by Laura Burton
“I know you decided to match with Erin so she’d wind up tying with Bibbity—er, I mean, Belinda,” Claire said. “But the thing is, well, the truth of the matter is … none of us want Belinda to take over the company.”
I raised a brow. This was a coup?
“She’s vile, Dex. Like, really heinous,” Claire continued. “She looks down on anyone who isn’t a senior matchmaker like her. Actually, she looks down on the other senior matchmakers because no one has been there as long as her, so she just thinks they’re beneath her. If she becomes our new boss, half of us are going to get chopped the first day. Guaranteed. Especially me. I’ve never been particularly friendly to her.”
“So, what, you and the rest of the staff are plotting to get her fired?”
Claire waved a hand. “The support staff has never done any plotting for Belinda to get fired. We are normal, honest, people. But we have been rooting for Amy to win this competition. The only one of us who wants Belinda to win is her own assistant, Bobby. And we think that’s because she gives him odd side jobs and pays him under the table. He’ll obviously get a raise with her new position, too.”
“Odd side jobs? Like what?”
She bit her lip. “I’ve had a few suspicions over the years, but there’s only one thing I can prove with your help. Like, maybe hacking into Amy’s account and messing with her dates so she loses the competition? Amy said you brought it up to Belinda on the boat that night.”
I watched with a wary eye as Claire slid her laptop over to me.
“It’s logged in under Amy’s account right now. Do you think you could get me some proof that Belinda had Bobby go in and mess with it?”
“And if I do, what’s your plan after that?”
Claire sat up straight. “They’re having a meeting tomorrow to discuss the tiebreaker situation. You were wrong—Julia hadn’t planned for that ahead of time.”
I smirked. Amateur.
“I was actually hoping you’d come with me to the meeting to explain how she did it and show Julia the proof.”
I choked on the drink of water I’d just taken. “Me?”
“Yeah, you.”
“Look, Claire, I have no problem digging into the system here and pulling up whatever you need to prove that Belinda cheated. But I don’t see why I’d need to walk the proof in the door myself. I’ll show you what you need to show Julia.”
Claire closed her eyes and sighed. “Um, hello? Dex, you need to come to the meeting because of the way Amy will absolutely swoon and lose her mind if she sees you rush in on your white horse and save the day.”
I couldn’t help the big, loud, mocking laughter that burst from my chest. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack,” she said, her face perfectly composed.
My smile faded. “That’s ridiculous.”
“No, what’s ridiculous is you planting that amazing kiss on her and then throwing yourself down on your sword at the first sign of trouble. That’s ridiculous.”
I sobered. “Julia has a strict no-dating-the-clients policy, Claire. Amy wants Julia to promote her so she can run the company. I’m not going to stand in the way of her career plans, and I’m certainly not going to jeopardize her dreams.”
“Dreams, shreams. If you help me prove Belinda cheated in the competition, Julia will make Amy the winner and then you and Amy can live happily ever after.”
I stared blankly at her.
“Dex,” she said through gritted teeth. “Keep up. If Amy wins, she’s the boss. She makes the rules. If she wants to amend the no-dating-the-clients rule, she’s free to do so. But first, we need to help her get the job.”
“Huh,” I said, leaning back in my chair.
Claire crossed her arms over her chest, a smug smile on her face. “This is why Amy keeps me around.”
I considered this for a moment, then leaned forward and put my forearms on the table. “I appreciate you wanting to help Amy win the competition, and I don’t mind helping you do it by looking into the network and supplying the proof you need. But how do I know Amy even wants me to … you know, ride in on my white horse, or whatever?”
“I’m glad you asked.” Claire grinned and pulled a folded piece of paper out of the back pocket of her jeans. “This probably goes against every bit of girl code, but you should read this.”
Amy
“So,” Julia began, lacing her fingers and then resting her hands on her desk, “it’s been a whirlwind six weeks since we last met like this, hasn’t it?”
Belinda and I looked at each other out of the corners of our eyes, then both turned back to Julia. We murmured in agreement and my stomach turned.
Six weeks ago, I was bound and determined to win this competition no matter what. I’d had a one-track mind. Beat Belinda. Take over the company. Live out the rest of my days running Southern California’s premier matchmaking service. I wanted to make a name for myself in the care and keeping of other people’s love lives, and never need to worry about my own.
Then I’d met Dex. And slowly but surely, I started to fall in love with him. Now, I felt like a completely different person than I had been at the start of this whole thing. Did I really want to spend the next twenty-five years running this empire alone? Belinda was single. She’d worked at First Comes Love for that long, totally on her own. She’d spent half of her life in this industry avoiding men. Was that the only way for me, too? Or was there, perhaps, a better way?
“I have to hand it to you both,” Julia went on. “You found matches for all three of your clients in record time. Though, like I said in the beginning, I would expect nothing less from you two. You’re both rock stars. Which is why it makes me so sad to have to pick between you.”
I fidgeted in my seat. “Did you decide on a tiebreaker?”
Julia sighed. “Truthfully, kid, the fact that you ended in a tie was a big bummer for me. I told you Bill was anxious to travel, and he surprised me with cruise tickets. Forty-seven days on a boat, that son of a gun. I can’t even. Anyway, we leave next week. So as much as I would like to give you each one more client and have a sudden-death round, I don’t really have time.”
Again, Belinda and I looked at each other, then back at Julia. Neither one of us spoke, the nerves too much for both of us. I’d given a lot of thought to what I’d do if Julia picked Belinda. There was no way on earth I’d be able to work under her. She’d probably fire me, in any case. Whatever happened today, the one thing I knew wouldn’t happen was me staying on as a senior matchmaker. Those days were over. The only thing I needed to decide was how Dex could fit into my new future. If he even wanted to, of course.
“Amy, you know I love you. But Belinda has been with me for—”
“Wait, don’t say anything else.”
I turned toward the door. My mouth dropped open as Claire rushed in with Dex trailing behind her. His mouth quirked up the slightest bit when our eyes met and my whole body flooded with warmth. Seeing him had done funny things to me before the kiss we shared, but after? Man. I could practically feel the tingling sensation in my nose when I’d inhaled the scent of his cologne. I could hear the roar of the waves around us, white noise in the background, weaving languidly into the soundtrack of it all. I could see the way his lashes fluttered as he smiled against my lips.
“Claire?” Julia sat back in her chair, surprised at the intrusion. Then her eyes landed on Dex and she stood, extending her hand for him to shake. “Mr. Harrington, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“He’s here to help,” Claire answered, plopping the laptop she carried onto Julia’s desk and powering it up. “Julia, we have proof that the competition was rigged.”
“Rigged?” Julia repeated. “I’m sorry, why are we talking about this in front of a client? Amy, do you know what’s going on here?”
I was just as lost as Julia, but I could see Belinda staring daggers at me as if she thought it was my doing. I held my palms out, speaking to both of them. “I had nothing to do with
this.”
“Julia, I’m sorry to bust in on your meeting like this, but it was the only way,” Claire said.
I very much doubted that, but Claire was a sucker for a good bit of theater. I sat back and got ready for the show, hoping they really did have the proof we all needed that would send Belinda out on her butt.
“Belinda had Bobby hack into Amy’s account and mess up her dates,” Claire said. “He went in and changed the locations of her client, Deb’s, dates. Bobby also took out the matches that Amy had picked for Dex and added ones that would be a terrible fit for him. Then when it was time for me to contact the respective clients and give them the details for the dates, everything got all screwy and the matches were a disaster.”
Julia’s eyes bugged out of her head as she stared between all of our faces. “You can’t be serious. Belinda wouldn’t—”
Claire motioned to the computer. “Dex, please, show her what you found.”
“Wait,” Belinda said, standing from her chair and pointing an accusing finger between me and Dex. “I caught these two kissing on Saturday night.”
Julia’s mouth dropped open, and she looked at me like I had two heads. “Is that true?”
“Dex,” Claire whispered, “seriously, show Julia the computer stuff.”
We all watched as Dex stepped forward, the muscles of his back straining against his navy-blue polo shirt when he bent over to type. He turned the laptop so we could all see it and pointed to the screen. “This activity leads back to the IP address that Bobby uses here at the office. According to the time stamps, Amy wasn’t the one doing these things because Claire confirmed that she was out of the office on appointments. It only took about five minutes for me to see his digital fingerprints all over her account. I’m sure anyone in your IT department could have figured it out, but since I’m—”
“Gunnery Sergeant Computer Crimes Guy?” I said, butterflies taking off in my belly when he flashed me a grin.
“Yeah, that,” he replied, “Claire asked me to take a look.”
Julia sat back down in her chair. She looked physically ill.
“This is absurd. Julia—” Belinda started, then stopped when Julia held up a hand.
“Don’t,” Julia replied. “I know you, B. We’ve been friends for a long time. I’ve always turned a blind eye to some of your more, oh, I don’t know, devious ways … but this is too much. This is the first time you’ve had one of your schemes aimed at me. It’s not sitting well.”
I watched as my aunt rested her head in her hands, my heart aching for her. This company meant the world to her. It really was her baby. And she’d just been told that her best friend had tried to take it over by fraudulent means.
Belinda tsked. “Oh, please. If I’m that bad of a person, why did you even consider letting me take over? I heard it in your voice before this little trollop and the meathead came storming in here. You were about to hand me the reins, weren’t you? Would you have done that if you didn’t trust me? Of course not. Don’t let them make you forget how much I mean to you.”
Julia tossed her head back and laughed bitterly. “Well, excuse me for thinking maybe you’d turned over a new leaf. I thought maybe the gravity of sitting in this chair would mean you’d grow up and earn it fair and square. I feel so stupid for almost letting you win. You probably would have ruined everything I’ve built.”
“We built this company together,” Belinda snapped.
Julia jabbed a finger in the air between them. “Yes, we did. And I’m not going to let you burn it down. You think I’m going to let someone who goes to these lengths to win take over? Get out.”
You could have heard a pin drop in that moment. Even Belinda was stunned into silence. After what seemed like forever, she gave us all one last glare and stomped out.
“My, oh my,” Julia said, rubbing her temples. “That was not how I expected this meeting to go.”
“You were going to let her take over, weren’t you?” I asked, my voice small.
Julia’s shoulders sagged. “I won’t lie to you, sweetie. I was.”
“I understand,” I lied.
“No, I don’t think you do,” Julia said. “Belinda is married to this company. Or at least, she was. She’s spent all this time pouring her energy into other people’s relationships because she was too closed-off for a real one of her own. I could see her giving the same level of dedication to running the business side of things. Unfortunately, now I know she probably wouldn’t have done it honestly and could have ruined everything, but still. That’s where my head was at when I made that decision.”
“You didn’t think I would dedicate my all to running the business?” I asked.
Julia shook her head. “I know you would be dedicated to running the business. I just wanted you to stop and smell the roses instead of taking over at such a young age. I haven’t had time for much romance, hence why my husband is forcing me out to sea with him for months on end. I love you like a daughter, Amy. I want to see you happy.”
“Thanks,” I murmured.
Julia leaned forward in her seat, a twinkle in her eye as she looked between me and Dex. “It seems like this whole thing might have led you to some happiness after all, hasn’t it?”
I turned to Dex then, noting the hope that swirled around his expression. “Yeah, it has.”
“Well,” Julia began, “I know it probably feels like you’re getting it by default, but the job’s yours if you want it.”
Dex cleared his throat and tore his gaze from mine. “Julia?”
My aunt raised a brow and turned to him. “Yes, Dex?”
“Before Amy answers you, I have a question.”
“What’s that?”
Dex grinned. “Would you be willing to amend the rule about not dating clients as a condition of her accepting the position?”
Epilogue
Epilogue – Dex
SIX MONTHS LATER
“Hey, have you considered Tom Richardson? He would be good for Katie,” I said, Amy’s laptop open on my lap. “He loves to go deep-sea fishing. I think I saw somewhere on the intake form that she loved being out on the ocean.”
“Uh-huh,” she replied, not looking up from the video game she was playing on my flat screen. “Whatever you say, babe. Crap, am I being followed? Who is that guy?”
I kept scrolling through the Singles Club database. “Or Scott Philips. He’s a surfer. Also ocean related. Though, I guess there’s a difference between hanging at the shore and actually being out on the ocean. Do you think that would mean personality differences, too? Like someone who preferred the excitement and the challenge of surfing compared to someone who was patient and deep?”
Amy launched herself backward on the couch, chucking the controller at the plush armchair nearby. “That creepy bandit just robbed me. He took all of the gold I’d just earned from my last quest and took off. And my horse is being a turd, and I can’t get him to wake up. How are virtual horses so lazy and hard to control? Are there super-secret horse training commands that I’m not aware of?”
I blinked slowly at her. “I don’t think so, no.”
She blew out a breath. “It took me all day to finish that quest.”
“I’m sorry, Aims.” It took all of my willpower not to laugh. But she was so cute when she was frustrated. And now that she’d become fully immersed in the sometimes frustrating, always exciting world of RPGs, I got to enjoy a whole new side of her. “Just go into your horse’s inventory and give it an apple or whatever treats you have. That’ll restore its stamina.”
“Oh, cool. Thanks,” she scrambled off the couch and retrieved her controller, then plopped back down with a new wave of energy. “Now, how do you do that?”
I pointed to the screen. “Go up to your horse and push L2. There you go, now select the apple. Wow, you’ve collected all kinds of treats.”
“I thought those were snacks for me.”
I chuckled. “Of course you did.”
“Okay, he�
��s getting up! You lazy steed, I see the way to your heart! Now what?”
I sighed. “Are you sure you want me to tell you or do you want to just figure it out?”
Amy lowered her head and glared at me. “What do you think?”
“Gotcha. Well, as far as the bandit, here’s what you’re gonna do. The bandit camp is right on the other side of that hill that you’re on. So when you get a little bit stronger, you can go destroy the camp, take all of your loot back, and then you’ll also get the Sword of Destruction.”
“Oooh, I’ve been looking for that!” she said, clapping her hands. “Thanks.”
I grinned at her. “You’re welcome.”
“What do I have to do to get stronger?”
“Complete some side quests and get experience points by battling people who are more on your level. The more quests you do, the more upgrades you’ll get to your armor and weapons. That’ll help if you’re going to take on the whole group of bandits.”
She bit her lip. “Nothing’s ever easy is it?”
“That would take the fun out.”
“Fine. But I need to take a lunch break. Are you hungry?” She stood and headed for the kitchen, then finally noticed her laptop sitting open in front of me. “Wait, what were you saying? Did you come up with some matches for Katie?”
I chuckled. “I found a couple of potentials. We can look at it later, though.”
If you had asked me before all of this started if I ever saw myself caring about other people’s love lives, I would have laughed you right out of the building. But after Amy and I officially started dating, and she took over First Comes Love, I started to see a gap in the company’s current offerings.