Chapter 45: The Envelope of Doom
The tea shop was unnervingly quiet after the last of the guests had left. The scent of extinguished candles mingled with the faint aroma of tea leaves and frosting, remnants of a long evening that had been equal parts chaos and triumph. Ava Lee slumped into her chair behind her desk, staring at the invitation sitting like an ominous omen right in the center of the organized mess.
International Matchmaking Convention: New York City
Keynote Competition: Intuition vs. Technology
Team Competition – 2-Person Minimum.
She exhaled sharply, glaring at the gold-embossed lettering as if it might disappear if she stared hard enough. "Why do I feel like this is a setup?"
From his spot near the bookshelf, Ryan Kim raised an eyebrow. He’d loosened his tie, his dark suit jacket slung lazily over one shoulder, giving him an air of casual defiance against the formal chaos they had just survived. "Because it probably is."
Ava shot him a look. "You’re not supposed to agree with me."
Ryan smirked, leaning against the edge of her desk. "You’re the one who trusts Mei enough to open an envelope without backup."
Ava groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I shouldn’t have opened it. I should’ve burned it. Or better yet, mailed it back to her with a note that said, ’No thanks.’"
Ryan chuckled. "Come on, Matchmaker. Where’s that fearless confidence? The woman who survived a sabotage-filled gala last week isn’t afraid of a little New York chaos, is she?"
Ava peeked out between her fingers, narrowing her eyes. "This isn’t a little New York chaos. This is global matchmaking chaos. You saw the tagline! ’Intuition vs. Technology.’ They’re basically inviting me to throw down with a tech billionaire who thinks love is just a spreadsheet."