My online boyfriend turned out to be my ruthless boss who constantly exploited me.

In public, he was a cunning and domineering CEO.

In private, he was a sweet boy.

He was both tough and sweet. He truly had my love.

1

It was about getting scolded by my boss in the morning.

"Emma! How did you gather this data? Are you just slacking off at work?" said Levi.

Levi slammed the folder onto my desk and started yelling. It startled me, and I didn't dare say a word.

"I'll redo it right away," I said.

I quickly grabbed the folder from the desk. I kept my head down and didn't dare make eye contact with Levi.

The anger in his eyes could probably burn me to ashes.

I felt like crying but had no tears left.

I watched Levi leave. Once he was gone, I quickly turned to vent to my colleague, Isabella Harris.

"Did Levi eat dynamite today? His temper is so bad. He yelled at me in the morning," I said.

I was about to pretend to hit something to vent my anger when he suddenly came back. I quickly hid my clenched fist.

I hoped he didn't see me.

"Emma, I need the revised data by 9 PM tonight. Work overtime if you have to," said Levi.

Levi ordered me with such a stern expression that I didn't dare say "no."

"Yes, Mr. Davis," I said.

I agreed with a smile. In my mind, I had cursed him a thousand times.

"He always bossed me around! And made me work overtime. I'll report you to the authorities!

You ruthless boss. I hope you never find a girlfriend!"

I clenched my fists.

"Alright, get to work. I have to work overtime too," said Isabella, patting my shoulder.

Isabella comforted me. We were all just miserable workers.

I worked on those files until 9 PM, just barely meeting Levi's deadline.

I didn't even have time to eat dinner. I was starving.

"Wait, dinner! Oh no!"

My online boyfriend and I had planned to meet tonight.

"Damn! I had dinner plans tonight! I forgot already!"

I was so busy working overtime that I hadn't checked my phone. I just remembered now.

My online boyfriend had sent me a lot of messages, but I hadn't seen any of them.

[Babe, I'm already at the restaurant. Waiting for you.]

[If you're running late, it's okay. Babe, don't worry.]

[If you don't come soon, I'll eat everything.]

[Babe, do you not want to see me?]

The last message was sent at 8:30 PM. I hadn't replied to any of them.

"I'm in trouble." I stood him up and didn't even reply.

"It's all Levi's fault! Making me work overtime!"

"Babe, I was working overtime tonight and completely forgot. It wasn't intentional. Are you still at the restaurant? I'll come find you! I'll treat you next time," I said.

I replied to him with guilt. I felt awful and cursed Levi in my heart.

My first meeting with my online boyfriend ended so rudely.

I met this online boyfriend on Twitter. I didn't expect that we'd meet on Twitter.

At the time, we both left the same comment on the official account of Campbell Restaurant.

"If they replaced the vinegar in their signature dish with lime, it would taste even better."

He was the one who sent messages to me first, saying he was impressed we had the same taste in food.

I thought, "Wow! Someone who shares my taste."

We got to know each other this way. We often discussed and explored food together.

I was happy to have met someone online who shared my taste.

We got along well and had been chatting for half a year.

He actually confessed to me.

He said he really liked me and hoped we could take things further.

But I didn't even know what he looked like. I had suggested exchanging photos before, but he refused.

We didn't even know each other's real names. We were only chatting using our usernames.

He went by "Mac and Cheese without Cheese," and I went by "Chocolate Chip Cookies without Cookies."

Even our usernames were equally quirky and funny.

Of course, I wouldn't use my main account to add an online friend, so I used a casual alternate account.

As for whether he used his main or alternate account, I had no idea.

If his main account used a silly username like "Mac and Cheese without Cheese," it would be funny.

He suggested we not exchange photos or know each other's names to keep a sense of mystery.

Wow, he liked that kind of thing?

It sounded a bit too strange. I did wonder if he was some kind of creep.

Considering he was a great cook and polite when talking to girls, he probably wasn't some creepy guy.

Besides, I had seen his hand in one of his food photos. It was long, and had distinct bones.

With hands like that, he probably didn't look too bad.

I thought I'd keep talking to him since I didn't have a boyfriend anyway.

If I found someone better, then I would...

He couldn't stop me from moving on to someone better, right?

So, we spent three whole months dating online with our silly usernames.

We had planned to officially meet today, but I completely forgot and stood him up. I didn't even reply to his messages for a long time.

For our first meeting to leave such a bad impression, I felt both guilty and sorry.

Even if he wasn't my boyfriend and just a friend, it was still rude.

I anxiously waited for him to reply. I was worried that he might be angry.

After a while, "Mac and Cheese without Cheese" finally replied.

[Sorry, I was driving just now. I just got home.]

[I'm sorry about today. Something came up at work. I was working overtime until nine and only saw your message then.]

[It's okay, babe. I understand. It's just that I have been looking forward to meeting you for so long. It's a pity we didn't get to meet today.]

[I'm treating you to dinner next time.]

[No way. How could I let my precious girlfriend pay for dinner?]

I sent him a shy emoji in response.

[I want to meet you, babe.]

[You said you'd send me a photo before but then decided not to.]

[I want our first meeting to be face-to-face in real life.]

[I know. Keeping the mystery alive.]

I have to admit, he was pretty sweet. He kept calling me "babe," and it really made my heart flutter.

I didn't expect that such a sweet guy would have a username like "Mac and Cheese without Cheese".

"Emma, I've got some big gossip about Mr. Davis," said Isabella.

She whispered a secret to me when I got to the office in the morning.

"What gossip? Tell me. I need a good laugh," I said.

"I heard Mr. Davis got stood up last night," said Isabella.

"Really? Someone dared to stand him up? That's so satisfying! Even he gets knocked down a peg," I said, feeling excited.

As soon as I heard that Levi had messed up, I got really excited.

"How did you find out?" I asked.

"One of the coworkers went on a date with her boyfriend at a restaurant. They saw Mr. Davis there. He waited from seven to nine. He didn't order any food, and then just left," said Isabella.

"What if he just went to eat alone?" I said, frowning.

"Mr. Davis had a big bouquet of beautiful flowers. He didn't order anything and just left. It's getting stood up. And It was definitely a girl who did it," said Isabella. She carefully looked around while lowering her voice.

"Wow. That's some strong karma. I want to give props to the person who stood him up," I said, laughing. "He made me work overtime until nine last night."

Hearing first thing in the morning that Levi got stood up made my day.

He was always a tyrant at the company. He constantly made us work overtime.

"And that restaurant needs to be booked a week in advance. He still got stood up," Isabella said.

"That makes me feel even better." I couldn't hold back my laughter.

He didn't expect to have a day where he got stood up.

Wait a minute. He got stood up last night. I stood someone up too.

Could it really be that much of a coincidence?

"Isabella, which restaurant did Mr. Davis get stood up at last night?"

"I think it was the Campbell Restaurant. They're super busy. He has to book a week in advance," Isabella said.

The Campbell Restaurant?

I quickly pulled out my phone. I checked the restaurant name that "Mac and Cheese without Cheese" had sent me earlier.

"No way. It's the same place.

It can't be that much of a coincidence.

It must just be a coincidence. A coincidence that we were at the same restaurant. A coincidence that we both got stood up.

After all, my boyfriend is a sweet talker. He calls me "Babe" all the time. He even uses a silly username like "Mac and Cheese without Cheese."

There's no way he could be the stern Levi. The boss who's always squeezing the life out of me.

They're two completely different people."

"Emma. Come to my office," Levi said.

"Great. Here comes the bad boss again.

Now I'm even more convinced. There's no way they're the same person."

I walked into Levi's office. I felt like I was heading to my doom.

"Mr. Davis, I'm here," I said.

"Emma. Take on this project. It will help you in your work," Levi said, handing me a folder.

What?

Did I hear that right? Levi said something nice.

"For me?" I asked.

I thought, "If I get this project, I get results. If I get results, I get a bonus. Money, here I come!"

"If you don't want it, you can give it to someone else," Levi said.

"Thank you, Mr. Davis. I'll get right on it," I said, waving my hand dismissively.

Hesitating for even a second would be disrespectful to the money.

When did he become so kind-hearted? Why would he give me such a good project?

As I dragged my exhausted body home after a long day of work. I got a message from "Mac and Cheese without Cheese."

[Babe, I accidentally cut my index finger while cooking tonight.]

There was a crying emoji. There was also a picture of his finger with a bandage on it.

I quickly typed a comforting reply to my sweet boy.

[Come here. Let me kiss it better," I replied, adding a kissing emoji.

[As expected. After you kiss it, it doesn't hurt anymore.] He texted back.

"Look at him. He knows how to make my heart flutter."

I suddenly remembered Levi getting stood up. I couldn't shake this strange feeling of doubt.

"Although I've known my sweet boy for over six months, most of our conversations have been about food. All I know is that he's a freelancer. He's 27 years old. Other than that, I don't know much about him.

The reason I'm not worried he's a bad guy is because he's never shown any inappropriate behavior towards me.

The kind of guy who immediately asks you out for dinner is always up to something shady. Even if he says it's just for food.

This time, I was the one who suggested meeting up with my sweet boy. I figured whether he was handsome or not, we should meet up even if we didn't become a couple. We can at least be friends who enjoy a good meal together."