chapter 5

Ava just wanted bubble tea.

She did not want to bump into her smug, gym-addicted, “I left you for personal growth” ex, Kyle.

But there he was, in line at the café, still wearing those sunglasses indoors like he was auditioning for a boyband no one asked for.

“Ava?” Kyle blinked. “Wow, you look... employed.”

She forced a smile. “I am.”

“Oh? Where?”

“Blackwood Enterprises,” she replied, a little too proudly.

He snorted. “Still the PA? Let me guess—fetching coffee and tripping over printers?”

Ava’s brain short-circuited.

And before she could stop herself, the words just... fell out.

“I’m actually dating Damien Blackwood.”

Kyle’s smirk froze.

Ava blinked.

Did I just say I’m dating the CEO of a multi-billion dollar empire to win an imaginary fight with a man who used to cry during “Fast & Furious” marathons?

“Yes,” she added nervously. “We’re... very committed. We had sushi last night. And I called him Damie.”

---

The Next Morning...

Ava walked into the office like a woman heading to her own funeral.

The moment she reached her desk, Damien stepped out of his office—phone in hand, eyebrow raised, voice flat.

“Ava.”

She stood at attention like a guilty raccoon.

“We need to talk. Now.”

---

Inside his office...

He tossed his phone onto the desk. “Explain why a gossip blog just titled you ‘CEO’s Secret Sweetheart’ with a subtitle that reads ‘she calls him Damie!’”

Ava squeaked. “I panicked! My ex was being all Kyle-y and I may have—slightly—blurted that we’re dating.”

Damien stared at her in stunned silence, then finally said:

“So... we’ve been in a relationship and I wasn’t informed? Wow.”

She shrank in her chair. “Technically, yes. Emotionally, no.”

He sighed, rubbing his temples. “PR already thinks we’re together. The board’s obsessed with rebranding me as a ‘relatable human man’…”

He paused. Then looked at her.

“I can use this.”

Ava blinked. “Use... me?”

“For the company,” he said sharply. “If we’re going to pretend, we’re going to do it properly.”

She nodded weakly. “Okay, fake dating. Super casual. No pressure. Just my boss. And the entire internet.”

-------

Ava had never stress-sweated this much in her life.

And she once got locked in the office supply closet with a confused intern and a talking motivational mug.

But this? This was peak panic.

Because tonight, she was going on a fake date with her CEO.

In public.

With cameras.

And possibly Kyle.

Location: The Vesper Lounge.

It was posh, exclusive, and had an entire wall made of plants. Ava already tripped over a fern and said “good evening” to a chair.

Damien, of course, looked like a sinfully gorgeous villain out of a perfume ad. Black suit. Watch that cost more than her rent. Calm, cool, and completely unaffected.

Meanwhile, Ava had already spilled water on her menu.

Twice.

“Relax,” Damien said, not looking up. “You look fine.”

“Fine?” she whispered. “Damien, I spent forty-five minutes trying to figure out if this dress made me look like an elegant woman or a mildly panicked pastry.”

“You landed on panicked pastry,” he said dryly, then smirked. “But a cute one.”

Her heart did something weird. It twitched. Stumbled. Betrayed her.

---

Their fake couple act started simple: smiling, leaning in, holding hands across the table.

Then someone whispered, “Is that Damien Blackwood?”

Phones were raised. Ava panicked.

She grabbed his hand and held it like it was a life raft in a sea of judgment.

“You’re crushing my fingers,” Damien muttered.

“Smile with your eyes!” she hissed. “That’s what fake couples do!”

“I own a company, not a TikTok account.”

---

Then it happened.