DAWN

"Come on, do it!" Leslie clears her throat while she crosses her hands on her chest. "You can't be a single lass forever."

"What?" I eye her suspiciously. "Why would I say 'yes' to meeting some stranger from a social media messenger?"

"Well, he slid into your DM's, didn't he?" She stares at me with an evil smirk. "Don't you think it'd be nicer if you could get some ass?"

"Just look at your bad mouth." I point to her face and scoff like a pre-schooler. "How did your mom let you grow up with such a nasty mouth? Do you think I'll meet someone for the first time and then bang them?"

"Calm down, Dawny!" She puts up her hand defensively. "If you don't like him, you can just walk away after the date." Then Leslie rolls her eyes. "It's not like I'm telling you to get married to the man." She picks up my phone, sitting near my laptop on my work desk, and holds it up in front of my field of vision, gesturing with her eyes to unlock the screen. When I don't move an inch to do anything about it, she reaches for me and grabs me by the waist. "Don't be such a drama queen, Dawny. You never go out on any of the blind dates I set up for you, and now if you don't go out and meet this man, what chances do you have of ever getting married?"

I squirm under her hold but try to do it as gently as possible, considering my best friend had just announced that she has been pregnant for the past two months. Bad luck for me because in response to her pregnancy announcement, I spit out the fact that this guy from this random app wants to take me out on a date tonight.

Fuck me.

"What if he tries to get me to go on more dates with him?"

She lets me go and pulls up my phone to my eyesight again. Exhaling a breath, I give in to her persistent demand and unlock the screen. I scroll on my phone screen with a reluctant thumb. Then I finally open the chat screen for my best friend to catch a glimpse of the guy who is even remotely interested in inviting me to a spontaneous rendezvous. The moment I hand over my phone, Leslie brings the phone between her palms and enlarges the profile picture on the top of the chat box. And then she squeals, albeit a bit too loudly.

"If he tries to get you to come on more dates with him, you ought to go. Just look at his muscular abs and that chiselled jaw. Geez! What's wrong with you, Dawn?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I sigh again.

"I honestly don't know. It's just that this man is way too hot for me, you know?" I glare at her. "What if it's a dumb prank? Am I going to be on the next season's episode of Bamboozled?"

Leslie walks up to me and pats me on the back a few times to comfort me.

"Getting pregnant has made me so soft." She moves on to pat my head. "You have got to do something about your low self-esteem, kid. He probably wants to see you in person and maybe bang you, and that's pretty much it." She snorts. "Don't make it more complicated than it has to be, or I'll smack your behind."

I smile at that remark.

"Go ahead, spank me all you want. Should I bend over on the desk?"

Leslie laughs.

"Wouldn't it be better if that hot man did all that spanking to you in bed?" She winks at me. "Ahh, don't pretend like you don't want it."

"Do I want it?"

"Just take it easy." Leslie hugs me. "What can go wrong?" She pats my shoulder. "It's simply a date."

I nod.

"It might be fun."

***

I stand near the kerb, waiting for the man from the online messenger to appear in the flesh. Exhaling a harsh breath, I adjust the neckline of my dress. Leslie forced me to don the skimpiest dress from my closet, which wasn't that revealing in the first place. It does have a low-cut neckline which makes me anxious about spilling more of my breasts for the world to see than what is decent.

Suddenly, I feel a warm hand on the back of my shoulder, and I pivot on my feet to see who it is. It's none other than the guy from the texts. As soon as my eyes fall on him, he smiles big at me. I let my gaze linger on his body as I check him out from top to bottom. He's hotter than his profile picture. A sudden urge of need courses through my veins and settles in the lower part of my abdomen.

"Hey!" He offers me his hand to shake. "This is me, Kyle."

"Nice to meet you, Kyle."

He laughs.

I feel his laughter in my bones.

"Nice to meet you too, Dawn." He puts his hand on my lower back to guide me towards the entrance of this expensive five-star hotel. "Are you ready to get some lovely food in your system, Dawn?"

Before I can say more, we stroll inside the spacious lobby, where a hotel receptionist at the front desk confirms our arrangements for the night. Then Kyle nods at me, gesturing me to follow him inside the restaurant on the ground floor.

I nod, his words sending shivers down my spine. All at once, my nerves feel all over the place. I feel exhilarated and excited for what's to come. Without another word, I fall in steps next to him as we slowly pace around the restaurant, swiftly moving to our reserved table.

He looks up at me as he pulls out a chair. I slide into it with a slight nod in his direction.

"I made reservations since I know the person who owns the place." I arch an eyebrow at the statement. "He happens to be one of my childhood friends."

"Oh, that sounds like a close friend."

He smiles.

"What about you? How are you today?"

"I'm holding up nicely." Then I finally gape at his face since I don't know how to stop myself from looking at his handsome face. "How has your day been?"

"Pretty nice because I got to meet you." He offers me a confident smile. "You're beautiful."

His casual tone while he gives me that compliment makes me almost jump in my seat. My mouth parts and my eyes widen. I straighten my back, sitting up straight because I'm not used to compliments handed to me so freely.

I push some strands of my hair behind my ear.

"Thank you. That's kind of you to say."

"No." He shakes his head. "I mean it. You are drop dead gorgeous and extremely attractive."

Hiding my eyes from his face, I smile. He speaks again.

"Thank you for coming out on this date with me." He waits as a server shows up to refill our glasses and take our orders. We both take a moment to order, and then the server disappears towards the kitchen. "To be honest, I thought a beautiful woman like you would have better things to do than going out on a date with me tonight."

"Well, I suppose I didn't." I awkwardly laugh. "You clean up quite well." Then I blow out a breath. "I can't say you're not handsome yourself."

"Now try saying that sentence without all the negatives."

That earns a chuckle from me.

"Would you like to order a glass of wine?"

I shake my hand, waving that suggestion off.

"I don't think it will be a good idea for me to drink tonight since I make bad decisions when I get drunk." Exhaling a soft breath, I add. "Don't mind me. You can order something to drink for yourself, whatever you want."

His eyes gleam in the muted light of the restaurant.

"Like, what kind of bad decisions?"

"I tend to kiss anyone when I'm drunk."

That remark makes him laugh.

"That's all the more reason for you to order yourself wine." Then he waves his words off. "Well, I like to wine and dine with the women I date, so go ahead and drink whatever you'd like to drink." He smiles again. "But I'm not making any promises to behave if you suddenly start kissing me."

He offers another charming smile from his arsenal, and I feel my cheeks heat up.

"Well, I hope not to do any of that." I slowly bring the cold water to my lips as I watch the condensation bead on the surface of the glass. "It would be embarrassing for me."

He lowers his head with his lips turned down. Then after a moment, he recovers. And says something that knocks my socks off.

"What would you say if I told you I want to marry you?"

My breath hitches and I let out a gasp. My hand flies to my chest as I almost choke on the cold water. I do a double take as my vocal pitch rises as I somehow utter the words.

"Marry you?"

He crosses his arms on his chest, smiling brightly from ear to ear.

"Yes, please do me the favour of marrying me tonight, Dawn Brooks. I think I fell in love with you the moment I saw you."

My fingers touch my throat as I slowly massage the top of my chest. I watch his eyes hook on the motion of my hands as I spread my fingers out in a fan against the breastbone to calm myself down.

"Don't do that." He smiles. "It's visually stimulating."

Taking another deep breath, I clear my throat.

"This is not the time to pull my leg. What you're saying is quite intense and serious."

His face sobers upon hearing that. Placing his hands squarely on the table, he focuses his gaze on my eyes.

"I'm not kidding. I want to marry you." Then he presses his lips in a straight line, biting at the tip of it. "Would you like to marry me?"

"We have just met like a few minutes ago. I-I haven't even spent enough time with you to decide what kind of a person you are." Then I fold my arms over my chest. "We haven't even slept together." Shaking my head, I scoff. "How can you even ask me to marry you?"

Pulling at his shirt's sleeves, he lets his gaze wander on my body.

"Let's sleep together then. I'm a pretty busy man. I don't have the time to go on a hundred dates." He sexily runs a hand through his hair. "And it's not like my answer to wanting to marry you will change after a hundred dates." He straightens his back to take a better look at me. "I like you, and the way you were checking me out earlier, I can say you feel the same. And let me tell you, I'm capable, wealthy, handsome, and well-established. Then why shouldn't we get married?"

I'm unexpectedly out of words since he's making valid points. I lick my lips, not knowing what to say. I exhale as I come up with something that makes sense at the moment.

"Let's sleep together first. If it's a good experience, then I'll marry you."

Would marrying him on a whim even make any sense?

But what do I have left to lose anymore?

He smiles optimistically, holding out his hand. I take it, and we both shake on it. After a moment, we break contact.

"You can bet it's going to be a good experience."

I exhale, watching his lips move, wondering what it will do to me in a few hours.

"Shouldn't we eat first?"

"It's on you, whatever you decide."

What would Leslie do in this situation?

Mustering all the courage I have within me, I make up my mind.

"I'll follow you then to a private room."

He rises from his seat, and so do I as I follow him to the front desk area in the lobby.

DAWN

"Oh, did you see the new CEO? He's so goddamn hot." Julie, my colleague who sits at the desk next to mine, tries to get my attention while I stare lazily at my computer screen. "You should see him, Dawn. Your jaw will literally hit the floor."

"So, that's the new guy, right?" I ask without looking up. "The new head in the management? Why did they change the old CEO? He was kind of nice. Disagreeable, but nice."

"Well, the old head in management got caught redhanded embezzling millions from the company, but he did it quite smartly over the period of five years, so the chairman of the Waugh Industries decided to move him to a different sister company." She bares her teeth as she smiles. "It was a quick move to keep matters hush and utilize his talents for free till he pays back the company every cent he owes." Julie shakes her head, rubbing the tip of her nose. "I've also heard that it was an inside settlement, and he agreed, so he doesn't go to jail."

"I can't believe it." I lick my lips, finally looking up to meet her eyes. "That sounds straight from an episode of the show Law, Order, and Punishment."

"Well, whatever that is," she scoffs, rolling her eyes. "I walked in this morning to Mr Waugh's office to submit files for my annual appraisal, and oh my god, he has the most handsome blue eyes I've ever laid my eyes on." She sighs dreamily. "And his business suit accentuated his muscles, and that smile, oh my god, that smile, it really killed me. I almost couldn't breathe, Dawn."

Yawning big, I put a hand over my mouth.

"Catch a hold of yourself, Jules, before you fall for this man and get ignored in the end like you did the last time with our project manager." I run a hand over my forehead. "I'm so sleepy. So sleepy that I can't even keep my eyes open."

Jules hits the top of my shoulder playfully over my remark before resting her face on the palm of her hand while she talks to me.

"What were you busy doing last night?"

Smiling from ear to ear at her question, I shake my head.

"That's none of your business."

"Come on, tell me." She bats her eyes comically. "You have to tell me things too, you know?" Julie stares at my face. "Since I tell you everything."

I shrug my shoulders.

"I was just up late reading last night." I offer her a small smile. "There's nothing to tell."

Julie puts her hands up defensively, nodding her head.

"All right, whatever." She smirks. "I am going for a coffee refill. Do you want me to bring you some?"

I give her another nod.

"Thanks, Jules."

"Sure thing."

I watch her walk outside of our office room, sashaying her hips.

Maybe the new CEO will take an interest in her.

She's pretty.

She might even have a decent chance with him.

But only if she keeps her big mouth shut.

Then I slowly release a harsh breath. Shaking my head, I think I was this close to divulging everything to her.

I don't have to come clean to anyone.

I can definitely keep a secret since it's my private life.

Fiona, our new project manager, knocks on the door before barging into the office room. She walks straight up to me and starts talking.

"When are you going to submit the files for the annual appraisal?" Her eyes dance around the room. "I think Julie is done with hers. Why don't you go around noon when Mr Waugh is free for fifteen minutes? Just make sure to show up before he breaks for lunch. I'm trying to ensure that everyone on our team gets done with theirs before lunch."

I nod at her, agreeing with her suggestion.

"Oh sure, I'll go see him right before lunch." I check the time on my computer's digital clock. "So I still have like an hour before I have to see him?"

She hems and haws before she comes up with a reply.

"Oh yeah, right. Patrick is seeing him in his office right now."

"All right then."

"Why don't you finish the graphics for our new marketing strategy? I need to present that during our afternoon meeting with the CEO." She smiles sharply at me with an air of arrogance about her. "Not going to lie. I want to leave a good impression on our CEO. He seems like a man who appreciates his coworkers. And I want our team to be in his good books."

I scoff in my mind, but in front of her, I genuinely nod with a soft smile.

"I'll do my best."

After saying that, Fiona disappears from the office room. So I open another file in the graphic design editor tool on my computer and start tinkering around with this faint idea in my head.

There are a series of knocks on my door, and I don't look up from the screen as I'm still trying to adjust the right tone of greyscale on the editing screen. I hear the person step in, and I take it as Jules stepping back from her break. I wait for her to put the steaming cup of coffee on the desk, but she doesn't do so. As I'm about to question her about my coffee refill, a familiar voice makes me almost jump in my seat.

"Excuse me, weren't you supposed to see me in my office for your annual appraisal?"

The voice belongs to the same person I had spent the entirety of the last night with and ended up marrying at the beginning of this weekday morning before coming to work. I close my eyes for a long minute, wondering if I'm hearing noises rising from deep in my subconscious.

The person clears their throat again as they stand next to me.

It can't be him.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I pray for divine intervention.

No.

No way.

It can't be my new husband.

There's no way it's Kyle.

He can't be here.

He said that he's going to work at his firm, and as far as I know, the chairman of this firm is a wrinkly-faced old bastard.

It's not him.

It can't be him.

No.

No way.

Chanting the mantra in my head, I pivot my back on my ergonomic chair and slowly open my eyes, only to have my jaw hit the floor. Literally and figuratively. Just like Julie had mentioned not more than fifteen minutes ago.

Standing in front of me is my day-old husband, Kyle. No, scratch that. It's only been a few hours. He stares at me with kind eyes, passion burning behind his blue orbs. I can do nothing but hold his gaze, sighing softly.

For a long minute, that's all we do.

He stares at me, and I stare at him.

Am I really on an episode of Bamboozled?

Finally breaking the stare, I immediately look around for hidden cameras. But I'm disappointed to find my office the same as when I left work last Friday. Kyle keeps staring at me like we are in some staring contest. He doesn't back down. As I'm still trying to wrap my head around the situation, Jules appears at the door with two hot coffee mugs in hand.

"Dawny, you won't believe what I had to do for the extra whipped--"

She stills in her steps as she registers who is standing in the middle of our office room. She stops talking and gazes at Kyle's silhouette, her eyes widening in surprise. Then finally, she steps into the room and again stops in her tracks. This time she notices Kyle is looking straight at me as if he's in a trance.

Putting my gaze back on Kyle's face, I clear my throat. Our eyes meet, and I'm confident mine holds a thousand questions in them.

If he really is the new fucking CEO, then we have to sort out some things.

I'm dying to hear if he thinks marrying an employee of his company is some kind of a pathetic joke.

Or is it a genuine mistake?

Maybe he didn't know that I work for his company.

Finally, Kyle breaks our staring match and pivots on his feet to take notice of Julie standing near the entrance. He looks at her and gives her a curt nod before pivoting back to face me.

"Ms Brooks, right?" He asks with a poker face. "You need to join me in the office for the annual appraisals. Come see me in ten minutes."

I nod.

"Yeah, sure." I clear my throat. "I'll be right there."

Then, Kyle pivots on his feet again without another word and makes his way to the entrance of the office room, ignoring Julie with two hot mugs, who steps out of his way quickly.

DAWN

"Well, what was that about?" Julie paces around the room and then steps next to me, setting the two cups on the table. "He looks like he knew you or something. He stood right there in the middle of the office and watched you for like a minute, I swear." She points at the space between the desks and the door. "Do you know him from somewhere, Dawn?"

Pulling the mug by the cup handle gingerly towards me, I shake my head.

"I don't think so." Then I present my opposition to the idea with more zeal. "Of course not! What business do I have to rub elbows with the firm's CEO? I got to be crazy or something in the head for even entertaining the idea."

"Geez. Calm down." Julie rolls her eyes. "I was just asking, Dawny. You don't have to take everything I say to heart."

"Oh, okay, fine," I add in a dismissive tone, and Julie takes the hint. "I got to concentrate on work. Fiona needs these graphics in like an hour or two."

In the back of my mind, I turn the idea of Kyle knowing me from somewhere over in my head.

He couldn't have known me before.

It's just not possible.

Maybe I'm thinking way too much.

It's just a bloody coincidence.

I need to wrap my head around this.

Shaking my head, I sigh as I blow over the mouth of the hot coffee mug.

"Hey, wait," Julie speaks softly. "Don't you have to see the guy in five minutes or whatever?" She stares at me. "The new CEO sure seems thoughtful. He might have given you those extra ten minutes because he saw me entering the office with the coffee mugs." Then she smiles dreamily again at her coffee. "Don't we love a thoughtful and handsome man?"

I roll my eyes hearing that, but I nod at her after taking another long gulp of the hot coffee.

"You're right." I clear my throat as I rise up from my seat and collect my files for submission of the annual appraisal. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Good luck with it." Julie doesn't seem to notice my change in mood or the intonation of my words. "He was really kind to me during our meeting and asked me inquisitive questions. Didn't I tell you that he was thoughtful?"

She smiles again at me, waiting for my acknowledgement.

"He sure seems like it." I huff as I pivot on my feet to leave the workroom. I say the last part more to myself than to Julie, not knowing how awkward getting the performance review from my husband would be in real life. "Let's hope he's thoughtful when he's evaluating me."

After saying that, I walk out of the office, pacing towards the elevators to see Kyle in his natural habitat.

***

After I make a series of knocks on his office door, I hear him clear his throat and weakly say some words that travel around the room.

"Come on in," he speaks a bit louder this time. "Ms Brooks, right?"

"Yeah, that's me." I slowly walk through the door, making my way to his sprawling work desk. "I'm here for my appraisals." I hand over my files to him. "You said I should be here in the next ten minutes, so here I am."

Kyle has a steely expression on his handsome face, and he seems out of my world sitting behind this large mulberry-wood accent desk. He doesn't spare me a glance as he goes through the details I have put on the file.

What the fuck is he doing right now ignoring me?

Is this how he's going to treat me as his wife?

Is that who he is in reality?

Have I married a cold-hearted man who cares about nothing but himself?

And he is not afraid to hurt me?

After a long minute, he talks.

"Things seem okay on your file." Then he finally takes a good look at me. "So, what are your long-term plans while you work for the company?"

"My plans, huh?" I clear my throat. "What about yours, Kyle?"

He presses his lips into a thin line, gazing keenly at me as he mulls over my words in the back of his brain.

"We need to remain professionals for this meeting, Ms Brooks, since we are at work if you haven't noticed." Then for the first time since I entered the room, his gaze softens while he peers at me. "You can direct your questions at me at a later time, and I will happily answer all of them." Then he clears his throat. "Now, for the purposes of this meeting, what do you think you want to do at this company? Any roles you want to fulfil in this organisation? I'm all ears."

Running a hand over my cheek, I straighten my back and stand up straighter.

"For the past three years, I have been investing in myself and taking up online courses and workshops in graphic and creative design and have also become proficient in the art of creating graphics from scratch for the company's different marketing strategies." Then I slowly exhale. "In the long term, I would like to be a senior creative manager or graphic editor for the parent firm."

As he hears my answer to his question, he runs a finger over his lower lip.

"That's quite interesting. Good for you." He picks up my file again and goes through some of the old campaign graphics I have designed for the parent company. I can see him flipping the pages after considering the materials for a long minute. Then he looks up from the file. "This has given me enough information for your annual appraisal. I'll see you again for your upcoming review in the next six months. We are successfully done, for now, Ms Brooks."

Nodding at his words, I find myself thanking him despite everything.

"Thank you, Mr Waugh."

How come I didn't see his surname on his government ID when we were at the community court?

Well, how didn't I notice anything?

Why didn't they call me Mrs Waugh at the marriage registrar's office?

Was it because I decided to keep my old surname?

How ignorant I was to everything because I was stressed to get to work on time?

Weighing all the questions in my head, I slowly meander out of his office. Something he says softly makes me stop right in my tracks. I'm not sure if I heard him correctly or if it's something that the voices in my subconscious have entirely made up. But the words make me question the meaning behind them.

"You are going to get what you deserve, anyhow."

Exhaling another harsh breath, I regain my composure as I step out of the room.