Chapter 3

Selene’s POV.

As I meticulously combed through the documentation, my attention fixated on every detail, my mind racing to catch any errors before they could slip through the cracks. It was part of the job, to ensure that everything was perfect before bringing the new list online on the website. All of this however wasn’t my job. It was someone else's but they didn’t deliver so I picked up the slack due to being the only person available.

Handling the website responsibilities now was a new challenge—one that I had both the skills for and, thanks to some seminars and classes I once took. I am not close to the IT department but from what I heard they have faced Nate’s wrath. Many of them were fired due to not doing their job.

If I was being honest, I was looking after work. It was Friday and we had plans to go grab tacos and margaritas.

Lost in my work, I was startled by a knock on the door, my heart skipping a beat as Nathaniel strode into the room. His mere presence commanded attention, and I couldn't help but feel a hint of unease and nervousness as he approached.

"Yes sir?" I forced myself to meet his gaze, my nerves on edge in his presence. He stood tall and imposing, his arms crossed in a display of authority that made my breath catch in my throat.

"Have you seen the time?" He asked, his expression stern as he regarded me.

I furrowed my brow in confusion, glancing at the clock on my computer screen. There was still some time before I needed to clock out, and I had already taken my lunch break. So what was he getting at?

"I— Yes?" I replied tentatively, my confusion evident in my tone. What was he trying to imply?

“The website should’ve been updated an hour ago,” he replied. I looked over at the time again and realized that he was indeed correct; it was the agreed-upon time. However, that deal was made with the IT department as it was their job, the very people who were now fired. So he was barking up the wrong tree. In fact, he chopped down that tree himself, so what was he even on about? Blaming me for something I am not responsible for? I am a very calm person, however, I am not one to stay quiet when treated wrongly.

“Are you for real right now, sir?” I asked, raising a brow at the man. Never had I been treated like this, not even with a strict professor. There were clear rules, and I followed them, hence why I didn’t get into any trouble.

“You have a job, Mrs. Tempest,” he tried reminding me, but I was well aware of it all right.

“Miss Tempest,” I corrected him. I wasn’t a Mrs. just yet. “And yes, I do indeed have a job here as an accountant, not a web dev or software engineer. Perhaps if you had the right people hired to do that, it would’ve been done an hour ago, but I’m working with what I’ve got here. I cannot do more than update the list and you know that,” With each word I spoke, I noticed how he was taken aback. No one had ever dared to talk back to him, especially not the employee he felt he could get rid of easily or whose life he could easily make a living hell.

“Working with what you’ve got here?” was all he asked. Nothing more was picked up from what I said because he knew deep down he couldn’t tell me anything else. I could easily make a point out of everything.

“All due respect, sir, I’m doing this without getting paid for it, and this PC is slow as well; it can barely run the apps without crashing,” I sighed, staring at the potato of a laptop. Honestly, I called Kai, broke down and he decided to guide me through the steps. The website would be live again but it would be the previous version. I couldn’t do more than that.

“Have it done in the next thirty minutes,” Nathaniel said before leaving the office.

I rolled my eyes hard and went back to work. Surprisingly, I did manage to finish it in the next thirty minutes. I wasn’t trying to, but it still happened. I spend the rest of my time doing emails. Once it was time, I left to go home and got ready to meet up with my friends.

“Hmm, so this Archie guy seems quite nice?” Mila mentioned as she sipped her iced tea.

“He actually is,” I admitted. At least with the information he gives me, I think he’s a nice guy.

“Would you consider him?” Kiran wondered.

“I mean, he doesn’t seem too bad of a person,” I pointed out. But I’d want to be sure about him before giving a child to a person. I came from a shitty household myself and wouldn’t wish what my brother and I went through on another person. Funny how yet I was willing to go through all this for the very woman who made it hell.

“Did he say why he wanted a child of his own?” Everett then asked.

“I haven’t asked yet,” I laughed awkwardly. I felt like that should’ve been the first thing to ask the man.

“You should,” he continued, taking a bite of his apple pie.

“How long should the trial last? The talking stage?” Kiran wondered.

“I think I’d want to get to know him as well as possible, plus my mother said the surgery should be at the end of the year,” I first needed to be 100% sure about this. I never told Kai any of this yet and it killed me inside.

I played some board games with them, had some drinks, and Everett and I would take a taxi together. Around 11 pm I got home and wanted to go straight to bed, which is when Archie decided to chat with me, so automatically I stayed up much later, chatting with the man. It reminded me of high school when I’d chat with a cute guy all night long and would wake up very tired but blushing as I’d think back to the conversations.

Saturday evening…

“What are you up to?” I read his text, lying on the couch with my head against the armrest while my legs were crossed on the other.

“Not much. I want to bake something, but I don’t quite know yet,” I texted back and went back to the recipe website, trying to decide on one of the desserts. I saw he texted back immediately and went to see what he sent me.

“I have an amazing chocolate chip cookie brownie recipe,” he texted me.

“Oh, do you, now?” I pressed my lips together.

“I sent it to you. Bake it and tell me what you think,” he replied. “This is what you’ll be craving when carrying my baby.” My jaw dropped as I read his second message. Wow, Archie. Wow.

“Oh wow, that confident you even slid in that line,” I texted him and smiled at my phone.

“I know my stuff,” he sent back. “Besides, it's worth mentioning.” He wasn’t lying though; we barely even spoke about pregnancies and babies, which is essentially what the app was for.

“Send it right away,” I decided. It was difficult for me to choose something after all. “I do have a question though, why do you want to be a father so badly?” I took a chance to ask ahead.

“I’m being forced to settle down. A wife would do for my parents but a child would make them shut up as well, so I’d rather have someone I know I’d love unconditionally,” Archie replied. Something about his message was comforting to know but also made me feel a little indifferent about him.

“I see, fair enough,” I texted back. What else was I supposed to say anyway?

“Why are you doing this?” he then asked, which made me bite down on my lip as I thought for a moment. Would I tell him the truth?

“I need money to pay off some debts,” I typed back, standing up and walking to the kitchen.

“I see, not bad,” he replied.

“You’ll hear from me after the brownies,” I said, eager to make those brownies right now.

Just like that, I made sure to follow the recipe perfectly. Once I tasted the brownie, I could almost moan at how good it tasted and immediately texted him to let him know he was indeed right. It was the best I had ever tasted till now, and I made it myself! I always sucked at making brownies. I loved chatting with Archie... There was something about him that made me wish this was a dating site, oh how I would’ve loved to date this man. Instead, I’m here planning to get paid in return for carrying his child.

***

Two months later…

It had been two full months. Archie and I had gotten closer and closer now, chatting almost every day. We even went against the rules of the app and fixed a date when we’d meet up, and to be quite honest, I was very excited. I adored his personality so much that I was sure it wouldn’t matter what he looked like.

In these two months, Nathaniel had paid me for the IT work I had done; however, he also made things much more difficult for me. I couldn’t understand what he had against me, but I made sure my record was clean. I still had little conversations with him that got a bit passive-aggressive, but overall, I tried my best. I was so close to just quitting, but that would mean he won, and I wanted to wipe that stupid grin off his face.

I put on a blush-colored bodycon dress that came down to the middle of my thigh, the straps were cute little pieces of string that I tied up. After slipping on the heels, I texted Archie to ask if we were still on. He was quick to reply with a “Yes, of course.” With that as a reply, I took a deep breath and went into the car. I put the address in the GPS and started the car.

“Here we go,” I whispered to myself, curious to find out the man behind this ‘Archie’.