The Fake Dating Protocol: A Spicy Tech Workplace Romcom

Merger season at BeaconPoint is supposed to be about stability. KPIs. Optics. Confidence. So when PR decides the company needs a "human story" to calm clients and impress investors, the solution is absurdly simple: pick two beloved employees, put them in the spotlight, and sell the illusion of perfect chemistry. There's just one problem. Kaitlynn Reyes and Kyle Brennan already have chemistry. They're best friends.
Battle-tested teammates. The kind of pair who can defuse an outage and eviscerate a spreadsheet in the same hour. But when they're "voluntold" to fake-date as the official Faces of Stability, their private dynamic becomes public property-complete with HR paperwork, scripted photo ops, and colleagues who won't stop reading meaning into every glance. Kaitlynn likes control. Clean plans. Clear boundaries.
Feelings are. messy variables. Kyle is the steady one-wry, loyal, quietly brilliant-until the performance starts blurring into something he actually wants. And just as the fake relationship starts to feel dangerously real, a sabotage thread ignites inside the company: a client demo goes sideways, access logs don't add up, and someone powerful is determined to rewrite the narrative at any cost. Now Kaitlynn and Kyle have to do more than pretend to be in love-they have to protect each other, outsmart corporate politics, and keep BeaconPoint from imploding.
all while their hearts refuse to stay "professional."Because in a workplace where everything is brand-managed, the riskiest thing they can do is tell the truth. The Fake Dating Protocol is a fast, funny, emotionally grounded workplace romcom packed with: Best friends to lovers Forced proximity and fake dating Smart banter and corporate chaos Slow-burn tension with high payoff A satisfying HEA where consent and communication win Optics may be policy-but love doesn't follow the script.