Nighttime, scrolling TikTok like usual. Some dude in a mesh top was dancing. Pretty good moves. Couldn't see his face, and he looked kinda lean, but damn, the muscle definition was just right. Those abs peeking through the netting… chef's kiss. I shot my shot right there in the comments: Damn boy, gotta run, but wow The second I hit send, the guy who was just pixels on my screen suddenly materialized right in front of me. 1. Dragging myself home after a long day, I flopped onto my bed, dead to the world, and started my ritual: scrolling through thirst traps. Look, do I know it's basically softcore? Yeah. But hear me out. These guys are strangers. No one in real life is volunteering this view, but they are. They're not asking for my money, not trying to scam me, just putting it all out there for a measly little heart icon. What’s wrong with that? It’s not just thirst traps; it’s public service. A modern form of salvation. And my personal savior? TikTok creator EQ. He blew up outta nowhere last month. Super aloof type, never likes comments, rarely engages. Sometimes doesn't even bother with a caption, just drops pics. Today, he dropped a new video. First time doing video, actually. Him in that mesh top, moving like that… those muscles, the hint of abs under the fabric. Was this… targeted content? Aimed directly at me? I sighed. Modern loneliness, man. A tiny screen separating me from my internet husband. Couldn't help myself. Zero filter mode activated. Usually, I’m the quiet, sweet girl at work. Online? Total degenerate. I typed: Damn boy, gotta run, but wow Comment sent. And BAM. The guy from my phone screen was standing in my bedroom. Still wearing the exact same mesh top from the video. My eyes traveled up… to a face that was cool, sharp, and annoyingly good-looking. Looked kinda familiar. Weird. Let me look again. Ethan Sterling? My boss? The guy who always wears perfect suits, looks like he’s contemplating tax law 24/7, and never cracks a smile? Yeah, okay, we were both thoroughly freaked out. Ethan went from confused, to more confused when he saw me, then shocked, bewildered, scared, and… blushing? In like five seconds, I saw more expressions on his face than I had in the entire year I’d worked for him. "Anna Miller?" The thirst trap— I mean, Ethan— finally spoke. "Mr. Sterling? What… what’s going on?" I instinctively grabbed a throw blanket off my chair and handed it to him. Couldn’t help it; if I kept looking, I was gonna get a nosebleed. He eyed the fuzzy pink blanket like it personally offended him, but then draped it over his shoulders anyway. Body betrays the face, huh? "What did you do? How did I suddenly end up in your apartment?" Credit where it's due, the big boss composure kicked back in fast. Already analyzing the situation. "I didn't do anything! Just scrolling TikTok, and… I saw your…" "And then?" He cut me off before the words "thirst trap video" could fully form. And then? Could I really say it? Is that something you say to your boss who is currently standing in your bedroom wearing a mesh top and a pink blanket? "Nothing." Online Anna: Fearless warrior. Real-life Anna: Total coward. He clearly didn't buy it. "Phone. Now." He even gave me the look. The one that usually means my quarterly bonus is about to evaporate. Forget the bonus, I just stumbled onto my boss's secret life. I could end up "disappeared." Trembling, I unlocked my phone and handed it over. It was still open to his video. Damn, he really was popular. The video already had over a hundred thousand likes. And my comment? Boosted right up into the top three. Mortifying. Clearly, I wasn't the only one mortified. Ethan’s expression didn't change much, but his ears were turning bright red. The pink blanket really made them pop. Almost… cute? "So," he said, his voice tight. "You commented one sentence, and I instantly appeared here?" 2 I nodded hesitantly. It sounded insane, I know. But it was the truth. He handed the phone back. "Comment again." He then backed away into my tiny kitchen alcove and slid the glass door mostly shut. Okay… I sent a simple smiley face emoji. Nothing happened. Total silence. He walked back into the living room, looking deadly serious despite the pink blanket situation. Like he was chairing a board meeting about interdimensional travel. "What's the variable here?" A lightbulb went off in my head. I spoke tentatively, already cringing, "The… content of the comment?" He nodded, gestured for me to try again, and retreated back to the kitchen. I thought carefully, typed something out, and hit send. Poof. He was right back in front of me. Neither of us saw how it happened. Ethan frowned. "What did you write this time?" "Uh…" My voice got smaller and smaller. "'Pretty sure looking this good should be illegal… " I practically mumbled the last part into the carpet. His mouth twitched. He looked like he wanted to say something, then stopped, sighed, and just said my name. "Anna." "Yeah?" "Try again. Comment on someone else's video," he paused, then added, "Same type of content." Leave it to the boss to think methodically. Control the variables. He was treating this like a science experiment. So, he sat down next to me on my couch, watching intently as I scrolled to find another thirst trap creator and typed: Pretty sure we're soulmates based on... well, everything Before hitting send, I had a brief panic attack. What if I summoned another one? How would I explain that? Demonstrate the magic words again and summon a third? End up with a living room full of half-naked influencers? Honestly, sounds like a dream come true. Turns out, I worried for nothing. Sent the comment. Nothing happened. After a few more rounds of testing, Ethan and I reached a conclusion. If I post a thirsty, flirty, or generally inappropriate comment on Ethan Sterling's secret thirst trap videos, he teleports directly to my location. We just sat there for a minute, silently processing this absolutely ridiculous information. Eventually, I called him an Uber and lent him one of my brother's old sweatshirts (thank god he left some stuff here). Before leaving, Ethan fixed me with a glare. A serious, 'I-run-a-company' glare. "Anna Miller. If a third person ever finds out about this, you're finished." Message received. I like my job, thanks. Besides, who would even believe this story? The internet, man. What a weird, magical place. Nobody knows how degenerate I am online, just like nobody knows the cool, aloof CEO is secretly a TikTok thirst trap star. 3 I got to work super early the next day. Couldn't sleep. Last night's events were… a lot. Ethan didn't look like he'd slept much either. Dark circles under his eyes. Kinda matched the color of that mesh top… And then, during the damn company-wide morning meeting, I snorted out loud with laughter. My coworkers tried to hide their smirks, glancing between me and the head of the table, clearly enjoying the drama. I risked a peek at Ethan. He was looking down, fingers tapping rhythmically on the polished wood. He looked like he hadn't heard, but I recognized that tapping. It was a warning. Sure enough, after the meeting, "Anna, stay behind." I immediately went into damage control. "Mr. Sterling, my lips are sealed! Seriously, Fort Knox has nothing on me. I won't say a word." He just gave me a look, then handed me a garment bag. "Your brother's sweatshirt. Dry cleaned. Thank you." I took the bag, trying to smile normally. Leave it to him to return a borrowed hoodie like he was closing a million-dollar deal. Just as I was marveling at his sheer Ethan-ness, he dropped the bomb. "Business trip next week. You're coming with me." "Why?" I blurted out. "Because I can't risk you randomly commenting while I'm out of state and teleporting me into a client meeting." Seriously? Like I have nothing better to do than randomly summon my boss? I thought it, but no way was I saying that out loud. Ten points from Gryffindor and probably my job. So, yeah. I ended up on the business trip with him and his EA, Mark. Destination: neighboring state. I figured it would be boring as hell, but then I ran into someone I knew. Leo Vance. Long-term company partner, also happens to be Ethan's best friend. Leo's actually a pretty fun guy. Last time I saw him was months ago. Didn't think he'd remember me, just a random girl from the marketing department. But the moment he saw me, he grinned. "Anna! Good to see you!" I was surprised. "Mr. Vance, you remember me?" His grin widened. "Of course! How could I forget? Besides, I owe you big time. If it wasn't for you, I never would've won that last bet against Ethan." I froze. Dude. You can't just say stuff like that! What bet? Mark, the EA, suddenly looked like he'd walked in on a top-secret merger negotiation, eyeing me with a new mix of awe and pity. I immediately turned to Ethan, practically pledging allegiance. "Mr. Sterling, don't listen to him! My loyalty is 100% to this company! I would never do anything to jeopardize our interests!" Seriously, I need this job. Ethan's face was thunderous. Eyebrows knitted together. Looked like he was about to start yelling. I was terrified. Leo, however, was completely unfazed. He even added fuel to the fire. "What are you scared of him for? He's not as intimidating as he looks. Hey, Anna, I like you. You should ditch this place and come work for me. I'll definitely pay you more than he does." Okay, I don't know why Leo was trying to get me fired, but he was doing a bang-up job. Nope. Not dealing with this. Fight or flight? Flight. Definitely flight. "Excuse me, nature calls!" I practically sprinted towards the restrooms, escaping the corporate minefield. When I got back, they were both acting like nothing happened, back to business as usual. Weirdos. 4 This whole trip had absolutely nothing to do with my actual job. I couldn't help with any of it. Thankfully, Ethan didn't seem to expect me to. Like he said, I was basically just teleportation insurance. So, I tried to make myself invisible, huddled in a corner, scrolling through TikTok. This guy's cute, but kinda scrawny... This one has abs, but way too much, not as good as Ethan's… Speaking of, Ethan hadn't posted anything new this week. Kinda wanted to nudge him for an update, but my survival instinct screamed NO. Man, after seeing the boss's... uh... content, all these other guys seemed kinda bland. "What are you doing?" That cool, distinctive voice right above me made me jump. My phone clattered to the floor. The video playing was one of my pre-Ethan favorites. The creator had a thing for uniforms and wasn't shy about it. Ethan glanced at the screen as he bent down to pick up my phone. Before I could even thank him, I watched in horror as his long fingers did a long-press on the screen and mercilessly tapped 'Not Interested.' Dude! He handed the phone back to me, my silent rage apparently invisible to him. "Work hours, Anna. Less time on... low-brow content." Right, right. Their thirst traps are low-brow. Yours are high art. Got it. Seriously, I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't party. My only vice is appreciating the male form online. What's the big deal? And what was up with Leo? Every time he saw me for the rest of the trip, he'd start grinning, trying to hold back laughter, and eventually just failing completely. By the end of the trip, Ethan basically banned us from being in the same room. Said we were "disrupting productivity." To give me something to do, Mark asked me to book the return flights. I sidled up to Ethan's temporary desk while he was typing away. Lowering my voice conspiratorially, I said, "Boss, I have a brilliant idea. Could save the company money." He didn't even look up. "Go on." "Okay, so I fly back first. Get to the office. Then, I comment on your video, and poof! You're instantly back at HQ. Saves time, saves a plane ticket. Win-win!" He shot down my genius plan immediately. Told me to stop thinking up "shady shortcuts." Damn. I really wanted to see if the long-distance teleportation worked.
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