when she was with Zack..."
"Yes I knew her way before Zack met her as London."
"No, mom. She's not like that. She's the most amazing person I've ever met. It was just my anger talking..."
"I think so, yes! I'll bring her over in a few days."
"What? Why now, mom?"
"I can't! She's...uh...busy."
"But...can't you wait for a few days?"
"But? Mom? Hello?...MOM?"
Cody put down his phone and saw Zack and Bailey staring at him...
"She wants to see her right now..."
"WHAT" Zack and Bailey uttered simultaneously, as Cody explained...they all exchanged nervous glances.
"I'm screwed." Cody sighed.
To be Continued...
A/N: I might not update next week, I have my mid-term coming up. I'll be busy as hell :( but, I'll still try my best to at least give you guys a short update. Stay tuned, folks!
Love, Ash! xx