Date The CEO.com

"What was your last memory with your first love?"

Eve bit her bottom lip. She expected that he'd ask about the rest of the interview—even the part where she had been asked about her romantic life. Was it good? Was it too much? She hadn't mentioned the status of their relationship. 

She merely talked about a kiss for her to 'dodge' the question. She had been ready to explain.

Now, they were back on this again? What for?

"Is there a reason why you're asking this?" Eve questioned, twirling her earphone cable. "Can I choose not to answer?"

If she opened that chest, it would flood like a broken dam. There wouldn't be a way to answer without the need for the rest of the story. She'd rather save it for another time.

"We're here to talk about our story for the press. Since it's your first love, it seems relevant."

"I can assure you that it's not." Eve closed her eyes and blew out a long breath. "You'll just have to take my word for it."

She hoped that her voice sounded convincing. If he would insist, she'd have to reject every single one. Her brain wasn't prepared for this. Neither the tears nor the talk with Andie lessened the distress she experienced over it.

"Alright." Ambryan relented. 

A silent pause fell over two rooms—connected through a call. 

For Eve, she heard music from outside of her bedroom. Andie's room was across the hall. She loved to play music whenever she had an active mind. Although it was through a speaker, Eve found it tolerable.

For Ambryan, only his keyboard and Kiri's snores filled his home office. No outside noise passed through his walls. He pushed his glasses up, analyzing the statistics report. A few numbers stood out to him. 

"Although, I can't say the same about you," Eve remarked after a while, remembering Charlee. "You had a string of flings. Unlike you, I wouldn't be undisturbed."

A shiver went down her spine. It dawned to her that Charlee had a fan base. Ambryan also had one. There were bound to be more people who'd attack her whether in real life or online. If she wanted to keep up, she should gather one herself.

Mikael's concern echoed in her head. She was safe as Eve but she was also Evangeline. She'd need a person who'd know about both. Someone who could keep a lookout while she changed. 

Ambryan snapped his eyes away from the monitor. His hard gaze fell on the floor. He pressed the earpiece closer and said, "Did anyone try anything?"

"Not yet but I feel a storm coming," Eve explained. It had been quiet so far. Too quiet for her taste. That usually meant something worse. It could be Charlee. It could be someone else. She didn't have a way to know but the nagging feeling wouldn't leave her.

"Do you have a bodyguard?"

"I don't."

"I'll give you one."

Eve's eyebrows shot up. Her spine straightened. Alarm bells rang in her head. That wasn't a good idea. It would only be a matter of time before that bodyguard found out. That person would also report to Ambryan. 

She wasn't about to beg someone to break their loyalty.

"No, it's not necessary. I'll bring it up with the agency."

Ambryan frowned, standing up. Kiri fell to the floor and landed on her feet. She gazed up at him as he walked around the office. She walked over to join, her tail bouncing. Her legs leaped for the couch and avoided her hooman's pacing.

She hopped on a pillow that had the shooting star design.

"It doesn't guarantee that they'd be reliable," Ambryan reasoned.

"I'm sure it would be fine. I am their employee. They'll assign dependable people."

"Not necessarily. I think they'd be more susceptible to bribes unlike those that work under me," he continued, explaining his side of concerns. "Whoever they hire wouldn't assure me that nothing bad would happen to you."

It would be too risky. There were people near his level of status. Any of them could take advantage of the people around her. She wouldn't have their loyalty right away. They could strike while the bodyguard was still new.

Eve actually had no plans to ask the agency. She only used their name to hide her real intentions—which consisted of asking Avery. She reconsidered the idea, wondering if it would be okay to let him know.

They were mother and son. Ambryan should be able to trust in Avery.

"How about this? I'll talk it out with your mother," Eve chose to admit. "You already know we have a contract. I'll just bring it up with her since it should be covered there."

"She should have given you one from the beginning!" Ambryan raged. He halted in his steps and rubbed his temples. Calming his breaths, he refrained from speaking. It had been a while since his temper blew up.

It added to his headache.

"Aha, you forget, Mr. CEO. There were five of us at the time. Who knew you'd pick me?" Eve laughed, trying to ease the tension. The sudden outburst made her wonder if she heard him do it before. 

"Fair point."Ambryan sighed. His head became cleared. He pinched the bridge of his nose and thought of a compromise. "Once you and mother clear this out, do inform me about these bodyguards of yours. They also need my approval."

"Alright. Sounds reasonable," Eve agreed. If she protested again, things might become even worse. "So… how did we meet again?"

Ambryan let his nose go. He strolled to the couch and sat down. His free hand stroked Kiri's back. "Through mother. We need to keep a few facts if we want this story to be believable."

"True. So we'll say your mother set us up and… we clicked? Love at first sight? How far will we fabricate this?" Eve calculated the time. It had been a total of two weeks since the website was released. 

For her, the timeline needed a bit of adjustment. 

"Use the skating rink. Say we had a good time and continued to communicate."

"The skating rink? Hm. If we follow that, how long have we known each other?"

"Same time frame." Ambryan scowled, unable to see why she asked. "You didn't specify our status, correct?"

"Yes, but… you called me 'your girlfriend' in front of Mr. Wilson and Mr. Kingston." Eve pointed out while she stumbled over her words. The incident still embarrassed her slightly. "That would mean I've been your girlfriend for a week."

"And so?"

"And so what?"

"What is the problem with it?" Ambryan urged. Did she imply for a longer duration? It would collide with several things—especially his connection with Charlee Edwards. It had only been days since that breakup. It hardly counted as a significant change.

"That day was the first day we talked. Then, we talked for like a few hours the week before it." Eve ruffled her hair, trying to get her thoughts together. ��It wouldn't make sense. It would be too fast. We'd have to explain why it happened so suddenly."

"Is it impossible for that to happen?"

A lump clogged her throat. "Well, no…"

"Then, it's better to stick with it," Ambryan finalized. He laid back on the couch and glared at the wall across from him. The only thing they needed to change was the website. The rest had face to face.

There wouldn't be use hiding those.

Eve groaned. It irked her how absurd it all seemed when the goal had been to make it normal. "But—it's rare! Many people would hardly believe it. They'd think it's fiction."

Ambryan stood up and tucked his hand into his pant pocket. He let out his frustration by walking around the room. Kiri watched him amusedly. Only a few lights were on. They reflected on the glasses, changing as her hooman switched directions.

It was a lovely sight, almost like a laser pointer. 

"My answer remains the same," Ambryan affirmed and settled near the edge of his desk. A smirk teased his lips. "After all, it was you who wanted to base our dating life on novels. You'd get to live a part of it already."

Eve coughed. 

She did say that. She did remember it. She did regret both. A love story out of a fairy tale? It was fiction for a reason. Although people loved a good story, there had to be a line. A whirlwind romance should be in the list of 'Never-Gonna-Happen'.

Except, it would have to do. As fictional as it sounded, the time frame was also the truth. More questions would be raised if they extended it which meant lies would be spun. 

She'd rather avoid more of those.

"Fine," Eve surrendered. She blew on her front hair. "But that means we need answers for when, how and why did we fall for each other. That is addressed individually though so we don't need to discuss it."

"Really?" Ambryan blinked, feeling smug about his win. "That's unfortunate. I'd love to hear how you fell for me."

"That's easy. I can reuse any response your previous lovers gave." Eve smirked and fluttered her brown eyes. "It's you who would be challenged."