Chapter 2

Selene’s POV.

As I jolted awake to the blaring of my alarm, I cursed myself for staying up so late the night before. Frantically rushing through my morning routine, I prayed that I would still make it to work on time. Being late was simply not in my vocabulary—I prided myself on my punctuality, always arriving with minutes to spare. But today was different. Today, I overslept, and the consequences would leave me upset. On top of that, I also needed to collect a file because our courier wasn’t available.

As I dashed out the door, I couldn't shake the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Five minutes late might seem ok to some, but in the corporate world, it could spell disaster, especially on a day as important as today. Today, a new CEO was set to take over the company.

My former boss sold the company to a much wealthier businessman. My former boss was offered a deal he couldn’t let go, not when he was thinking of the future of his children. He was a sweet man and cared about his employees so he made sure to talk to the new CEO, clarifying that if he sold the company the current staff would continue to work under him now and could only remove employees if they weren’t fulfilling their duty.

Arriving at the office, I felt a wave of unease wash over me as I sensed someone trailing behind me. Turning around, I found myself face to face with a stranger—tall, impeccably dressed, with piercing green eyes that seemed to bore into my soul. His presence let out an air of authority, and I couldn't help but feel unease at the intensity of his gaze.

His eyes, framed by dark lashes that seemed almost unfairly perfect, held me captive for a moment before I snapped back to reality, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment at being caught staring. God, why did he have to have such striking features? It was as if he had stepped straight out of a magazine.

"You're late," the man remarked, his tone dripping with judgment. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his condescending tone. Who did he think he was anyway? Some new personal stuff that came with the new CEO?

"I am indeed," I replied, summoning all my self-control to maintain a composed demeanor. "Had some copies to pick up and ran into traffic," I added, conveniently leaving out the fact that I had actually printed the copies at home to save time. But hey, he didn't need to know that.

"I don't want to hear any excuses," he shot back, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Excuse me, I don't think we've met," I retorted, feeling a surge of irritation at his dismissive attitude.

"Nataniel Sullivan," he introduced himself, and at that moment, my jaw nearly hit the floor. Did I just have a run-in with the new CEO?

"Oh—" I stammered, momentarily taken aback by his unexpected revelation. Collecting myself, I straightened my posture and cleared my throat. "Well, these documents are quite valuable, and without them, the department can't make the necessary purchases to satisfy the customers," I stated in a professional tone, hoping to salvage the situation with some quick thinking. Nataniel's jaw clenched as he regarded me, but eventually, he decided to let it slide and continued on his way. I mean, you can’t exactly argue with my logic.

As everyone gathered in the room, Nataniel delivered a short but direct speech, emphasizing the importance of ‘striving for excellence to further propel the company's success’. His words hung in the air, a thinly masked warning to anyone who dared to fall short of expectations.

Sighing with relief as the meeting concluded, I retreated to my office, eager to bury myself in my work. Something told me that dealing with this new CEO was going to be a challenge, but I was determined to prove my worth and secure my place within the company. Perhaps, with time.

Just like that, I spent the whole week doing everything perfectly at work, hanging out with friends, and spending very little time on myself. Now it's Friday after work, and I stopped at this taco truck, picking up four tacos for myself, along with the blushes they had, and of course, a nice slice of tres leches. This truck is the best place I know to exist. When I got home, I took a long shower, then retired on the couch with my full meal and watched a nice rom-com.

I'm midway enjoying my tres leche when I feel my phone vibrate and look over to see it's a notification from the app. Oh wow, I had forgotten about that. It says I've found a match, and out of curiosity, I open up the app.

“Archie” is the name of the man. Just a man? I think to myself. He wants a child and he wants to raise the child all by himself, and when I read his bio, I was rather impressed. Does the man love reading? I check to see what books he's read; someone's library tells you just enough to get a better image of them. There's mostly literature, some Jane Austen books which surprise me, and very few novels I've read before. It's mostly focused on books written by great historians, mathematicians, and philosophers. I decide to wait and see if he'll say something. I have no idea how these apps work. I've never even used a dating app - not yet at least. It's definitely on my last resort list though if I never find anyone.

“Hello,” he chats.

“Hey there,” I type back and stare at my screen, watching as three dots show up.

“How are you?” Archie writes back. Gods, I hope this isn’t one of those awkward conversations. I've had enough of those already, the ones that lead to failed relationships.

"I'm great, you?" I replied, typing out my response with a hint of curiosity.

"Fine. What makes you so great?" His question made me want to roll my eyes. Seriously, what kind of opening line was that?

"It's a Friday night, no work tomorrow, and some great food," I replied honestly, despite being a little annoyed.

"Oh, that does sound lovely. I'm glad you're having a great night," Archie responded, his message carrying a kind tone that caught me off guard.

"Have you ever done this before?" he asked, prompting me to pause and consider his question. No, I hadn't. This was all new territory for me, and I couldn't help but wonder if he could tell by the way I typed. Was there a certain etiquette I should be following? Was I failing at this already?

"No, never actually," I replied and was quite curious about this man now.

"Damn, neither have I," Archie's response put me at ease, and I found myself relaxing into the conversation.

"And here I thought perhaps I was chatting with a single dad of twelve," I quipped, attempting to inject a bit of humor into the exchange.

"Twelve? No, it's thirteen. Looking for my fourteenth," he joked back, punctuating his response with laughing emojis.

I laughed along with him, appreciating his sense of humor. As we continued to chat, I found myself drawn into the conversation, feeling strangely comforted by the anonymity of our interaction. It was like those "be careful of strangers online" conversations from my childhood, but for now, I pushed those thoughts aside, allowing myself to enjoy it, I was after all protected. It almost felt like having a pen pal but with a modern twist.

As the week progressed, I found myself eagerly looking forward to our daily chats after work. Despite the lack of knowledge about his identity, I felt a sense of familiarity and connection with Archie, getting to know him through his personality rather than his appearance. And on the days when work left me feeling drained, he was there to offer comfort and support, making the whole experience surprisingly comforting. He was sweet, kind, and funny.

I hadn't mentioned any of this to my brother during our phone calls. I wasn't sure how he would react to the whole situation. My friends, on the other hand, were supportive, encouraging me to explore this newfound connection. I think I might just become this man’s surrogate.