Page 100 of One Midnight Kiss

39

FOX

Istood, unable to sit down. My focus was on the data streaming across the monitors mounted on the wall. This was it—the moment I’d been waiting for. Hanna’s first week available to the public, and the numbers were staggering. Our projections had been conservative, but this? This was something else entirely.

I had worked myself up, stressing myself out about what might happen. I prepared myself to crash and burn. I had my developers standing by, ready to fix the inevitable problems. But they weren’t coming. My eyes drifted to the other monitor with a social media feed pulled up. We were trending.

People were raving. Photos of Hanna were flooding the internet, showing her in use, posted up as displays on store fronts, and featured in the bougie home decor magazines. Our tech was being purchased at a rate that made me dizzy. I had hoped for success, but this was unprecedented.

Lines of data rolled in like waves. I could feel the momentum building. Each line of code was executed perfectly. It was a small victory. The feedback was glowing. Customers loved Hanna’s smart AI features, her seamless integration with their homes. And this was only the first week. We’d need more servers, a bigger team, more engineers and technicians. Hell, I was going to need a bigger office.

I let out a slow, satisfied breath. The culmination of years of work, a hundred all-nighters, a thousand compromises—and it was paying off. Better than I’d imagined. I knew a lot of the success was due to Natalia. Her savvy marketing campaign had been perfect. The woman knew her stuff. It wasn’t just her marketing prowess, but her pretending to be engaged to me certainly helped. It softened my reputation. People saw me as a man and not some megalomaniac intent on conquering the world with my robot army.

I pulled out my phone, smirking. I hadn’t added her number to my contacts yet, even though I had it memorized by now. There was something satisfying about dialing it manually, each press of a button reminding me of the night I had managed to finally get it. The night that changed everything. Technically, it was the second time I got her number. I couldn’t believe I had nearly missed out because I didn’t pay attention to a stupid post-it.

It rang twice before she picked up.

“Hello, stranger,” Natalia’s voice came through.

“Coffee,” I said simply, leaning against the edge of my desk. “Downstairs. You in?”

She laughed softly. “Always so straightforward. You could at least try to woo me.”

“You need wooing now?” I shot back. “Last I checked, you said yes without any of that. But I would be happy to woo you. I will woo you so hard your head will spin.”

She giggled. “Is that innuendo I’m picking up on?”

“Do you want it to be?”

“Are you talking dirty to me?”

I grinned so big it almost hurt. “That is not dirty, but I can do that.”

“Stop it. I’ll get coffee with you, but don’t try to pull me into a closet. I have a ton of work to do.”

“How about if I pull you into the bathroom?” I offered.

“You’re bad.”

I smiled. “Alright, meet me downstairs in ten. And prepare to be wooed.”

“I’ll be counting the minutes,” she said.

There was a new sort of electricity in the air, sparking with anticipation. It wasn’t just about Hanna anymore. It was about the woman who had chosen to be by my side. I couldn’t wait to marry her. I was going to spend every day for the rest of my life showing her how special she was. I was never going to give her a reason to distrust me. What her ex did to her was going to be erased from her memory. I was going to fill every space in her mind with me and happy memories.

I stepped out of my office and nearly ran into Jerrod with a smug look on his face.

“What?” I asked.

“Look at you. Riding high on your New Year’s Eve success.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You mean Hanna?”

“Sure,” he said, his grin widening. “And the fact that you pinned down the only woman in the world who can keep up with you. Congrats on both.”

“Thanks.”

“Seriously, though. You’ve got it all right now. It’s good to see. You deserve a good woman, and Natalia is about as good as they come. Good job. I hope you are going to ride this high for a good long while.”