"I assume they passed with flying colors?"
"No doubt. As per your list of preferences, these three women are each successful in their own right, highly intelligent, and as you can see for yourself, very attractive. There are no skeletons in their closets, no criminal records, restraining orders or disgruntled ex-boyfriends," I continued briskly.
"And what is it about these women that you think would appeal to me?" he asked lazily.
"Excuse me?"
"You must know that a man in my position meets a lot of attractive and successful women all the time. What makes these women special? Why should I waste my time with them?" he asked.
"Uh...well...," I stumbled. I wasn't prepared to answer him. He sat back in his seat steepling his fingers, and looked at me expectantly.
"I've never been asked that before," I said honestly.
"That's not an answer.”
“I’m not used to explaining myself. Most people just accept that I am good at what I do and go with it,” I answered.
“I am not ‘most people,’” he shot back, amused. I had the feeling he was toying with me; testing me to see how far he could go. I wasn’t about to let him get the upper hand.
“Well if you want to know the truth—”
“I do.”
“Obviously you’ve come to me because you want to settle down,” I stated matter of factly. “I mean you told me as much when you first contacted me. The problem you’ve got is that your relationships in the past have all been shallow and unfulfilling. You’ve got a reputation as a bit of a ladies’ man, never staying with one woman longer than three months.”
As I continued my breakdown of his dating history, I noticed the amused smile slipped from his face, replaced by a slight frown and furrow on his brow. He asked me for the truth, though, and I wasn’t going to back down now.
“If you’re looking to settle down like you say, then you’ve got to start dating a higher caliber of women. Don’t get me wrong,” I continued as he raised his brows at me, “the women you’ve dated have all been stunning physically, but that’s all they were—pretty faces. The type of woman you want is someone with a bit more substance. Someone who can keep up with you intellectually as well as physically.”
“My my, you’ve certainly laid it all out there. And you think these women you’ve selected fit those criteria?” His eyes looked hard and he sounded annoyed at my presumption.
I was surprised by the sudden change in his attitude. If he didn’t want the truth, then he should not have prodded me into giving it to him. Hell, he shouldn’t have hired me in the first place. If there’s one thing I do, it’s tell the truth.
“Yes, I know they are,” I replied equally annoyed. He was as mercurial as his reputation warranted. Suddenly Sandra, Trista, and Hannah seemed too good for him.
“Thank you for your thoughts,” he said curtly. I nodded my head at him, waiting for him to continue. I found myself quickly losing patience. He hired me to do a job, one that I was very good at, and now he was questioning my abilities.
“Now that you’ve said your piece, allow me to say mine,” he began again after a moment’s silence. “You’re right. I am looking to settle down. I’m getting older, and would prefer to have children sooner rather than later.”
Looking over at him, he looked to be in the prime of his life. His body was muscular and powerfully built. The only indication of his age was some slight salt and pepper hair at his temples, which only added to his appeal. A discreet cough brought me out of my thoughts and I looked up to see a slight smile cross his face before being replaced by the hard inscrutable expression. A flush crept up my cheeks at being caught gawking again.
“The reason I hired you is because you are supposedly the best in the business,” he began again once he had my attention. “I’m not looking for love or my ‘soul mate’. What I want is someone who can hold a conversation, won’t embarrass me at the various social functions I’m required to attend, and most importantly, bear my children,” he stated coldly.
I raised my brows, shocked by the cold and calculated break down of his future marriage partner. It seemed at odds with the earlier email he had sent me with his list of preferences. Then again, he probably realized I wouldn’t have taken him on as a client if I had known his true feelings, and he would probably be right.
“I can see you’re surprised by my admission. You, like all women must have had the idea that I wanted to fall in love,” he said mockingly. “Let me disabuse you of that notion right now. I don’t want to fall in love. In fact it’s quite the opposite. I’d prefer not to be in love with the woman I marry.”
“You don’t need my help to find someone like that,” I replied. “Hell, go put an ad in the paper or on Craigslist. There are tons of women who would take you up on your offer.”
“You must think I’m a very cold heartless man,” he began. I didn’t contradict him and waited for him to continue. “Each decision I’ve made in my life has been thought out and calculated. It his come from a place of logic, not emotion. If I let emotion rule my life, I would not be where I am today. And don’t kid yourself, marriage is, if anything, a business contract. As long as each person holds up their end of the bargain, then I consider that a successful marriage. The reason I hired you is because I’m a very busy man. Since you are the best in the business, I’m sure I can rely on you to find me someone who meets my criteria.”
“I’m not sure I can help you. These women want to fall in love and marry. They deserve a man who will love them. I can’t lie to them.”
“I’m not asking you to lie. By all means, tell them the truth. Tell them everything I’ve told you and let them decide if they still want to proceed,” he said.
“I can’t say I agree with you on your thoughts of marriage, but that’s your choice. I’ll let the girls know what you have in mind and see if they still want to continue with the dates.”
”I don’t have to tell you that my privacy is extremely important in this matter. I don’t want the press or anybody else prying into my private life. Now I’m sure you’ve vetted all the candidates you’ve shown me, but I would like to look into their backgrounds myself with my own private investigator.”
“Of course.” I was ready to leave. This whole conversation left a bad taste in my mouth and I wanted the interview to be over as soon as possible. Sensing my discomfort, Jake got up from his chair and grabbed both my hands as he pulled me up to my feet. The sudden contact sent another jolt of electricity running from my hands to my heart, and travelling down somewhere near my stomach.
“Don’t look like that, Chloe,” he said flashing a devastating smile. “You’re not misleading anyone. And if you feel that bad about it, just think of the enormous check I’m writing you.”
I looked up at him offended, and drew my hands back. His change in personality had my head spinning. How someone could go from cold indifference to jovial and good natured in the span of seconds left me reeling.
“First of all, I’m a professional. You don’t have to dangle money in front of me like a carrot to make sure I do my job well. I didn’t build up my reputation by doing a half-assed job. Like I said, I don’t agree with your views, but that’s none of my business. I’m going to do my job regardless and have you married by next year.”
His smile deepened as he looked at me.
“For your sake, I hope you’re right.”
“You don’t have to hope. Just ask Don or any other of my happily married clients. Though they do have a more conventional idea of marriage, which I’m sure adds to their happiness,” I snapped.
“You certainly don’t hold back. I like that. I have a feeling we’ll get along just fine.”
Chapter Three
My stomach was in knots. Jake was going out with Sandra tonight. I was anxious sitting at my desk. It was 1 am on a Friday night, make that a Saturday morning, and I was alone in my office. I’d been sitting here since 9 in the morning, not really doing any work,
but not wanting to go home yet either. It was kind of ironic that my job involved me setting people up and yet here I was, alone for yet another weekend. No man, no dates and no other plans. If I thought too long about it, I’d be sad. But I’ve trained myself not to dwell on sad thoughts or things that make me uncomfortable.
The clock now read 2 am and I hadn’t heard anything from either of them. Usually I had my clients and the girls I work with check in with me to let me know how the date went, and if they felt like there was any chemistry. A part of me hoped the date was a success, but another part, hidden and buried, hoped the date was a disaster. Whenever those thoughts popped into my head, I would squash it like a bug.
It made me uncomfortable to examine the feelings behind my thoughts. I couldn’t be attracted to Jake, wanting him for myself. No, I definitely couldn’t be thinking like that. Instead I distracted myself reading profiles of the other girls I planned on setting him up with. I ordered a more thorough background check on them after Jake’s warning about his privacy. So far nothing turned up in their background that was a cause for concern.
Tick tock, tick tock, 3 am and still nothing. I was feeling restless and started to get annoyed when my phone rang.
“Hello,” I answered
“Chloe? I didn’t know you were still at the office. I was just going to leave a voicemail.”
“How did the date go, Sandra?” I asked, cutting to the chase.
“Oh my gosh! It was amazing!” she gushed. “He was the perfect gentleman the whole night.”
“That’s really great,” I replied, even as my heart sank a little at her admission. “What happened?”
“I don’t even know where to start. It was the best date of my life,” she said.
“What did you guys do?” I asked, biting back the urge to reach through the phone and strangle her. I needed details now, and she was acting like some giddy teenager.
“Well, let me see. He picked me up at my place in a limo. And he’s so handsome,” she giggled. “I just never expected him to be that hot. I mean I’d seen him in magazines but they really don’t do him justice.”
“Yes, yes. Then what happened? Where did he take you?” I cut in. If I wanted to get any answers out of her, I would have to direct the conversation.
“He took me on his private jet and we went to his vineyard in Sonoma! Can you believe it?”
“You went all the way to California? That’s quite dashing!” I replied.
“Oh I know!” she agreed. “Let’s see what happened next? Hmm...He took me on a tour of his house and we had dinner prepared by his private chef. And then...”
“And then...?” I asked, on the edge of my seat.
“Uh, well we had sex,” she whispered.
“You WHAT?!”
“Shh Chloe, what are you yelling for?”
“How can you have sex with him? On the first date?” I was incredulous.
“Have you seen him, Chloe? How could I not? He’s like walking sex.”
“You know how I feel about having sex on the first date, Sandra. We discussed it. How can you expect him to take you seriously after you sleep with him on the first date?”
“I take offense to that, Chloe,” she shot back. “First of all, I’m a grown woman and can sleep with whomever I want. Secondly, it’s none of your business.”
“Actually, it is my business,” I replied. “I’m the one who set you up on this date. You’re actions reflect on my company and you are giving my business a bad reputation. People come to me to find their life partners, not a one night stand.”
“What makes you think this is just a one night stand? Jake and I have this amazing, indescribable chemistry and one thing led to another. It felt very natural and right,” she said.
“Oh honey,” I replied, pity in my voice.
“Besides, it’s not like that,” she said. “You make it sound cheap, but it’s not like that. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Who are you talking to babe?” I heard the deep familiar voice on the other end of the phone and my body froze.
“Are you still with him?” I asked in hush whispers as if he could hear me.
“Uh...yeah. I’m going to have to get going now,” Sandra said and hung up on me.
I wasn’t sure how to feel. I didn’t expect them to still be together. My anger and shock from before was settling to a little ball of disappointment. For some reason I thought Jake would be different. But I shouldn’t have been surprised. Why wouldn’t he sleep with Sandra? Hell, I was the one who set them up! She’s gorgeous and intelligent. He could certainly do a lot worse. “Like me for example,” a little voice in the back of my mind whispered.
I had to stop taking this so personally. My job was to find Jake Powers a wife—woman who would bear his children. If that person was Sandra, then great. It made things easier for me. I had to remind myself of that each time that disappointment would crop up. I couldn’t have these feelings for a client. Especially a jerk as cold, and heartless as Jake Powers.
Chapter Four
The next day I called Jake to get his side of the story. I had an idea of what to expect since I already spoke to Sandra, but I’m nothing if not thorough.
“Powers,” he answered abruptly. His voice sounded impatient and demanding.
“Uh, hello Jake,” I stumbled.
“Who is this?” he barked.
I was caught off guard by his rude attitude, which quickly turned to annoyance. It always surprised me how easily Jake could push my buttons and make me nervous and annoyed from one second to the next.
“This is Chloe, from Elite. I’m calling to check in on how your date went.”
“Oh yes, Chloe.” His voice instantly softened and took on a silky tone. “The date was tolerable, but it wasn’t anything special.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, surprised by his answer. “What do you mean, you weren’t ‘impressed’?”
“Simply that I was not blown away by the lady you set me up with. Sure, she is attractive, and initially I found her appealing, but it quickly wore away as the evening progressed. By the end of the night, I was rather bored, to be honest with you.”
“What do you mean, you were bored?”
“If you’re going to keep asking me what I mean every time I say something, I’m going to have to hang up on you,” he replied. “This conversation is getting tedious.”
“Don’t you dare hang up on me,” I shot back, pushed to my limit. “What you’re telling me is completely at odds with what I heard from Sandra. I, quite frankly, am shocked at your callousness.”
“Well, what did Sandra tell you, exactly?” he asked.
“She implied that you two hit it off and the date went well,” I answered. I didn’t want to give him the full breakdown of what Sandra told me in confidence.
“Obviously her idea of a successful date and mine do not match up,” he answered simply.
I was on the verge of losing my temper. His attitude was so cruel and unfeeling, I wanted to drive over to his house and smack some sense into him. My earlier annoyance at Sandra quickly turned to pity. She thought Jake and her had something special, and here he was dismissing her like she was nothing.
“I think most people would agree that when the date ends in the bedroom, it’s pretty successful. If you didn’t feel anything for her, then why did you sleep with her?” I snapped.
The phone went silent for what felt like hours.
“She told you that, huh?” he finally replied.
“Yes. I told you that I always check in with my girls after dates.” It was standard procedure at Elite. We wanted to get their reaction while the date was still fresh in their minds, before they started to overanalyze everything, but also, to make sure they were safe. It wasn’t like I would ever allow a girl to go out with someone I thought was deranged or dangerous, but it never hurt to check in.
“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised Sandra would kiss and tell, though I am disappointed.”
&n
bsp; “You didn’t answer my question.” It was a good thing we didn’t have the meeting in person, or he would really be in danger of a smack upside the head, courtesy of yours truly. Here he was sleeping with girls and then tossing them away like nothing, and he was acting like the victim here? It really was unbelievable.
“Are you jealous?” he asked.
This man was a piece of work.
“You’re being ridiculous,” I replied. “And you still haven’t answered my question.”
“Yes, I did sleep with her, though that’s really none of your business,” he finally answered.
“Actually it is my business. I’m running a matchmaking service, not an escort service. I can’t allow you to sleep with these women if you have no honorable intentions towards them.”
“Honorable intentions? Have we gone back in time? Can you remind me what century we’re in?” he mocked. I could almost feel Jake smile over the phone.
“You know exactly what I mean.”
“What can I say? I can’t help it if women throw themselves at me. I think it would be quite rude to turn them down,” he answered lightly.
“I don’t understand how you can be so heartless. You knew Sandra was hoping for something more and you just lied to her and led her on,” I lashed back.
“I never lied to her or misled her. She drew her own conclusions,” he answered coldly.
“Oh so you told her you had no interest in her? That you found her company ‘tedious’ and she still decided to throw herself at you?” I asked sarcastically.
Silence.
“That’s what I thought,” I said. “You know, there’s a reason you’re still single and had to come to me for help. This pattern of behavior is what’s the issue. If you’re serious about finding a woman to settle down with, then you have to change.”
“Ms. Harper, I am not accustomed to being spoken to like this. My patience is wearing thin. You do not dictate how I am to behave, is that clear?” he replied icily.
“No that is not clear. You’re the one who came to me for help. If this is how you’re going to behave, then you’re going to have to find someone else to set you up. I don’t care how much money you have, I’m not going to allow my girls to be used like that.”
Billionaire Matchmaker: Complete Series (Contemporary Romance) Page 2