Fake-Married to My Billionaire Boss

Chapter 56 : Tell Him

KATELIN

The mob of reporters in front of the Marin Elizondo building isn't that big, but the sight of them with their cameras and microphones makes my stomach lurch. I take a deep breath to try to quell the urge to be sick.

"Can't Raul keeping from camping in front of the building?" Maricar says.

She sits beside me in the backseat of the car. I told her she didn't have to come along, but she insisted on riding in the car with me for support.

"He could," I say, "but he's holding a press conference here tonight to address Bianca's arrest. Also, he doesn't want people to think the company is trying to hide anything."

"What exactly are you trying to do though? You could ask Mary to drop you off at the basement parking and take the elevator from there."

I nod. "I want them to see me. I want them to know that everything is going to be all right with the company, and that I stand behind my husband." This is my job, after all. He needed a wife to fix his reputation and I'm not one to shirk my responsibilities.

"Did you ask you to do this?" Maricar frowns in disapproval. "Remember what happened the last time you had to face a bunch of reporters?

I smile. "No. He doesn't know I'll be here."

"I'll come with you." She unbuckles her seatbelt. "No arguments. I'm coming."

"Fine." I roll my eyes. "Just don't speak to any reporters, okay?"

People step aside as our car rolls up to the front of the large revolving doors. I grab the covered food container and my purse and wait for the car door to open.

I barely get out of the car before someone shoves a microphone at me.

"Ms. Marin," says a smiling, big-haired woman with bright red lipstick. "What can you say about the rumors about the board of directors asking your husband to step down as CEO?"

Heart racing, I forced myself to smile. "Hi Rebecca," I say, recognizing a local NBC reporter covering the finance beat. "You'll have to ask them that at tonight's press conference, as I don't work here anymore. I'm just here to see my husband."

"Will you be attending the press conference?" asks another reporter.

"Yes." My smile doesn't falter, somehow. Yay me. "I hope you can all be there. They'll be serving really good coffee. Cuban, of course."

With David walking ahead and clearing the way for us to the front entrance, we got inside relatively quickly.

"Whew," Maricar says. "That wasn't as bad as I expected. You were great, by the way."

"Thanks. I hope I never have to do that again for a really long time."

"You gonna be okay going upstairs?"

"Yeah," I say. "Where are you off to?"

"I asked Mary to drop me off at the hairdresser's. Good luck, manang." She gives me a wink before walking away.

Remembering the cameras snapping photos of me earlier, I wish I could have visited the salon before coming here. But I was at work at the Suarez Foundation offices today. As it was, I barely had time to cook the food I wanted to take to Raul and make it here before the press conference started.

Out of habit, I take the regular elevator instead of the executive one. I don't recognize most of the employees in the lift, but everyone is friendly and I'm genuinely happy to see them.

"We're so happy to see Raul back, Ms. Kate," says Patty, whom I remember from accounts. "We were all so worried about him."

"Thank you, Patty," I say. It took me a second to remember who her boss was. "So good to see you again. Please say hi to Emery for me."