Chapter 2: The Wrong Video

The message sat there on my screen like a ticking time bomb.

"Hot stuff. Wish I could just lick him."

Except... it hadn't gone to my best friend.

It had gone to Adrian.

My online boyfriend.

Who also happened to be my terrifying CEO.

I stared at the chat window, convinced my soul had already left my body.

"Delete. Delete. Delete."

I frantically tapped the message, only to remember that Meta Messenger didn't let me unsend messages after a certain amount of time.

"Fantastic," I muttered. "This is how I die."

Three dots appeared.

He was typing.

Then they disappeared.

Then they came back.

Then disappeared again.

Was he having a stroke?

Finally, a single message arrived.

"?"

I immediately lied.

"Wrong person."

"I figured."

"Good."

"Who were you talking about?"

There it was.

The dangerous question.

"Just... an actor."

"Which actor?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

I sighed.

For someone who claimed to have never dated before, he was surprisingly good at sounding jealous.

"He's just someone from the internet."

A minute passed.

"He's more handsome than me?"

I blinked.

Was my CEO... comparing himself to random influencers?

"Seriously?" I laughed.

"It's a valid question."

"I don't even know what you look like properly."

"You helped me improve."

"Exactly. I only know your selfies were terrible."

A laughing emoji appeared.

Then another message.

"Would you like to see what I look like now?"

Before I could answer, five new photos arrived.

I opened the first one.

My jaw nearly hit the floor.

Gone were the thick black glasses.

His hair was neatly styled.

He wore a charcoal suit that probably cost more than my monthly rent.

The camera angle was perfect.

The lighting was perfect.

The smile...

Good grief.

The smile alone could probably increase a company's stock price.

"Well?" he asked.

I refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing I had been staring at the photos for almost five minutes.

"Not bad."

"Only not bad?"

"Maybe... decent."

"That's disappointing."

"Don't fish for compliments."

"I'm not."

"You're absolutely fishing."

"Maybe a little."

I laughed so loudly that my roommate looked over from the kitchen.

"What's so funny?" Lily asked.

"Nothing."

"You're smiling at your phone again."

"Am not."

"You literally are."

She walked over, trying to peek at my screen.

I immediately locked my phone.

"Who's the guy?"

"No one."

"The mysterious online boyfriend?"

"Keep your voice down!"

She raised an eyebrow.

"You've been talking to him for almost two years now. Are you ever going to meet him?"

"Absolutely not."

"Why?"

"Because he's my boss."

"Still the funniest sentence I've ever heard."

"It's also the scariest."

"Maybe he'd be happy."

"Happy? Lily, if he finds out his employee has been secretly dating him online, I'll be unemployed before lunch."

"Or promoted."

"That's not how real life works."

"You won't know until you try."

"No thanks."

The conversation ended when my phone buzzed again.

"Can I ask you something?" Adrian wrote.

"Go ahead."

"Would you ever meet me?"

There it was.

The question I had been avoiding for months.

I stared at the screen without replying.

"If you're uncomfortable," he added, "we can wait."

I bit my lip.

He deserved honesty.

But honesty wasn't an option.

"Maybe someday," I finally answered.

"Really?"

"Maybe."

"I'll wait."

Those two words unexpectedly made my chest tighten.

"I'll wait."

How was I supposed to tell him that the woman he wanted to meet already saw him every weekday?

The following Monday, I arrived at work carrying two cups of coffee.

One for me.

One for Lily.

The elevator doors opened.

Guess who was standing inside.

Adrian Carter.

Perfect suit.

Perfect posture.

Perfect face.

And unfortunately...

Perfect eyesight.

"Good morning, Mr. Carter," everyone greeted.

"Morning," he replied.

I kept my eyes glued to the floor.

Please don't recognize my voice.

Please don't recognize my voice.

"Miss Hayes."

I froze.

He knew my name.

Of course he knew my name.

He was the CEO.

"Good morning, sir."

He looked at the two coffees in my hands.

"Working hard already?"

"Trying to survive Monday."

For a split second...

He smiled.

It was tiny.

Barely noticeable.

But every woman in that elevator saw it.

Including me.

The doors opened on the executive floor.

He walked out.

The moment the elevator closed again, everyone turned toward me.

"Did the CEO just smile at you?"

"No."

"He absolutely did."

"You're imagining things."

Lily leaned closer and whispered,

"Careful."

"About what?"

"You're falling for him twice."

I rolled my eyes.

"Impossible."

"Really?"

"He's my boss in real life."

"And your boyfriend online."

"Exactly."

"Sounds like you're doomed."

I laughed.

Deep down...

I had a terrible feeling she might be right.

That afternoon, just as I was finishing a report, my computer chimed.

A company-wide email.

From the CEO.

"Mandatory overtime this week. Important project deadline. Thank you for your cooperation."

The office instantly filled with miserable groans.

"Again?"

"He's becoming a work machine."

"Does he even sleep?"

Only I knew the truth.

He wasn't obsessed with work.

He was distracting himself.

Because every evening after work...

He still waited for a message from the woman who kept promising,

"Maybe someday we'll finally meet."