Alex placed his document folder on the back seat and then sat behind the wheel. He loosened his tie and released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. The meeting today didn’t go as he had hoped; he would have to reschedule it.

He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, opened them, and started the car.

He barely managed to leave the parking space when the car seemed to come to life on its own. The steering wheel began to move by itself, the car signaled and turned without Alex touching anything.

His heart raced “What the hell is going on here?”

Finally, the car stopped, and he heard the door open, and someone entered the passenger seat.
He turned to look at who had entered, and the first thing he saw were large green eyes and a mane of blonde hair.
"Hey," the blonde said with a big smile on his face. "You’re a very hard person to catch, Alexander."
Alex frowned. “For a stranger breaking into my car, it’s Mr. Anderson.” Alex said, trying to open the door on his side, but the car had already locked itself and continued driving on its own.
“You know, it’s very dangerous to open the door while the car is moving,” the blonde said as he buckled himself in.
“What do you want from me?” Alex demanded. The whole situation was really stressing him out. He tried to think of what this stranger could possibly want from him.
The stranger laughed and said, “Congratulations! According to MMS, we’re mates! You can call me Gabe.”
Alex was confused. He had skipped breakfast for that meeting, and now he was hungry — and to be honest, a little scared. “Who...? What...?”
Gabe saw the confused look on Alex’s face and decided to try to stay on his good side.
“I have a friend who helped me find you,” Gabe said.
“What does that mean? Helped find me? And who the hell is controlling my car?” Alex asked, still bewildered.
Gabe shifted his gaze away from Alex. “A friend,” he whispered to Alex.
Alex looked at Gabe’s profile and said, “I’ve already found my match, so what do you really want from me?”

Alex’s tone sounded serious, and Gabe could swear he believed he was telling the truth.
“That’s not what’s written in the database,” Gabe said as he took his phone out of his pocket and showed Alex the information, which indicated that they were a match. “See, it says they contacted you and you said you weren’t interested.”
Alex snatched the phone from Gabe’s hand and stared at it. “See,” Gabe said again.
Alex looked more closely, many questions racing through his mind. If the documents were really genuine, how did they end up in Gabe’s hands? This information wasn’t supposed to be confidential?. Who is Gabe really, and what does he want from him?
Gabe swiped to another document. “This is my information,” he said, leaning closer so Alex could see. Alex’s heart started to beat faster. He could feel the warmth of Gabe’s body. He looked down at him — the long lashes, the straight nose, the soft pink lips. And when Gabe looked up, their eyes met, and Alex frowned as his heart skipped a beat.
“So you say,” Alex muttered, deciding not to believe him. “What do you really want from me?”

They locked eyes until Gabe sighed and looked away. “If you check my file,” he said, pointing again, “you’ll see I am an Omega. But my pheromone levels are so low, I’m practically a Beta.”

“I don’t see how any of this concerns me,” Alex replied, still trying to make sense of everything.

“I’ve always wanted to have kids,” Gabe said. “I imagine a big table, filled with children, everyone sharing how their day went.” A soft smile spread across his face as he pictured it.

Seeing Alex’s confused expression, he continued. “Because of my low pheromone levels, I need someone who’s a perfect match to make it possible. And who’s more perfect than my mate?” The last sentence was clearly meant as a compliment, though Alex did not appreciate it.

“I told you, I already found my mate,” Alex said, his tone cold.

Gabe’s smile faded, and Alex felt a strange pang he could not explain.
“Look,” Gabe said, “I am not asking you to be with me. Surprisingly, not every match from the program leads to a relationship. I figured you were already with someone if you rejected their offer—”

“I did not—” Alex began, but Gabe interrupted.
“What I am trying to say is, I do not need you. I just need a few samples from your best swimmers.”

Alex stared at him, stunned into silence.
“Of course, I will pay,” Gabe added quickly. “As much as you want for each sample.”
“Each sample?” Alex repeated in a whisper.
“I think I need seven,” Gabe said, doing the math in his head. “Even with a perfect match, the chance of pregnancy is only seventy percent. I really want more than one child. So if I get seven samples now, the chance I come back again is low.”
Alex could not move. He felt frozen. Was this a prank? Was the man beside him even real? He stared at Gabe in disbelief and shook his head.
The car radio started playing a love song loudly, startling Alex. Gabe lowered the volume of the radio.
"Look," Gabe said, "Money is not a problem, I’m willing to pay any price you want."
Alex looked at him with furrowed brows.
"You know what?" Gabe said, taking his phone back from Alex. He probably sent a message to his friend because the car pulled over to the side.
“I’ll let you think about it. We can talk price next time.” And just like that, he got out of the car.

It took Alex a few minutes to gather himself. The whole encounter left him speechless. Everything Gabe had said still echoed in his head.
He had already found his match over a year ago, his girlfriend, Kylie. If she wasn’t his match, would he have felt it? If Gabe was right, the people from the program should have contacted him about it, right?

So much had happened to him in one day, and all he wanted was food and rest.

He sighed with relief as he managed to regain control of the car
Now, he needed to return to the office so he and Adam could come up with another business plan, hoping that one would be accepted