by Haley Weir
Leslie the receptionist came over to him. “I’m sorry for the delay, Mr. Sinclair. Ms. Prince will just be a little while longer,” her tone was sincerely apologetic.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.” Liam wasn’t concerned. He had plenty of time before he needed to get back to the office. .
Leslie let out a relieved sigh. “She will be with you shortly.” He went back to checking his schedule and scanning the news while he waited. His senses were on alert, waiting for a chance to see Olivia again. The thought of missing her made him tense.
Not long after the receptionist checked on him, a professional woman with a skirt that showcased her long legs came to the entrance of the waiting room. “Mr. Sinclair? It’s a pleasure to meet you, especially after helping your brother. Follow me. I’ll personally assist you with finding your perfect match.”
“Ms. Prince, thank you for taking the time to meet with me,” he replied. He rose to his feet and shook her extended hand, feeling a momentary spark that felt like static electricity. The hardwood floors wouldn’t have generated that.
A small smirk curved her lips. “You’re welcome. Shall we? I believe I have a good idea of what type of woman you’re looking for.”
Liam’s eyebrows drew together. Something about the way she spoke and her words put him a little on edge, but she seemed incredibly unique. His bear sensed it too. However, it was a risk he was willing to take.
Chapter Five
Olivia licked her lips, unable to help the nervousness that twisted in her stomach. Talking with Kimberly was great, but it was hard to keep the conversation with that mystery man far from her mind. Walking back through the waiting room after her appointment, she was disappointed he was no longer there. She did not even get to ask him his name!
He was funny and easy to talk to. He did not make her feel self conscious or nervous when she stumbled over her thoughts, which was the opposite of her relationship with Jared. When Kimberly signed her up, she told her it typically took a few days for people to get a match. But she would be notified when the information came through. She wished that she could focus on her work rather than wondering who she might be paired with, but she could not stop obsessing.
During the meeting, she gave Kimberly some of her likes and dislikes in men. When she thought about her answers later on, most of the dislikes described traits of Jared, which shocked her. Had he scarred her that badly? Was she holding onto a grudge from the terrible date? Or maybe it was her subconscious helping her avoid another disastrous situation. If so, she greatly appreciated it.
Olivia leaned back in her office chair and she rubbed her eyes again. She wasn’t sure why, but nothing seemed to help her concentrate on the pile of emails that sat in her inbox. Her mind went back to the man she met at Prince Dating Agency. She needed to relax and stop fixating on him, because it was likely that he would not be her perfect match If she kept thinking about him and he wasn’t her match, she ran the risk of being disappointed. She would be setting herself up for failure with her actual match. But his tall stature and muscular body made her want to run her hands over him. She thought about how handsome he looked in his tailored suit, and couldn’t believe she actually had the nerve to compliment him. Who was this domineering woman, and where had she been hiding for the past couple years?
Everytime her phone buzzed, she jumped, thinking it could be the dating agency getting back to her with the results. The next few days were going to be intense if she kept up this kind of behavior. She needed something to distract her, and she knew just who she needed to come clean to about this fiasco. She called Sophie.
The phone rang a few times before her best friend answered. “Hey, girl. What’s going on? Usually I don’t hear from you during business hours.” Her friend was an web developer who owned her own business, so Olivia wasn’t bothering her by calling now. In fact, it was probably a welcomed break for both of them, who stared at their computers all day.
“I kinda did something this morning...” Olivia licked her dry lips again, letting the suspense hang in the air between them for a moment while she tried to decide how to say this.
“Please don’t tell me you called him! Please!” Sophie groaned.
Olivia’s eyes widened when she realized how her preamble sounded. “Oh, god, no! Of course not!” She took a deep breath. “I did something else, actually. There was this dating agency advertisement on television, and I signed up with them.”
The line was quiet for a few moments as her friend processed this new information. Was she about to get scolded for taking such a silly step? “You signed up with a dating agency?” Sophie sounded surprised, rather than disappointed or angry. “Wow, that’s a little sudden, don’t you think?” She cleared her throat. “But hey, I think this is good. If you feel confident that you are ready to get back out there, then I hope it goes well! Maybe if you meet a nice guy, you can tell me if he has a cute brother,” she giggled.
“Hmm... darn! That’s what I forgot to tell the woman I met with this morning. The man of my dreams must have a cute brother for my best friend. I was sure I was forgetting something.” Olivia couldn’t help but grin. “But I’d totally let you know. I’d make sure he was single first, too.” She meant that last part as a joke, but it sounded a little sad.
Sophie clicked her tongue. “You do know that we’re going to have to meet up so you can tell me all about this, right? I’m not going to be content with a brief phone call just saying you signed up.”
Olivia leaned forward in her chair to put her elbows on her desk. “I was hoping you’d say that. When are you calling it quits today? Maybe we can meet at six o’clock for dinner and drinks?”
“For you, girl? Always. I’ll have to hustle to get a few things done, but I’ll make it work. Let’s meet at Oscar’s for mojitos?”
Olivia grinned, feeling refreshed and much more calm than when she first picked up the phone. “Oscar’s it is! I could totally go for a mojito too. I’ll see you there, Soph. Thanks for being such a good friend.”
“You’re my best friend. I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend a Monday night than hanging out with you. Bye, girl.”
* * *
Oscar’s was pulsing with its usual fun, exciting atmosphere, complete with hot music, fantastic food, and great drinks. A dance floor was situated to one side of the building in its nightclub area, but Olivia and Sophie could watch people dancing from their table as they ate. It was always fun seeing people getting down on the dance floor. She danced with her friends on special nights, but tonight, Olivia sat in a booth across from Sophie with a big smile on her face. This was exactly what she’d needed: to spend time with her best friend and chat about what happened at the dating agency. She even told Sophie about the cute guy she met in the waiting room.
“The mojitos are strong tonight, girl,” Sophie shouted over the loud music. “Should I have one more?” she smirked before shaking her head. “Probably wouldn’t be a good idea, since I have another project to work on tomorrow. I doubt my client wants a hung over web developer working for him. Rum hits me hard.” The grin on her face faded when she looked over Olivia’s shoulder.
Olivia didn’t know what to make of that expression. She started to turn and look, but Sophie grabbed her hand from across the table. “What is it? Sophie?”
“Don’t look over there.” She returned her gaze to Olivia. “It’s Jared. He’s sitting at a table in the corner with some blonde woman. It’s not worth it.”
The happy, warm excitement Olivia felt melted away when she heard his name and the description of the woman he was with. She did not want to, but she needed to know if it was the woman she’d met, or another innocent woman who fell into his trap..
As discreetly as she could, Olivia over her shoulder to take a peek. He was with his wife, Missy. They looked happy together. He was holding her hands, and they were looking into each others eyes.
On second thought, maybe they were both just happy drunks. There w
ere two empty bottles of wine on their table. Part of her thought about going over there and exacting some revenge, but she decided she would not stoop to their level. Neither of them were worth her time. She wasn’t going to let pettiness take over and ruin the great day she’d had.
Olivia couldn’t stop the frown from tugging at her lips when she turned back to Sophie. “That’s the wife who spilled wine on me. Looks like he’s back with her. Good for him, I guess,” she said, unable to stop the sadness from creeping into her voice.
Sophie took Olivia’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “Maybe that’s our cue to get out of here. Let’s not let them ruin our fun. How about we go back to your place and watch a movie?” she looked over Olivia’s shoulder again, and her reassuring smile was replaced with a horrified sneer. “Oh hell no. I think he saw us. He’s staggering over here. Ugh.” She quickly slid enough cash from her wallet to cover the food, drinks, and a generous tip. She slapped it on the table and stood up. “Hurry, Olivia.”
Olivia grabbed her purse and sweater. She stood up but was knocked back into her chair when Jared blocked her exit. “Jared. Hi. What are you doing here?” she said, trying to keep her voice civil as he stared down at her.
A sleazy grin curved his lips. “Olivia. You know how much I love that dress. Seeing all of that pretty skin,” he slurred, and reached his hand around to touch her, but she knocked his hand away. “When I saw the dress, I knew it was you.” He nodded toward the table. “My wife and I are having dinner together. Patching things up after the other night,” he mumbled as he undressed her with his eyes.
How had she ever found that gesture so sensual and appealing before? Now it just felt dirty, especially when he’d just said he was currently patching things up with his wife. She had to get away from him. This was too much.
“You’re drunk, Jared,” Olivia replied softly, trying to scoot past him. But it was no use. “Maybe you should go back to your wife. My friend and I were about to leave. Let me by, please.”
Jared glanced over at his wife. Missy played with her phone taking selfies, apparently oblivious to what was going on. “I was on the way to the bathroom. Did you think I left my wife to come chat with you?” he laughed, and the cold cruelty sent shivers down her spine. “I knew you were a dreamer, but I didn’t realize you thought so highly of yourself. Cute. Maybe if I wasn’t with someone like her, I’d be more interested in you.”
Olivia couldn’t believe he was saying all of this. he never heard him be so cruel, even when they fought. He would say mean things, but always profusely apologized and brought her flowers to make up for it. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, and she looked away. He’d brought the jewelry box to their dinner. She’d thought her life was so great. He was kind and caring. Now she realized that she wasted years of her life with a man that never existed at all.
Sophie had flagged their waiter over while Jared insulted Olivia. The waiter crossed his arms over his bulky chest. “Please move so the lady can leave with her friend. Don’t make me call security, sir.” Jared stepped aside, knocking his shoulder into Sophie as he walked past. If the waiter hadn’t steadied Sophie, she might have fallen down. “Are you okay, miss?” he said, looking down at Sophie with concern.
Sophie held her shoulder. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for helping us.”
The waiter gave her a crooked grin. “My pleasure. Have a nice evening.”
Olivia definitely felt sparks between them. She almost told her friend to get his number, but the ring on his left hand made Olivia grimace. She took Sophie’s hand and waved to the waiter. “You too.”
Sophie shot her a confused look when they neared the exit. “Hey, what’s going on? Didn’t you see? He was so into me.”
“Yeah, he was into you. He was also married.” Olivia pulled her best friend into a hug, finally letting the tears fall down her cheeks. “Did all of that actually happen? How could that be Jared? My Jared?”
Her best friend held her tighter. “It did. I can’t believe he said that to you. It’s not true, you know,” she asserted. “You’re a smart, level-headed woman who has a big heart. You just let the wrong man in.” She rubbed Olivia’s back a little in comforting strokes.
“How will I ever know I’ve found the right man? I’m not sure I can trust my heart after… after that,” she said as her throat tightened with emotion.
“I wish I could tell you,” Sophie shrugged her shoulders, looking rather defeated. “I’ve never been in a long-term relationship. The men I’ve met tend to just get bored after a while and move on to greener pastures.” She made it sound like a joke, but it bothered her. “Let’s get out of here before we run into either of those two again.”
Olivia nodded, giving her friend one last quick hug before heading to the car.
Chapter Six
Liam laid on his bed, scrolling on his phone. He stretched the muscles in his back and saw a notification pop up in his email. The sender was Prince Dating Agency. His meeting with Ms. Prince went surprisingly well. The sign up process was more straightforward than he thought, and the whole thing didn’t take long at all.
The questions she asked were a bit odd at times. What hair color did he like or not like on a woman? Did that really matter? Who goes for women strictly based on things like that? But he supposed it made sense for some of their clients. Maybe it helped narrow down options for certain people.
He tapped the notification Surprise jolted through him when he saw the subject. He tried not to rush through to the bottom where they detailed the name and information of his match. This was something he needed to take his time and read through. His bear, on the other hand, was relentless. A growl rumbled in his chest, and he finally scrolled through the body of the email to see who they’d paired him with. His heart nearly leapt out of his chest when he saw the woman’s name and a picture of Olivia Tyson. Giddiness rose up inside him, and he shot up from his bed. He needed to talk to someone about this. This news was too big to keep to himself.
He called Will. His brother wanted to know when he heard back and how things went, but he did not answer after a few rings. The time for the date was already set, so he wracked his brain trying to come up with date ideas.
He thought of more people to call. His parents were off limits. If he told his dad, then his mom would find out, and they still thought he was with Cindy. He didn’t want to tell them that he wasn’t, much less that he was following in his older brother’s footsteps to find a girl from a dating agency. They’d probably give him a pitiful look and a pat on the back. Then, it hit him: Mason. He could talk with his older brother. Liam was there for his brother when he was in this same position. Liam dialed Mason’s cell phone, and he answered in two rings.
“Hey, Liam. How’s it going?” he said, sounding a little distracted.
“Hey. Did I catch you at a bad time?” he grimaced. Maybe he should have called Noah, but Noah didn’t have much dating experience, and he was a known blabbermouth. He could very well tell to their parents if he felt like it could earn him some brownie points after his outburst during breakfast on Saturday.
Mason whispered something and from Ava’s feminine giggle, he knew it likely wasn’t directed at him. There was the sound of a door closing not long after he whispered, then Mason finally put the phone back near his mouth. “No, of course not. I was just spending time with Ava. What’s up?”
“Well, I can always call you back later, if you two need to ‘spend more time together’,” Liam said in a joking, suggestive tone.
“I’ll return to her once we’re done. You don’t tend to call, and you were distant at the office.” Mason sounded concerned, and Liam should have known that his brother would pick up on his cagey behavior. His older brother had acute senses, especially will his family. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s better now. To be honest, things ended with Cindy. I haven’t wanted to talk about it since things are going well with you and Ava, and I was the one who actually had a stead
y girlfriend. Mom and Dad might have freaked out that their second kid had ruined his chance at a mate.” He shook his head, keeping his voice down. He didn’t want either of them to walk by his room and hear his conversation.
“Anyway, Will talked me into trying out that dating agency you used, since you had such success.”
“Prince Dating Agency?” Mason asked, sounding strange. “Have you already met with them?”
“Yeah, the same one I suggested you go to. Remember? I met with them this morning.” Liam wasn’t sure why his brother was acting this way. It surprised him. They all assumed that Ava and Masons union was a standard matchmaking arrangement. Although, from what he saw and experienced of Ms. Prince, the words standard or normal didn’t appear to be in her vocabulary. Now he was curious.
“Of course. I know where I went, Liam. Who did you speak to while you were there?” Mason’s voice took on a carefully neutral tone.
“Ms. Prince herself. I thought I would have to speak with someone else first and go through a process, but it went well. They already sent me my match. I want to make sure I do this thing right, and that’s why I called. I thought maybe you could give me some pointers. But you are definitely being weird, so let’s talk about that. What is going on? Did something happen at the dating agency that I should be aware of?”
“It’s better if we talk in person,” Mason said hurriedly. “I’ll meet you at the cafe in fifteen minutes.” With that, he hung up.
Liam scratched the stubble on his chin and tucked his cell phone into his pocket before grabbing his keys and walking out the door.
* * *
It didn’t take long to get to the cafe. It was less than five minutes away for him, but Liam couldn’t help but wonder what the big deal was. Maybe it was nothing, or maybe Mason didn’t want his mate to overhear what he was going to say. Either way, he was glad they were meeting in person. Face to face, his bear could smell if Mason was was lying, or withholding information.