Swipe Right, Wrong Number

Emma Valehart's POV I had a foolproof plan: focus on work, rise through the ranks, and maybe, just maybe, squeeze in a little bit of self-care when I could manage. Romance? That was a luxury I didn’t have time for, especially not with my promotion to senior marketing manager on the horizon. But when my best friend, Lucy, forced me to sign up for Lovewave, the latest dating app sweeping the city, I couldn’t argue. “Just one night of swiping,” Lucy had insisted. “What’s the harm?” That’s how I found myself on my couch, half-watching a rerun of Friends while half-heartedly swiping through profiles. I wasn't expecting much—Lovewave seemed more like a game than a serious way to meet someone. Swipe left for “no thanks,” swipe right for “maybe.” Easy enough. Oh I froze, staring at the screen. There was no mistaking that face—dark hair, strong jawline, piercing blue eyes behind thin-rimmed glasses. A face I saw every single day, five days a week, glaring at me from across the office. No, it couldn’t be... Ethan Montrose. My boss I blinked, stared again, and checked the name. EthanM89. There was no way. It had to be a joke, right? Ethan Montrose was practically a legend in the office—a brilliant, stoic, no-nonsense man who probably didn’t have time for dating apps, much less ones like Lovewave. The man had more important things to do, like making my life a living hell with impossible deadlines. My thumb hovered over the screen. I should swipe left, ignore it, pretend I hadn’t seen it. Was he really using a dating app? And why was I even looking at this? I snorted and went to swipe left, chalking this whole thing up as a hilarious coincidence. There was no way I was going to swipe right on my boss. Imagine how awkward that would be at the office tomorrow. But as I went to swipe left, my finger slipped. Match My heart jumped. No. Way. I stared at the notification, frozen. Maybe Lovewave had glitched. Maybe it wasn’t really Ethan at all—just some random guy who looked eerily like him. I shook my head and set the phone aside, brushing it off. But the damage had been done. I had swiped right on my boss, and now my phone was flashing with a little notification bubble at the bottom of the screen: You and EthanM89 have matched! Say hello! "No, no, no, no,” I muttered under my breath. My hand shot out, grabbing the phone. This was bad. Really bad. I tapped furiously, trying to close the app, delete my account, something. Just as I managed to pull up the delete option, another notification popped up. New message from EthanM89. Oh. The notification stared back at me, daring me to open it. My heart raced, the sound of my pulse filling my ears. What had he written? I tapped the message, praying for a miracle. “So... awkward question. Did we just match?” I almost threw up.