Chapter 2 Surprises

"Eva, I have other things to do. Leave me alone " Ethan retorts as he aggressively ends the call- the fourth one from Eva with another number, just how many does she have?- he thought.

Eva was a Twenty seven years old woman whom he was casually hooking up with until three months ago, she decided to damage his reputation because she had unfortunately fallen in love with him and thought he loved her back- Why do women think they'll always be the "different one"? Ethan thought as he remembered the day.

'3 months ago in Ethan's bedroom...'

"I want to talk to you about something important," Eva says as she adjusts the duvet that was over her to cover her nude body better, as she and Ethan had just had sex. Eva and Ethan were friends- or so she thought but Ethan doesn't believe you can be just friends with a woman, thus he saw her as a mere hookup, and he sponsored her lifestyle- yet another gold digger that pretended not to be one.

"What's that?" Ethan says as he wears his boxers and sits on the edge of the bed. hoping it wasn't what he thought it was, he could finance another one of her projects, pay for her shopping sprees, travel expenses- basically everything she needed and all she had to do was not fall in love with him or admit to it-

"I like what we have going on, a lot," she replied, smiling and gesturing to kiss him. They kiss for a few seconds. He felt relief that she was not about to confess her "love" for him or lie about it, as this girl knew nothing personal about him. And how can you possibly love someone you know nothing about? he thought.

"same" he briefly says as he pushes her down into the sheets- they were about to go at it again, Ethan was no saint, but he didn't see women as just toys for his satisfaction as he made sure to treat every girl he messes with, with respect and he tries to make sure they don't regret anything they did with him. He didn't care much; he just thought it would be bad for his reputation, as women loved to talk and complain when things didn't go their way, and nobody hates a scandal more than the people involved.

"Wait, Ethan- I need to say something" She says as she frees herself from his grip. He didn't make any attempt to pull her back, she always thought she was irresistible but Ethan always made her feel like every other woman- though paying for entire life at this point, but sheesh boy? Where's the romance?

"go on" He calmly responds, not sure of what she's about to say.

"I love you Ethan" She says smiling and trying to kiss him.

Bomb dropped. Ethan was uncomfortable with anything love related, he certainly didn't love any woman that way and didn't want to be loved that way. He knew he had to shut this down and dismiss her quickly.

silence reigned and Eva felt like a fool cause he had swerved her kiss and hadn't said anything since she said that-

"I know you love me too" she adds, trying to loosen him up and save face.

"I actually don't. You don't love me either Eva" He calmly responds as he gets up. He expected her to throw a tantrum and he didn't want to be within close hearing range as she'd throw it.

"What do you mean you don't" Eva yells as she gets up to hit him. He didn't love her?! After dedicating herself to this man, giving him everything for months- he was going to pay.

"I told you from the beginning I don't date and I will never fall in love, and you said you were more than okay with our agreem-" he replies, but she slaps him before he finishes his statement. He didn't believe in hitting a woman, and this wasn't the first time this had happened to him, so he kept calm and acted on logic as he grabbed her clothes and asked her to dress up and leave.

"You sad fool- I gave you everything and you say you don't love me? It's your loss. I'm the best thing that could ever happen to your lonely, stupid life," She spat as she wore her clothes angrily. Nobody had ever rejected her before this-

"I'm sorry you feel that way," He calmly responds as he tries to walk away from her, but she pulls him back. Why would i love a gold digger like you that wants to use me for every penny i have? he thought to himself but he didn't say that of course- cause he understood the peace of not having to worry about a damn thing knowing that someone has you covered- not that he had that person, but being that person for his adoptive mom made him understand women a bit more and how offensive pointing that out would be– so he never did.

"You're sorry?! You think sorry brings back all the time I wasted on you, bastard?" She yells again and hits his chest repeatedly. Damn, why do women love saying things they can't take back?- he thinks again.

"Kindly leave Eva" Ethan responds as he runs towards the door and leaves Eva there- which was a bad idea once he was out cause Eva thrashed his place and refused to leave until he had his maids throw her out but the damage was already done- all breakables were broken, she destroyed most if not all of his shoes, clothes and watches collection and used her lipstick to write boldly on his white walls "FUCK YOU", he genuinely should have seen the signs that she was a lunatic- now added to all the money he spent on balling her, he'd have to replace a lot of things.

And just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, she started dragging him and his company online, defaming him, making him seem horrible, a scandal, she made him look like he only used her for sex, and he had weird kinks, which resulted in this biography damage control saga. He had to deal with another female closely, he was sure he was going to hate every single second of this.

'present day...'

mr fuck boy, your writer is here" Bo says teasing his best friend as that's what the media calls him now, Ethan was also his employer as he was a managing director on his team. he was grateful to his best friend for everything he's done for him, if not he wouldn't have been able to cater for Claire his daughter that he had when he was in highschool, who's mom died while giving birth to her- he's never been with another woman ever since and believes Claire is the only girl he'd ever need to love again.

The whole squad helped raising Claire, From sleeping over at each other's houses to completely moving in with Ethan cause his parents kicked him out immediately he had Claire and her maternal family didn't want her either cause of the great loss of their own daughter- Bo blamed himself for it all, if only he hadn't gotten her pregnant, she would have still been here. she would have lived, he carried that guilt with him everywhere and devoted his life to the only good thing in it, Claire, his thirteen-year-old daughter named after her mother.

"You don't even call or knock before entering my office anymore" Ethan teases, he meant no harm and appreciated his best friend, it was even his idea to have the biography written as he thought it might save face- or hoped.

"Do I have to?" Bo says as he grabs the documents he had originally come for.

"Yes" Ethan teases.

"Well, your writer is an attractive woman. try not to fuck her" Bo says and laughs. he loved teasing his friend especially since the posts about him not being able to keep it in his pants.

"That's not even funny. I swear I'm done with women" Ethan retorts as he throws pens at him.

"Sure you are" Bo responds dodging them.

"How's Claire? Trust she's gotten over her cat's death?" Ethan responds in an attempt to change the topic.

"No, she's even more emotional now- raising a teen daughter is not for the weak" Bo says as he sinks into the couch in the office. His daughter was always angry at him, no matter what he did or said, she continuously cussed him out and only spoke to him for money and for a ride to places- He was frustrated and unsure what to do at this phase as he'd never had sisters, just brothers and they didn't have female kids her age either.

"she's probably just going through puberty" Ethan responds, unsure of what to say-

"I hope this passes and she loves me again" Bo replies.

Bo's phone rings and it's Claire on facetime, he prays in his mind that she's not about to ask him to be her driver for the day.

"DADDY!!!" Claire yells through the screen.

"Oh lord" Bo silently retorts to himself. if old age didn't kill him, she would- he thought to himself.

"Can you take Anna and I shopping later today?" She politely asks, knowing he'd say yes no matter what.

"uhh sorry sweetie I'm a bit busy today, right Ethan?" Bo says turning the phone to Ethan's direction hoping he'd lie for him as Bo had no work to do today.

"No, he's not. Daddy will be there soon Claire" Ethan says and mischievously smiles at his friend knowing he had just subjected him to a day of girl talk, screaming and making his pockets hurt. Ethan was more than satisfied with the realization of this.

"I'll murder you" Bo mutters under his breath.

"See you soon daddy," Claire says, smiling at the situation. She was old enough to understand he didn't want to but would anyway because he loves her.

"Bye, love y-" Bo says but is cut short as she ends the call before he could finish his statement.

Bo pounces on his friend and starts hitting him to settle scores- in a friendly manner of course, Ethan groans loudly and Victoria hurriedly rushes into the office because of all the noise she was hearing.

"Is everyone okay?" Victoria innocently says in a stance that signifies that she's ready to fight for whomever she had to. Even though she obviously didn't know how to-

"More than okay" Bo responds as he gets off his friend and straightens his tie after delivering a final punch.

"oh-" she replies unsure of what just happened.

"This is Victoria, the writer in charge," Bo says, facing Ethan.

Ethan was in awe of her audacity, to enter his office without knocking on the first day of her job was just unprofessional to him. He didn't like her already, she seemed so forward and would definitely be one of those "i want to try and change the world" women. Nothing wrong with that but too many of them are just posers- "pick me's" he'd term it, cause they thought men would find their audacity attractive.

"Good afternoon, I've been outside for what? thirty minutes" she says showing obvious irritation in her voice. Excuse me, we employed you. You aren't doing us a favour- Ethan thought to himself as he scrutinized her looks to place her into a category so he'd know how to talk to her.

"Sorry about that, Let's not keep you waiting anymore shall we?" Bo says as he leaves, hoping to God that they get along.

Silence reigned in the room for about ten minutes, as Victoria assessed him, he seemed and looked arrogant, she immediately disliked him, he didn't even acknowledge her or her presence, she had tried to save him a few minutes ago- still he acted like he didn't hire her and she was a random girl.

"Should I come back some other time?" Victoria says. Finally breaking the deafening silence.

"What were you instructed?" Ethan swiftly responds. She had a sass to her that he didn't like- was he expecting her to be timid? he had no idea, all he knew was he disliked her.

"To come today by two" She spits, feeling insulted. It was clear he didn't hire her- whoever was in charge of reviewing applications did and he probably doesn't care for her work, seeing her as talentless and tasteless- screw this. She thought to herself.

"I shall be right back" Ethan said as he left the room to get a contract, he had already drafted personally cause he was very cautious of women as they were cunny creatures that loved to twist the narrative.

Victoria glanced down at the contract on the polished mahogany table between them. The pages looked more like a death sentence than an opportunity. She shifted in her seat, watching Ethan with the kind of caution one usually reserved for wild animals.

He rested in the leather armchair across from her, his posture relaxed but guarded per usual one ankle casually crossed over his knee, hands loosely clasped. His shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, sleeves rolled just enough to reveal forearms that clearly shows he didn't miss arm day. He wasn't trying to be intimidating. That was the worst part. He simply existed that way.

"Is this really necessary?" Victoria asked, lifting the first page of the contract like it might bite her. "A contract? You want me to sign my freedom away just to write your redemption arc?"

Ethan arched a brow. "Just a precaution, Victoria... you will also be living with me so here are my terms and conditions"

"Wow you are a paranoid fuckface," she muttered.

"Last I checked they do not speak to bosses like that."

Victoria scowled. "It's called authenticity. You should try it sometime."

He almost smiled almost but then leaned forward, his fingers tapping the armrest. "You're here to write about me. My life. That means you'll need access to everything: the house, the staff, my past, my schedule. I need to know I can trust you not to twist things just to make a juicier read."

"Oh, so now you care about being misunderstood?" she said, folding her arms.

"I care about not being dismantled," he replied, his tone quieter. "There's a difference."

Victoria looked away, the silence that fell between them was sharp. She hated contracts. Not just the paperwork though that was bad enough but what they represented: control. Limits. And worst of all, commitment.

Still, she reached for the pen.

"Fine. I'll sign," she said, clicking the pen open. "But I'm adding my own clause."

Ethan tilted his head. "Am I going to regret this?"

"I get access to your emotions."

He stared at her.

She stared back.

"I'm sorry, my emotions?"

"Yes. You want a biography that doesn't read like a Wikipedia article? Then I need more than your money and your scandals. I want the messy stuff. The late-night thoughts. The things you don't tell Bo. The things Eva doesn't get to own anymore."

Something flickered behind his eyes at the mention of Eva anger, maybe. Or pain. Or a very well-rehearsed apathy.

"That's a tall order," he said.

"I'm an average woman with big demands. Take it or leave it."

He exhaled, then stood up, walking over to the window. His silhouette was all sharp edges and contradiction, sunlight slicing around his frame like the world couldn't decide if he should be seen or hidden.

"For what it's worth," he said, voice scattered, "I don't believe anyone really wants to know someone's truth. They just want a version of it that makes sense to them."

Victoria rose, walking over to stand beside him. "Then let me be the one who doesn't make sense."

He turned to her then, eyes searching hers like he was trying to solve a puzzle he didn't want the answer to. For a moment, the silence felt like a question neither of them was brave enough to ask.

Then he extended his hand.

"Deal."

She shook it-firm, warm, steady. And just like that, the walls between them cracked by a hairline.

But of course, the moment couldn't stay tender for long.

"So," she said, clearing her throat, "do I get office space?"

He turned, heading for the hallway. "Follow me. I'll show you where you'll be working. Try not to get emotionally attached to the furniture."

She rolled her eyes but followed anyway.

The room he led her to was...unexpected.

Large windows bathed the space in natural light. Books lined the walls from floor to ceiling, their spines weathered and comforting. There was a desk that looked older than both of them, and a couch so plush it probably had its own mortgage.

Victoria stepped inside slowly, like she was trespassing in someone's dream. "This isn't an office," she whispered. "It's a love letter to quiet."

Ethan watched her, something softening in his expression. "It was my mother's library," he said. "She used to write letters she never sent. Said it helped her understand people better."

Victoria turned to face him, surprised. "Did it work?"

"No," he said flatly.

Victoria blinked, unsure whether to laugh or wince. She settled on a soft chuckle. "Thanks for trusting me with this."

"Don't thank me yet. Thank me by changing the narrative."

She smiled, brushing her fingers over the edge of the desk. "I think I'll be okay."

As he turned to leave, she called out, "Wait."

He paused in the doorway.

"I meant it about the emotions. I want the real you, Ethan. Not the man Eva broke. Just...you."

He didn't turn around, but she saw his shoulders tense, like the idea of being seen was heavier than anything he could lift.

"I'll try," he said.

That was enough for now.

Victoria sat at the desk, pulled out her notebook, and wrote the first line:

"He said he didn't believe in love. I said I didn't believe in contracts. We were both lying."