"All right," Lilly hummed while motioning to Jordan to let Arvil know. "See you then!"
When the girl hung up, she gave her boyfriend a mischievous grin.
"Did you know, in all of the stories with this scenario, there is a 99% percent chance that the two in the fake relationship actually fall in love?"
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When Daisy showed up to the Cyber office building, she looked up at it and slowly released a deep breath. There was no need for her to be nervous. It’s not like she was really dating this guy, anyway. There was no need to impress him at all.
But he is kind of hot… And single… And he’s nice, too.
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment to get those thoughts out of her head. That wasn’t something she could be thinking about.
Finally, she made her way inside and to the front desk, where she stopped to talk to the receptionist.
“I’m here to see Arvil Davis?” she said, shifting the bag of food in her arms.
The receptionist looked up from his computer before smiling politely at the woman.
"Daisy Riley?" he inquired. His boss had told him to let her in, but he had a job to do. He was not going to let in a woman without confirming who she was.
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“Yeah. I guess he’s expecting me?” Daisy confirmed with a nod. She hadn’t been sure if Lilly would actually tell him that she was coming.
"I'll have you check in, actually," the man said, twisting the monitor around and passing her a stylus. "It's easier this way to keep track of visitors, but this would be the only time you'll have to do so. We've already sent up an order for your pass to be made."
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Daisy blinked, her eyebrows raising in surprise. They’d… already started working on a pass for her? That was quick.
“All right. Sure. Is there anything I’ll need to do for that?” she asked as she signed her name.
"We'll need a picture," the man replied, twisting his chair around to snatch a visitor's card before twisting back and giving it to her. "But I'm sure Mr. Davis can handle that. Anyway, here you go. His office is on the fourth floor, right around the corner. You may use the elevator. Please do ask for help if you need navigating."
Lord knows how easy it was to get lost.
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Daisy nodded once, glancing down at the cars as she took it. “Thank you. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” she said politely before making her way toward the elevators. Hopefully, she would be able to find Arvil’s office easily.
Arvil was working on the new update of a website he was managing. It had started to act up, crashing every now and then, and he was sure it was because of the increasing number of members. The capacity was slowly reaching its threshold, so he needed to increase its space. Plus, he needed to polish it up a bit more, add some new features and all.
When there was a knock on his door, he didn't look up from his computer. Instead, he continued to type.
"Come in," he said absently without looking up. "Noah, would you mind grabbing me the USB from that drawer?"
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“I’m not Noah, and I don’t know who that is. I thought you knew I was coming, though,” Daisy said as she stepped into the room. She glanced around a little before her eyes landed back on Arvil, and she tilted her head to the side as she looked at him. “I guess my dear friends did not inform you that I was coming, did they?”
Arvil's fingers stopped abruptly on the keyboard. For a second, he was still. Then slowly, a sigh escaped from his lips and he looked up to see the face of his beloved, fake girlfriend.
"I, unfortunately, did not know that you were dropping by," he said slowly, eyes flickering from the monitor to her face. "And no, it seems they did not, because I am clueless. How are you today, and what brings you here, darling?"
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Daisy closed the door behind herself and sat down in a chair opposite Arvil. She set the bag of food down in on his desk, then leaned back in her seat.
“Lilly and Jordan thought it would be a good idea for me to visit you at work. They said it would make it seem more realistic,” she explained with a shrug. “So I’m here with food. Also, I’m good and not used to being called ‘darling.’”
Arvil's eyes flickered to the bags of food set on his desk, and he bit his lip. It was past his lunch time. Of course it was. Sometimes, he completely forgot to eat.
"Well, they're Lilly and Jordan. They rope me into things without informing me sometimes," he heaved a sigh. "I apologize. I have had a lot to do today, so I'm afraid I'm not in the best of spirits. But I can assure you that by the end of the day, you will completely be used to being called 'darling.'"
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Daisy shook her head and began pulling food out of the bag. “You don’t have to apologize. They do this kind of thing to me all the time, too. I have a feeling Lilly thinks she’s setting us up for real or something,” she mused. “And I doubt that I will, but we’ll see.”
"And why would you dislike that?" Arvil quirked a smooth eyebrow at the way she talked about Lilly potentially setting them up. "I surely don't think I'm unattractive. In fact, I'm one of the hottest bachelors in this city, if I recall correctly. And I'm exceedingly smart in certain areas. And of course, I am a wonderful lover. I'm also very kind, considering how I've chosen to help you get out of a sticky situation."
He let out no indication whether he was joking or not.
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Daisy snorted when he finished speaking. He was either full of himself or joking, but she couldn’t quite tell which.
“Did I say that I would dislike it? I don’t recall doing so,” she hummed, folding the bag up so that it wasn’t in their way. “‘A wonderful lover?’ Do you really think that’s something I need to know, Arvil?”
For a few seconds, his face remained serious. Then a grin wormed its way onto his features. He leaned back in his seat and chuckled.
"Well, you are in my care for however long you'd like," he said. "I'm sure you need to know that I am an excellent boyfriend. I am told I give the best hugs."
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“That is not the definition of a lover, which you must know,” Daisy said with a roll of her eyes, though her lips were tugged up as well. “The last time I had a boyfriend was high school, so I can’t tell you how good of a girlfriend I am. You’ll just have to see how good of a fake one I am.”
She smiled. She actually smiled at him. Arvil huffed out a laugh.
"With your show on Tuesday, I think I can tell what type of a fake girlfriend you are," he said, eyes crinkling as he smiled. "Darling, has anyone told you acting too far in love doesn't suit you? You aren't the type to make love eyes, especially not with that much exaggeration."
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Daisy huffed at him, shaking her head. “I tried, okay? I can’t help that I hardly know what to do with a boyfriend anymore. Like I said, it’s been since high school. Apparently, adult life is too busy for one.”
"Daisy," Arvil said softly as he reached for a plate. "Just be yourself. Don't be anything else. You look awkward otherwise. Don't force yourself to treat me as your real boyfriend. Just go with the flow."
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Heat rose to her cheeks at his words. He felt the need to reassure her… Why did that embarrass her? Or— fluster. That’s what it was. She was flustered because of that.
“Of course,” she murmured, grabbing a plate for herself. “I’ll try not to look awkward next time…”
Oh, so she could be cute, too, Arvil mused to himself. That pink on her cheeks was adorable. He quickly discarded that thought. It wasn't right for him to think of her that way.
"That wasn't criticism, by the way," he quickly corrected himself. "I'm not trying to put you down in any way at all."
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Daisy blinked and looked back up at him. She shook her head, knowing that wasn’t what he’d meant.
“No, I know. I was just thinking,” she explained. “It’s just… We barely know each other, and we have to act like we’ve been going out for a few months, now. Maybe we should get to know each other better so that it’s less awkward and we’re more prepared in case anyone asks us questions.”
Arvil rubbed the back of his neck at her reply, then hummed in understanding.
"I'm Arvil Davis, the youngest CEO of this company, including its branches," he started. "I'm twenty-seven years old. I have no favorite color, but I dislike orange for some godly reason. I never understood why. The same is for numbers. My favorite animal is a sparrow, and I like video games. I also like to tinker with a lot of stuff, especially when I'm bored."
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“Well… My name is Daisy Riley. I’m twenty-six. I work for the Oakgate News as a journalist, but I aspire to be the author of a novel or a few novels one day. My favorite animal is an article fox. Favorite colors are light pink and gray, but only if the gray is with the pink. I don’t really have a favorite food or number, but I guess I do enjoy strawberry shakes,” Daisy said, sort of staring into the distance as she thought about what to say.
"My father wanted me to be a lawyer at first, but I absolutely sucked at law, and I was too into video games and the idea of creating something new. I was also a hyperactive child, so I never did well in school," Arvil continued. "But then I switched majors and got into engineering and computer science, and suddenly I was too good at it. That was where Cyber was created. I turned my childhood hobby as a job. And now here I am."
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Daisy pulled her legs up onto the chair so that she was sitting cross-legged. “There’s a good chance you’ll find me with paper and a pen or pencil at any point in the day. I randomly get ideas for stories, and if I don’t write them down as I’m thinking of them, then I’ll never remember. My parents don’t mind that I’m in the paper, but they hate the thought of me becoming a writer and not getting a steady pay. Obviously, I couldn’t care less.”
Arvil fell silent for a second, trying to think of more things to say.
"Obviously Cyber wasn't doing very well in the first few weeks of its creation. It almost got shut down, actually, and I nearly gave up. Almost all of my employees had as well. But with much effort, we pulled through. I prefer doing things on my own without the reliance of others, and I certainly like that quality in people I hang around with. I do admire your desire to continue writing. So what if it doesn't have a steady pay? You love writing. Keep doing what you love."
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Daisy blinked at his words, her lips turning up again. She liked that. She liked what he’d said very much. It was encouraging.
“I refuse to give up what I love just because others might tell me I’m wrong. I also refuse to do anything that is demanded of me, unless it’s the law, of course. But by that, I meant something like marrying someone I hate. Obviously, I’m not too keen on the idea,” she drawled the last sentence, rolling her eyes as she thought of her parents. “My parents think it will be good for me to settle down and get married, but I think it best if I live my life while I’m young, and that does not need to include a man who will just tie me down.”
