Billionaires Under The Mistletoe

Chapter 2: Found A Match

[DAPHNE]

I sat down behind my desk seriously wishing I was Cinderella. Having a fairy godmother who'd grant me my wish.. and right now, my wish is to make Nicki disappear and never come back.

“Daphne, are you even listening?” Nicki's voice dragged me back from my thoughts.

“Uh.. y-yea.. what were you saying again?” I stuttered.

Nicki let out an exhausted sigh and rolled her eyes. “Daphne, this is my wedding. You're not paying attention.”

“I'm sorry Nicki. Let's go through this again.”

And like that, Nicki went on talking about her fairy tale wedding while I took down the notes and when it was finally over, oh sweet Jesus, I couldn't be more relieved.

“Daphne…” Nicki's voice cut through the short silence and from her tone, I knew she was about to say something really serious. “..do you think I'm making a mistake with this…wedding?”

I raised an eyebrow. A mistake? Oh hell no. What a stupid question. Doesn't she know how lucky she is to marry Damon?

“What do you mean ‘a mistake’?” I asked.

Nicki let out a sigh as she clicked her tongue. “I mean, the way he proposed to me, over an organized dinner date, it was so.. predictable, so cliche. Check out Amara for example. Her and boyfriend climbed the high mountain and then he proposed when they got to the top. You see, that was adventurous; so spontaneous.”

I shook my head.

“We both know if Damon told you to join him for mountain climbing, you'll break up with him on the spot.”

“Come on Daph.. you're not getting it. Damon is just so proper and.. plain; blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect jawline and a regular job. Like he's.. boring.”

My jaw dropped in an instant. What an ungrateful spoiled brat. How could she say something like that about my Damon?

“So.. what's your definition of an ‘interesting guy'?

Nicki's face lit up as she began talking. “A 6’5ft guy who's adventurous with deep smoldering eyes. He's mysterious, screams danger when you look at him, with a perfect ripped body and a foreign accent. Oh gosh. He won't even need to have a regular job or a car, like Damon.”

“What? So you want a guy who's jobless and only takes the subway?”

Nicki chuckled. “Come on, Daphne, he'd have a bike to move around. I just…want to have that experience of being with such a guy before saying ‘i do’. It'd be really boring knowing I'd be with Damon for a lifetime without getting to explore more dates to fulfill these fantasies.”

I let out an exhausting exhale. “Trust me Nicki, speaking from experience, you won't want to be in that position. You should feel happy you don't get to go on meaningless dates. It's mentally and emotionally draining, trust me. You have a wonderful fiance. You should just focus on him and think of enjoying your lives together.”

Nicki bit her lip as she nodded. “I guess you're right. I think it's just wedding jitters. Thank you Daphne.”

“Sure.”

“Umm. That reminds me, Damon will be here after his shift. I won't want to be the only one making all the decisions.”

“W-what? He's coming to my office?”

“Yeah..” Nicki grabbed her bag instantly without sparing me a look. “See you later.”

The moment she left my office, I wanted to close myself in and be hidden from the world. The thought of me and Damon all alone in this office wasn't something I had planned for. I barely managed to get up from my chair when the door knocked.

“Come in..” I said with a shaky voice.

The door opened and there he was.

Damon.

His presence gave me butterflies shooting inside my stomach and in an instant, I felt myself take a step backwards without thinking.

“Hey,” he said breathlessly.

Oh God. Daphne, breathe, breathe. He's your soon-to-be brother-in-law. Exhaling deeply, I finally masked my fake smile.

“Damon… umm.. take a seat.”

His deep gaze bore into me the moment he sat across from me. It took everything within me to resist the urge to demand answers but it's already too late.

“Daphne… I.. I didn't know Nicki was your sister.”

And that is it. He opened the floor for revisiting the major conversation I've been avoiding and I couldn't hold it any longer.

“H-how did this happen? Do you know how long I've been searching for you? Only to find out you're my sister's fiance the first time we meet again?”

“Daphne, I can explain. I lost your contact after traveling abroad and I tried searching for you on social media, but I couldn't find you.”

Call me old fashioned, but I never for once operated a social media account. Now I'm regretting it.

“I wasn't on social media. But I used Nicki's account to search for your name sometimes until I gave up after dead ends. Then how did you meet Nicki.”

“uuh, still social media. Last year…”

I closed my eyes, not interested in the details of their love story before I breakdown.

“Well, it's fine. Congratulations.”

“Daphne, if Nicki had ever revealed you were her sister, I'd have come straight to you..”

I raised my hand to stop him from continuing.

“It's okay. Let's talk about your wedding plans.” The words sounded bitter on my tongue.

“Daphne.. do you still love me?”

“Oh God, we're not doing this Damon. I have tons of work to do, so please help me by keeping focus.”

The meeting went on smoothly, but I did more of the talking because Damon didn't seem interested in whatever the wedding preparations will be. I just hope this wedding won't be a disaster in the end.

After Damon finally left my office, the coldness of my singlehood grappled me so tight that I felt a slip of tear fall from my cheek. After a while of emptying my drum of tears, I felt a sense of purpose immediately.

“No, no, no. If Nicki's having my dream man to herself whom she doesn't even appreciate, it's time I have hers. Payback time.”

I immediately called Amanda from the intercom.

“Yes ma'am?”

“Clear my schedule for today.” I said.

With that, I finally logged in to the company's website and checked the profile of the artists we hire for occasions. I initially wanted to close the laptop and accept defeat, but no, I wouldn't. This Christmas, everything was going to change.

Just like that, I searched through the profiles for all the qualities Nicki mentioned earlier today: smoldering eyes, 6’5ft tall, edgy with stubble and well built. After what felt like forever, I finally found a match. It felt Nicki must've seen this guy to have given a perfect description. I looked at his name closer. Zach King. Jnr. What a weird name. Well, who cares?

I zoomed in on his pictures, and the more I looked, the more it felt so unreal for a Greek god like this to bless us with his beauty in this generation. I checked his address: Manhattan. Good. With how expensive living on that side of New York is, a reasonable person won't turn down an acting job for a fake boyfriend for five thousand dollars.

Without wasting any further time, I scribbled down his phone number instantly and I finally felt triumphant.

“Bingo!”