I never imagined that my boss, Malcolm Lowe, would turn out to be the online boyfriend I had never met. After being yelled at by him once again, I tearfully opened the chat window with my boyfriend. "Babe, my boss criticized my proposal again today." He replied almost instantly, "What? He criticized you? He's such a jerk." "Sleep easy tonight, honey. I'll handle the proposal for you." The next day, I handed Malcolm the version my online boyfriend had revised. He read through it in silence—a long, heavy silence—before looking up with a strange expression. Even his voice trembled slightly. "Did you write this proposal?"

Chapter 1

Once again, I got yelled at by my boss, Malcolm Lowe. In tears, I opened the WhatsApp chat with my online boyfriend, whom I had never met.

"Babe, my boss criticized my proposal again today."

He replied almost instantly, "What? He criticized you? He's such a jerk."

"Sleep easy tonight, honey. I'll handle the proposal for you."

The next day, I handed Malcolm the version my online boyfriend had revised.

He read through it in silence—a long, heavy silence—before looking up with a strange expression.

Even his voice trembled slightly. "Did you write this proposal?"

***

As a fresh graduate, I'd pulled an all-nighter to finish a proposal I was finally somewhat satisfied with.

The next day, during the meeting, my boss, Malcolm, held my draft with a look of utter disdain.

"Trash belongs in the bin. Who wrote this?"

Malcolm had returned from studying overseas—heir to a prominent family, fiercely intelligent, and handsome enough to rival a movie star.

My friends enviously jo