Chapter Six – Malik’s Dilemma

Malik Carter stood in front of his bathroom mirror, toothbrush hanging from his mouth, staring at himself like he was expecting the mirror to blink first.

“Bro,” he muttered around the foam, “what are you doing?”

Last night’s date had gone too well. The fake smiles had started to feel real. Tina’s laugh had settled into his memory like an addictive tune, and that cheek kiss? Man. That cheek kiss had more voltage than any full-on makeout he’d had in years.

This was a problem.

Because falling for Tina Rowe was not part of the plan.

He spat, rinsed, and walked into the main room of his studio apartment — all twelve feet of it. The ceiling fan made a soft clicking sound as it turned. His air mattress still squeaked when he sat on it. And his one luxury item — a used espresso machine — hissed like it hated him.

He looked around at the barely-there furniture, the cracked window, the unpaid Wi-Fi bill, and sighed.

“She lives in a penthouse. You sleep two feet from your fridge,” he reminded himself. “Stay in your lane.”

---

Elsewhere in Manhattan – Tina’s Office

Tina Rowe sat in a high-back leather chair, sipping her third coffee of the morning while staring at the company’s stock ticker. It was climbing. Again.

The board had been unusually pleasant that morning. PR was ecstatic. Public sentiment had swung completely in her favor since she and Malik had gone public with their “relationship.”

Even Genevieve from Marketing had sent her a meme — a meme, of all things — with her and Malik captioned: “Me and who?”

Tina didn’t do memes. But she’d smiled.

She was supposed to feel triumphant. But instead, her thoughts kept circling back to the way Malik had looked at her at the theater. Like he actually meant that kiss on the cheek. Like she wasn’t a project — but a person.

Dangerous.

That wasn’t supposed to happen.

---

Later That Day – Coffee Run and Coincidences

Malik had finally gotten a break from the press schedule. No interviews. No fittings. No press briefings.

So he did what any normal man with an unspoken crush on his billionaire fake girlfriend would do — he went to get iced coffee and clear his head.

While he was waiting in line at the corner café, someone tapped his shoulder.

“Malik?”

He turned around.

Standing behind him, with that same nose ring and tiny freckle near her lip, was Simone. His ex.

“Simone?” he asked, stunned.

She laughed softly. “Wow. You clean up nice. Saw you on ShadeRoom the other day and thought I was tripping.”

Malik chuckled awkwardly. “Yeah… wild times.”

“I almost didn’t recognize you,” she said, looking him up and down. “You look expensive.”

He scratched the back of his head. “Well, it’s borrowed.”

They got their drinks and sat outside. Old habits die hard.

“So… Tina Rowe?” she asked, raising her brow.

He exhaled. “Yup.”

“As in, RoweTech Tina?”

“Yup.”

“The Tina with three supercars and no smile?”

He laughed. “She smiles sometimes. It just costs a million dollars per minute.”

Simone sipped her drink. “So what’s the deal? You two… for real?”

Malik hesitated. For a long beat.

Then he said, “It’s complicated.”

Simone nodded slowly, but her eyes were sharp. “You were never good at lying.”

---

Back at RoweTech – Trouble Brewing

That same afternoon, Tina’s assistant, Dani, entered her office with a puzzled look.

“You might want to see this,” Dani said, handing her a tablet.

Tina glanced at the screen.

There it was. A photo of Malik.

With his ex.

Coffee cups in hand. Sitting close. Smiling.

The headline read:

“Billionaire Boyfriend or Coffee Complication? Malik Carter Seen with Mystery Woman.”

Tina felt something flicker in her chest — not jealousy. Not quite. But… something. Something sharp.

She handed the tablet back. “Send it to PR. Tell them to monitor. No comment for now.”

Dani hesitated. “Tina… you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Tina said, turning back to her laptop. “This was always going to get messy.”

---

Later That Night – Malik’s Phone Buzzes

Back in his apartment, Malik had barely walked in the door when his phone rang.

It was Tina.

“Hey,” he said. “Everything good?”

“Why are you having coffee with your ex?” she asked, straight to the point.

He blinked. “How did you—oh. Right. Cameras.”

“You do realize this affects both of us, right?” she continued, her voice tight. “The optics—”

“She bumped into me. We caught up. That’s it.”

“You’re not allowed to just casually bump into people anymore. You’re in the public eye now. You’re my—”

She stopped.

“Your what?” he asked.

Silence.

“My business partner,” she said finally. “In this arrangement.”

Malik exhaled. “Right. Of course.”

Another beat of silence passed between them.

Then Tina added, softer this time: “Just… be careful.”

Malik’s voice dropped. “You too.”

---

The Dilemma

That night, Malik sat by his window, watching the city below, phone resting on his lap. His grandma’s photo sat beside it, in a little chipped frame.

He spoke aloud like he used to when she was alive.

“Gran, I think I’m falling for her. And I don’t know if it’s part of the act anymore.”

He waited.

But of course, no answer came.

Just the hum of a cheap fan and the weight of a fake relationship that was starting to feel more real than anything he’d had in years.

---

End of Chapter Six.