"Good Morning,” The voice of James jolted Emily back to reality.

“Morning,” She welcomed him with an awkward smile.

“You are early today?” He observed this as he sat down at his desk, which was across from hers.

“I just came a few minutes back. It is not that early.” Emily puts an attempt to avoid looking at him, which he notices.

James got up and walked over to her. While she sat in her chair, he grabbed the support of her desk, facing her. 

He called her name to gain her attention, "Emily."

“Yeah?” She asked, her gaze lingering on him.

"Is it about the kiss?" He asked her. 

She had a stunned expression on her face because she hadn't expected James to figure it out so quickly.

"Noooo." She tried to deny it, but James was too smart to believe her.

“Seriously? Emily, are you having second thoughts about our plan? It's all right if you are. I understand." James tried to comfort her. But he was hoping that they would go ahead with their initial plan. 

"Are you having second thoughts?" Instead of replying, she asked him the same question.

"No. I am not. However, this isn't about me; it's about you. So, tell me honestly, are you sure you are comfortable with this plan? If you are not, it won't be easy to persuade Fiona's and Justin's grandma. We'd have to appear a little more intimate to get them to see us as a couple." James explained it to her with transparency. 

He didn't want Emily to go ahead with their plan if she didn't want to. He wants her to be comfortable.

"I am sure. And anyway, you wouldn't live to see another day if you tried to pull something on me." Emily tried to conceal her racing heart. 

She was well aware that James was a decent guy. Even after their ridiculous idea and that incredible kiss, somewhere in her heart, she knew that he would not go beyond his bounds.

They'd been working together for about a year now, and he had not crossed any of his boundaries yet. Sure, he enjoys annoying her whenever the opportunity presents itself, but he has never offended her in any way whatsoever. 

Not even inadvertently.

"Is it now?" James drew his arms across his chest and lifted his brows. He was relieved that Emily had returned to her usual self.

James was ready to walk away from his desk when she stopped him.

"There is something you need to know about me in order for our plan to work. Cecelia Grams would never be convinced if she discovered that you were unaware of a critical detail about my life."

"What do you mean?" James gave her a puzzled look.

"You are already aware that Bob is my step-father, and perhaps you may have a hunch that my biological father…….." But James stopped her.

"No, Emily! Don't!" James instantly stopped her from saying anything further.

"What? Why?" She asked him. 

If it had been anyone else, they would have jumped at this opportunity

"I don’t want you to tell me about yourself because of our pretend relationship. I want you to tell me because you want to, and I will be absolutely honest with you. I am definitely curious about that part of your life, but I want you to share it with me because you genuinely want to." James told her with full honesty. 

He didn’t want to lie to her.

"Then how are we going to persuade them that we are together?" Emily asked him. 

She was taken aback when he stopped her from disclosing a crucial part of her life to the benefit of their pretentious relationship.

"I don’t need to know about your issues or your past to convince anyone that I like you. The Emily I know is a fearless individual who is a wonderful friend and an independent woman with strong attributes and a crazy personality. Sure, she has her flaws, but I have as well. That is exactly what Cynthia and Cecelia Grams, or anyone else in the world, needs to know, as well as the fact that I like you for who you are and will stand at your side through thick and thin."

Emily was astounded by James's words. No one had even been this optimistic about her, so she didn’t know what to say to him. 

On the other hand, James was able to see that she was trying hard not to let her emotions surface.

"Emily, just know I am here for you. I am only a phone call away if you ever need to talk, share, or anything else. Literally." James told her the meaning each and every word.

He didn’t care if she called him three at night, as long as she was happy and safe. He wholeheartedly wanted Emily to trust him and to know that he would always be there for her.

Emily responded with an appreciative nod. "Thank you, James. It means a lot to me." 

In reply, he softly squeezed her shoulders. When James removed his hand, Emily whispered the two words that brought his attention to her.

"Henry Davies," 

"Huh?" He gave her a perplexed look.

"Henry Davies is the name of my biological father," Emily remarked.

"Your surname is Martin. I thought that…." Emily, though, cut him off.

"After our mom and Henry divorced, Jake and I adopted dad, I mean Bob’s surname, as our own. And for the record, neither Jake nor I have a good relationship with Henry." Emily stated. 

James knew that this was the only information Emily felt comfortable sharing with him, and he was completely fine with that.

"Well, you have a great relationship with Bob, and he loves you, so who cares if you jell well with your biological father or not," James said with a smile.

"Yeah? He is the best father anyone could ever ask for." Emily loved Bob. Despite the fact that they are not blood relatives, he never made her feel anything else. He always pampered her as if she was his own daughter.

"Yes! He said a few days ago that you and Jake are two of the best things that has ever happened to him." With a smile, James told her.

"He did?" She asked with gleaming eyes, and suddenly it dawned on her. "How do you know that? Are you in touch with my dad?" 

"Yes, we do converse on the phone from time to time." He tried to get up from her desk to save himself from Emily, but she stopped him by firmly placing both hands on his knee.

"When the hell did he give you his number?" Emily inquired, her gaze fixed on him. ​

"Do you remember the time when we went to your hometown, Seopol?" He asked her.

"Yes, how could I possibly forget? Fiona ran away from Justin because he had to tell his Grams about his misunderstood feelings for her." She still feels like punching Justin. 

He complained to his grandma Cynthia about how unfair it was that she forced him to marry Fiona and how he felt like a stranger in their own house. 

Idiot.

"Yes, when we went to Bob's house for dinner. We exchanged phone numbers later that day and have kept in touch ever since." James revealed.

Emily was staring at him. 

Hard. 

She was deafeningly quiet, and it petrified him. Emily’s reactions are the most unpredictable.

"Okay," Emily simply said with a shrug. 

"Okay? Is that about it? Aren’t you going to threaten me? Hit me? Ambush me with more questions?" He asked her with wide eyes. 

He was mentally prepared to get some kind of physical reaction from her.

"Nah! Instead, you will just sponsor my cheerios till we are together," 

James wanted to laugh at Emily’s words.

"Seriously?" He asked her with amused eyes. 

"Yeah," she replied with a bright smile.

"It’s a deal," he said, and he went to his seat to begin his work. 

He remembered the entire Cheerios fiasco as if it had happened yesterday.

One day, during a thunderstorm, Fiona crashed at Emily's place and didn’t inform Justin about it. Being his typical frantic self, Justin dialed him, and they rushed to Emily's house. 

Later at night, Fiona warned him about Emily's obsession with cheerios, but he just had to eat her cheerios, making her go crazy over him.

It was seven-thirty in the morning when James woke up. Justin was still snoring beside him, so he got out of the bed. Once he had freshened up, he walked to the kitchen to fill his stomach. 

While looking for something to eat, he noticed a packet with the words 'EMILY'S PROPERTY' written in prominent, bold characters. 

He wanted to laugh at her attempt to scare away any of her potential thieves. Though he should have taken another unlabeled packet alongside her, he was far too curious for his own good. 

A wise decision on his part would have been if he had taken Fiona's warning seriously, but curiosity got the better of him. As a result, he did the most dangerous thing possible.

He ripped open the packet and ate almost all the contents. His savory time was, however, interrupted when he heard Emily’s voice. 

"Whose packet is this?"

"Umm... Fiona’s?" He told her this while trying to hide the cheerios packet behind him. Unfortunately, his words came out more like a question.

"Show me that packet," Emily demanded as she marched up to him. 

She extended her hands for James to hand over the packet.

"No." James frowned and tucked the Cheerios packet behind him.

Emily played smart and checked the drawer for her Cheerios, which was empty. 

"You cheerios stealing thief!" 

She grabbed the scissors from the counter table of that drawer, and before she could strike James, he bolted.

All the uproar woke Justin up in alarm and caused him to leave the room. He tried to grab Emily from behind, but it was a failed attempt. Fiona, like Justin, awoke at eight o'clock and ran towards the source of the ruckus, only to be welcomed by Emily, who was chasing James while wielding a pair of scissors in her hand.

‘Looks like someone didn’t take my warning seriously.’ She thought. 

She had warned James and Justin beforehand, but James didn’t listen to her. 

The scene in the living room was nothing short of an episode of a comedy show. Emily was wearing shorts and a hoody. Her hair was a mess, and she looked no less than a psycho girl who was a few seconds away from murdering a man. 

On the other hand, James wore track pants and a loose t-shirt. He had bed hair and was frantically sprinting around the living room, attempting to save himself from Emily.

Justin was contemplating how to take control of the current situation when he saw Fiona rushing out of her room, standing there with wide eyes.

“You really are going to stand there and do nothing?” Justin asked Fiona after standing beside her.

“Doing nothing means I won’t get hurt. Why don’t you help him?” Fiona asked him with raised eyebrows.

“Don’t you think I tried? That girl has got the sense of a dog. The moment she sensed me behind her, she threatened me with the same scissors. Plus, James had it coming.” Justin explained.

“Well, that he did. But since James had helped me before, I am going to help him by risking my life.” This dramatic statement made Justin raise his eyebrows.

“Oh, you know, with Noah.” This made his face lose all its colors. 

Noah was her ex who tried to manhandle her in the office lobby when he found that he didn’t get the job at Justin's office. Luckily, James arrived on time and helped her out of it.

“Forget about it. I am going to try to distract Emily while you grab her from behind and try to take the scissors.” Justin acknowledged with a nod, as saving his best friend is the most important thing at present.

Before Fiona could divert Emily’s attention, James suddenly went behind her so she could shield him.

“Really, jerk? Stop hiding behind Fiona.” Emily was furious.

“Yeah? So that you can stab me? No thanks.” Jake was swaying Fiona to the left and right.

Justin found this as a perfect opportunity and snatched the scissors from Emily’s hand. But this was not going to deter her, so before she could pounce on his best friend, he grabbed her waist. Emily was flapping her legs like crazy.

“You moron! You jerk face! Justin, Let me down. I am going to kill James.”

“Jeez, Em. It was just cheerios,” James commented.

“Stop talking; you are not helping.” Fiona tried to shush him.

“I told you, Fiona. We shouldn’t let these two jerks stay here.” Emily said.

“Emily, take a deep breath and relax. Let us make a deal. James will do anything that you tell him, but only if you keep your cool.” Fiona tried to ease things down, but James was doing nothing but adding fuel to the fire.

“No, I won’t. She is insane.” James addressed Fiona.

“James, shut the hell up. Fiona did warn you not to touch, let alone eat Emily’s Cheerios.” Justin felt like slapping James' head.

“There were two boxes of cheerios, and let me guess? You took Emily’s. James, are you serious?” Fiona gave him a look.

“Well, I was curious. I didn’t think Emily would go next-level crazy.” James was rubbing his hair. 

“Look, how about I buy you Cheerios for a week, and you let me live?” He tried to make a deal with Emily.

Emily told them flatly, “I will only answer when Justin puts me down.”

“Only if you promise not to prey on my friend,” Justin told her from behind. 

“Dude, you are in no position to bargain with me.” Emily locked her gaze with him, challenging him to counter otherwise.

Justin knew that arguing with Emily would be futile, so he gave in and steadily lowered Emily down. As soon as her feet touched the ground and she stood upright, James immediately went behind Fiona.

“Stop using my best friend as a human shield, coward.” Emily rolled her eyes. “I can stab you anytime. We work in the same office. I am your associate-cum-assistant, doofus.”

“Well, this doesn’t help.” James frowned at Emily’s comment.

“Of course, it doesn’t. This should teach you a lesson that ‘No one... I repeat... No One Messes With Emily Penelope Martin’.” 

“Whatever, so one week of cheerios against sparing my life?” James asked her again.

“One week? Seriously, this is the cost of your life. Jamie, I am disappointed. One year.” 

“Don’t call me Jamie, and one year is too much. You will make me go broke.” He took a couple of steps forward toward Emily, folding his arm.

“Cheapskate,” Emily mumbled. “Fine, six months.”

“Come on, Em. That is too much.” Fiona tried to interfere.

“No, it’s not, and why are you helping him? You are my best friend, not his.” Emily pouted like a kid.

“Emily, he might not be my best friend, but he is a friend. And did you forget that he helped me with Noah, and he was the only one I didn’t have to pretend to have a perfect married life? And don’t forget, he will be scarred for all his life since I am sure you are not going to let go of him easily.” Fiona tried to reason with her.

“Yes, Emily. Listen to her.” James tried to butt in, but one look from Fiona and Justin silenced him.

“Fine. Last offer. One month of free cheerios.” It was more of an order than an offer.

“Done deal.” James nodded his head in affirmation.

“Good, Spit handshake to seal the deal,” Emily demanded.

“Are you serious?” James had his eyes wide.

“Dude, I swear….” Before Emily could say further, he did exactly what Emily asked him to.

Once their hand touched, James could stop himself from commenting. “We technically just kissed.” 

This made Emily squeeze his hand harder and caused him to grunt in pain.

“You are a mad woman, Emily.” He said this while trying to soothe his hand.

“And you are a sissy.” Emily was about to leave when suddenly James spoke out loud.

“You won’t be making me stock your supply of cheerios for more than a month. Will you?”

“Aww, you are a slowpoke, James. I was thinking six months, but now that you want to repay me…..”

“Emily…”

One look from Fi, and she said. “Four months, but we will see how things go. Don’t worry; I won’t let you go broke.” She gave him a flying kiss and went to fill her stomach.

All that running had made her hungry.

She sighed, opened her cabinet, and began loading a box of cheerios into her bowl that she had saved for an emergency.