She was the most beautiful woman Tyrell had ever seen, making it all but impossible to even look at her. He could tell that someone like her could never be with someone like him by her high-class posture and intelligent smile. Someone like her could never even want someone like him, especially since he was just a security technician at the largest conglomerate in the entire world, E Corp. He would like to say that he was good looking, with his blond hair and steely gray eyes, but the fact was that women always wanted a man with a lot of money. He barely was even invited to the rich investor banquet he was attending. A rather nasty hack catapulted him into action. After what felt like hours and many swipes of his sweaty forehead later, he finally intercepted and stopped the hack, saving E Corp's financial files from deleting and keeping all the debt everyone owed the company in tact. Those crazy vigilante hackers calling themselves "F Society" had nothing on Tyrell Wellick, master hack blocker and virtually a nobody. E Corp was safe from the horrors of losing their financial leverage over the earth's population.
Mr. Phillip Price, the CEO of the company was so grateful, that he personally came all the way down to the third floor, where Tyrell's cublicle was, and thanked him. He even went so far as to extend him an invitation to the annual Investors Banquet saying, "Maybe you'll get lucky and make a few connections, kid."
Tyrell remembered thinking that it must have been the happiest day of his life; he was finally receiving the credit he felt he deserved. But, at the banquet he was just standing against the wall, nursing a full glass of some fancy red wine he had never heard of and nervously tugging at the tie fit too snugly around his neck. He figured he must look just as out of place as he felt among the socialites and waiters carrying trays of scallops wrapped in bacon. He looked at the woman again, this time accidentally catching her eye.
"Oh, Shit," Tyrell whispered to himself. He felt his eyes embarrassingly fixed on her, not looking away. He couldn't look away because the woman started smiling at him. She was actually smiling at Tyrell, the ordinary tech. There was absolutely no one near him to confuse the greeting. The woman said something to the older man she was talking with and began walking over in his direction. Tyrell's heart was almost uncontainable inside his chest. It was throbbing in time to her slow motion stride and the soft sway of her hips clad in that tight black dress. She was getting closer, but all he could do was watch, frozen in excitement and anticipation. The woman eventually came to a stop right in front of him and time sped up again. She looked him up and down appraisingly. When she finally tilted her head back to look up into his eyes, she smirked. The slight curve of her full lip reached all the way to her ice blue eyes. They were sparkling in amusement.
"Why were you looking at me?" she inquired bluntly with a faint Danish accent. Tyrell stood there for a moment, assessing his options: be forward and try to impress her or just say nothing and walk away. The second option seemed pretty good to Tyrell at the moment, but he decided that he did not want to be rude. A million ways to impress her came into his head, none elaborate or interesting enough for the woman before him. Suddenly, he felt a shift in him, and before he knew what was happening, he was answering her in his native tongue.
"Du är härlig," he said in Swedish. You are beautiful. The woman looked surprised for a second, then her expression morphed into delight.
"Vil du tale dansk?" she asked in Danish. Do you speak Danish, as well? Tyrell shook his head, basking in the attention of the beautiful woman. He actually did something right.
"I only understand it," he said in English. She nodded and stuck out her hand.
"My name is Joanna Poulsen. My father has a small investment in E Corp." Tyrell took her perfectly smooth and tiny hand in his and kissed it softly, never losing eye contact.
"My name is Tyrell Wellick, just a lowly cyber technician saving E Corp and your father's money from company ruining hacks every day," he boasted smoothly. He seemed to be on a roll, but there was no way in hell this woman could be interested in him, right? Tyrell had to wonder if maybe he had more game than he originally thought when Joanna giggled, fluttering her lashes attractively.
"Well, Tyrell Wellick, what are you doing at the Investor's Banquet if you are not an investor?" she questioned leaning closer to him and touching his arm. Tyrell took a breath and told her about the crazy F Society hack that he single handedly stopped to save the company. He watched as her eyes lit up with interest as he exaggerated detail after detail. When he was done telling her the story, she looked thoroughly impressed.
"Well, it seems that I owe you a great deal, Mr. Wellick," Joanna commented, "since you have saved my family from a lifetime of poverty." Tyrell waved his hand like it was nothing at all.
"Please, call me Tyrell," he said.
"Tyrell, you must let me take you out to dinner tomorrow night to thank you," she continued, tucking her dark, perfectly coiffed hair behind her ear. Tyrell pretended to deliberate but eventually agreed when she hit his arm playfully. His schedule was humiliatingly empty, anyway. After exchanging information, the two parted ways, Joanna saying she needed to get back to her father, and Tyrell pretending he also had somewhere important to be.
All too slowly, in Tyrell's taste, tomorrow came. He picked Joanna up a few minutes after the agreed time, not wanting to appear too eager, and the couple braved the crowded Midtown streets. They made their way towards Columbus Circle to a restaurant called Masa. Joanna insisted on picking the restaurant, one of the most expensive in the world, and paying for Tyrell's meal as well as her own. When Tyrell learned that the restaurant cost about four hundred dollars per person, he reluctantly agreed since he knew that would wipe out a good chunk of his savings. They arrived at the tiny Japanese restaurant and Joanna sat down on one of the elevated stools at the bar. Being the perfect gentleman, Tyrell helped her out of her jacket and hung it on the back of her seat before sitting down himself. Idle chitchat ensued until the first course came. Joanna thanked the waiter warmly and swiveled in her seat to face Tyrell more fully.
"Tyrell, why do you think I asked you here tonight?" Joanna challenged. Tyrell, about to take a sip of water, stopped.
"What do you mean? I thought it was to thank me?" he
"Do you plan on remaining a tech for the rest of your life?" she asked as if it were the most normal question to ask in the moment. Tyrell almost spit the water he was drinking out of his mouth, but instead, it went down his windpipe. He coughed until his lungs were clear and he no longer felt a tickle in his throat. He definitely did not expect such a question, especially on the first date. He could not help but feel slightly offended by the subtle accusation in her voice, but she was studying him so earnestly that he felt the need to answer.
"I mean, maybe? It's what I love to do… and I'm good at it, or so I'm told," he responded, watching as Joanna's expression hardened a tiny amount.
"Don't you want to make more money?" she pressed on, taking a sip of the white wine she ordered. "Don't you want to be powerful? Don't you want to have everything you could ever want in the entire world?" Tyrell looked at the woman whose casual actions did not seem to be in line with the impact of her own words.
"I don't know what you're talking about, okay? I think mayb-
"Look, all I'm doing is offering you an amazing opportunity to further your career. You don't need to feel obligated to take it. There are plenty of other men I could ask," Joanna interrupted. She swiveled slightly back toward her plate and took a dainty bite of fish. "Mmmm," she moaned, closing her eyes, "still the most delicious fish I've ever had." Tyrell was left to process the information her sudden burst gave him. Further his career? To what? CTO of E Corp? Tyrell froze. He imagined himself in a sleek suit and tie with his hair slicked back. He imagined a huge, mahogany desk with three of the most expensive and technologically advanced computers resting on top, all for him. He imagined the respect filled glances of his peers and the endless amount of money he could be making with his talents. Tyrell looked at Joanna, who was smirking knowingly. What if she was telling the truth? What if she could really help him become rich and powerful.
"How can you help me?" he eventually pressed her.
"Let's get married," she stated promptly taking another bite of her fish. Tyrell's laugh tapered off when he saw the serious and slightly annoyed look on her face.
"Am I really that repulsive?" Tyrell coughed again, taking a sip of water so he would not say anything stupid. Joanna smirked again and continued on with her plan. "Let's get married. I'm telling you, Tyrell. With your skill set and my resourcefulness, no one can stop us from taking over E Corp. You could be the most powerful CTO that ever lived." It was like she was reading his mind. In a rush, the image of him at the big desk came back. Tyrell took a deep breath and nodded, facing his new fiancé.
"All right. Let's do this."