Hate You More Than Mondays

Synopsis:

Olivia Reed has two natural enemies: Mondays and Theo Carter. Mondays ruin her sleep schedule. Theo ruins everything else.

As a stubborn, sleep-deprived investigative journalist, Olivia has spent the last three years exposing corporate nonsense. Theo, a smug, annoyingly good-looking PR rep for a powerful tech company, has spent those same three years covering corporate nonsense. They’ve clashed more times than Olivia can count, and she has a dedicated "Reasons I Hate Theo Carter" list on her phone (it's very detailed).

But when a scandal forces them to work together for a month—yes, a whole month—Olivia is convinced it will be her personal hell. Theo, on the other hand, sees it as an opportunity to do what he does best: get under Olivia’s skin.

As insults turn into inside jokes and bickering turns into banter, Olivia starts to question everything. Why does Theo make her laugh? Why does he know exactly how she takes her coffee? And most importantly… why is he suddenly so damn kissable?

---

Chapter 1: The Smug Face of Evil

Olivia slammed her laptop shut and let out a dramatic groan. “I swear to God, if I have to deal with Theo Carter one more time, I’m going to throw myself into traffic.”

Her best friend, Mia, didn’t even look up from her phone. “You say that every week.”

“Yes, but this time I mean it.”

Right on cue, her email dinged. Subject line: Urgent Meeting – Theo Carter Present.

Olivia stared at the screen in horror. “It’s happening. My villain origin story.”

Thirty minutes later, she stormed into the conference room to find Theo already sitting there, sipping coffee like he belonged in her personal nightmare.

“Reed,” he greeted smoothly. “Your hair’s doing that angry thing again.”

“It’s called volume, Carter,” Olivia snapped. “Not all of us use corporate-approved hair gel.”

He smirked, which was so typical of him. “You’re extra feisty today. What happened? Your espresso machine break?”

“Yes, actually.”

“Oh,” he blinked. “That’s tragic. Do you need a moment of silence?”

“I need you to shut up.”

---

Chapter 2: Forced Proximity is a Stupid Trope

Due to a ridiculous twist of fate (or, more accurately, her editor selling her soul), Olivia and Theo were now working together. Same office. Same hours. Same oxygen supply.

“Let’s set some ground rules,” Olivia declared, setting her coffee down like she was about to go to war. “One: No talking unless absolutely necessary.”

Theo nodded seriously. “Understood. Define ‘necessary.’”

She narrowed her eyes. “If someone is on fire, you can speak. Maybe.”

“Reasonable,” Theo said. “But counterpoint: What if you’re on fire? Because let’s be honest, that feels more likely.”

She ignored him. “Two: No unnecessary eye contact.”

Theo immediately locked eyes with her.

She scowled. “You’re breaking rule two.”

“Oh, my apologies.” He dramatically covered his eyes. “I’ll work blindfolded.”

“I hate you.”

“You say that, but your voice sounds kind of affectionate.”

“It’s pure rage.”

“Ah. Easy to confuse.”

---

Chapter 3: Betrayal (and Other Inconvenient Feelings)

A week into their forced truce, something horrifying happened.

Theo made Olivia laugh.

Like, really laugh. Not the sarcastic kind. Not the evil “I’m plotting your demise” kind. A real, snort-inducing, stomach-clutching laugh.

And now? She was spiraling.

“I think I’m broken,” she told Mia over the phone that night.

“What did he do?”

“He told a joke.”

“…And?”

“…And it was funny.”

Mia gasped. “You laughed?”

“I choked on my coffee, Mia.”

There was a long pause. “Oh my God. You like him.”

Olivia nearly dropped her phone. “I what? No. No, no, no. That’s not what’s happening.”

“Then what is happening?”

“I’m being hexed,” Olivia whispered. “He’s cursed me with his… stupid face and his dumb smirk and his stupid—ugh, never mind. It’s a nightmare.”

Mia, traitor that she was, just laughed.

---

Chapter 4: The Great Espresso Tragedy

One fateful morning, Olivia walked into the office and found Theo standing next to the coffee machine, looking guilty.

She immediately froze. “What did you do?”

Theo winced. “Promise you won’t yell?”

“No.”

“…The coffee machine is broken.”

Silence.

Then—

“YOU ABSOLUTE MENACE TO SOCIETY!”

Theo flinched. “Okay, in my defense, it was an accident—”

Olivia grabbed a stress ball from her desk and chucked it at his head. “HOW COULD YOU?!”

“I SAID I’M SORRY!”

“DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’VE DONE?!”

“I’M AWARE.”

“I CAN’T FUNCTION WITHOUT COFFEE, THEO!”

“Neither can I! We’re both suffering!”

She pointed an accusing finger at him. “I knew you were my nemesis for a reason.”

Theo, to her utter shock, looked genuinely remorseful. “I’ll make it up to you.”

Olivia scoffed. “Oh yeah? How?”

The next morning, Theo showed up with two lattes from her favorite café.

And Olivia? She had no idea how to deal with that.

---

Chapter 5: The Kiss That Shouldn’t Have Happened (But Totally Did)

It happened on a Friday. They were arguing—because of course they were arguing—when suddenly, Theo stopped mid-sentence and just looked at her.

Not in the usual I’m-about-to-annoy-you way. No smirk. No sarcasm. Just… something different.

“What?” Olivia asked, suddenly aware of how close they were standing.

“You have no idea how much you get under my skin,” Theo muttered.

“Good.”

He huffed a laugh. “Of course you’d say that.”

Then, before she could come up with another snarky reply, he kissed her.

And the worst part?

She kissed him back.

---

Epilogue: Enemies? Not So Much Anymore.

Mia stared at them across the café table, horrified. “So let me get this straight—you hated each other, but now you’re dating?”

Olivia and Theo exchanged a look.

Theo smirked. “Define ‘dating.’”

Olivia kicked him under the table. “We’re together, okay? He’s still annoying. I still threaten his life daily. It’s fine.”

Mia shook her head. “You guys have issues.”

Olivia shrugged. “Probably.”

Theo grinned, wrapping an arm around her. “But at least we have coffee again.”

Mia groaned.

Olivia, against all logic, smiled.

"Is nafrat ke safar me muhabbat yoon jaag gayi,

Dushman samjha tha jise, wahi ke khareeb aagayi"

"On the journey of hatred, love bloomed so true,

The one I called my enemy, my heart now belongs to."

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